Amazon, Apple, Google, Zigbee Alliance to Develop Open Standard for Smart Home Device Connectivity

EIN zigbee logo 400

Dec 18, 2019

Amazon, Apple, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance have formed a new working group that plans to develop and promote the adoption of a new, royalty-free connectivity standard to increase compatibility among smart home products, with security as a fundamental design tenet. Zigbee Alliance board member companies such as IKEA, Legrand, NXP Semiconductors, Resideo, Samsung SmartThings, Schneider Electric, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), Silicon Labs, Somfy, and Wulian are also on board to join the working group and contribute to the project.

The goal of the Connected Home over IP project is to simplify development for manufacturers and increase compatibility for consumers. The project is built around a shared belief that smart home devices should be secure, reliable, and seamless to use. By building upon Internet Protocol (IP), the project aims to enable communication across smart home devices, mobile apps, and cloud services and to define a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification.

The industry working group will take an open-source approach for the development and implementation of a new, unified connectivity protocol. The project intends to use contributions from market-tested smart home technologies from Amazon, Apple, Google, Zigbee Alliance, and others. The decision to leverage these technologies is expected to accelerate the development of the protocol and deliver benefits to manufacturers and consumers faster. 

The project aims to make it easier for device manufacturers to build devices that are compatible with smart home and voice services such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Google’s Assistant, and others. The planned protocol will complement existing technologies, and working group members encourage device manufacturers to continue innovating using technologies available today.           

Project Connected Home over IP welcomes device manufacturers, silicon providers, and other developers from across the smart home industry to participate in and contribute to the standard.

Related Articles

New Brunswick Signs MOU with Ontario to Reduce Trade and Labour Mobility Barriers

New Brunswick Signs MOU with Ontario to Reduce Trade and Labour Mobility Barriers

April 18, 2025 The governments of New Brunswick and Ontario have signed a memorandum of understanding on free trade and labour mobility. “Ontario is New Brunswick’s second-biggest trading partner, and we are excited to be building on the positive momentum to reduce internal trade barriers across Canada,” said Premier Susan Holt. “Today’s signing of this…

Latest Articles

Changing Scene

  • Hammond Power Solutions Appoints Linda Nadeau Sanford as Western Regional Sales Manager

    Hammond Power Solutions Appoints Linda Nadeau Sanford as Western Regional Sales Manager

    May 12, 2025 Hammond Power Solutions (HPS), a leader in dry-type transformers and power quality solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Linda Nadeau Sanford as the new Western Regional Sales Manager. Linda will play a key part in driving sales and revenue across the Western Canada region. She will oversee territory management, advance… Read More…

  • Susanna Zagar, Ontario Energy Board CEO, Named EHRC’s 2025 Agent of Change

    Susanna Zagar, Ontario Energy Board CEO, Named EHRC’s 2025 Agent of Change

    May 12, 2025 Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC) is proud to announce Susanna Zagar (she/her), Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), as the recipient of the 2025 Agent of Change Award. This recognition celebrates Ms. Zagar’s remarkable leadership and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the electricity sector. Since stepping… Read More…

  • AD Reports Huge Jump in Member Sales Through Three Months of 2025

    AD Reports Huge Jump in Member Sales Through Three Months of 2025

    May 12, 2025 AD reports that member sales in the first three months of 2025 increased 23% to a record $24 billion across the group’s 14 divisions and three countries. AD welcomed over 550 new members in the first quarter through both organic growth and the IMARK Electrical merger. AD members also acquired another 10… Read More…

  • Legrand Introduces Wattstopper i3 Building Management Platform

    Legrand Introduces Wattstopper i3 Building Management Platform

    May 12, 2025 Legrand® has announced the launch of the Wattstopper i3 Platform, a next-generation lighting and building intelligence solution powered by KODE Labs, a global leader of advanced smart building technology.  The partnership positions Legrand to lead the lighting controls industry into a new era of unified experiences, seamless integrations, and data-driven control, making it easier… Read More…