Apple is reportedly about to enter the world of “smart home” technology in a big way.
According to the Financial Times, Apple is positioning the iPhone as a remote control for home automation, allowing you to turn on the lights, adjust the heat and control appliances with the device.
Details of the new "software platform" could be revealed on June 2 at the company's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, sources told FT.com.
Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request from NBC News for comment.
According to the FT.com report, Apple has been talking to a group of device makers about certifying their smart home products to work with Apple's forthcoming system.
The Cupertino, Calif., company was awarded a patent last year that outlines technology that can track a user's location and use the data to control secondary devices, such as home appliances, at another location.
A move into connected-home technology would pit Apple against the likes of Google and Samsung, which are already going full-bore into the field. In January, Google announced it was buying Nest Labs, a maker of “smart” home thermostats and smoke alarms, for $3.2 billion. (Nest's founders, coincidentally, got their start at Apple.) In April, South Korea-based Samsung launched its “Smart Home” service, which allows users to control Samsung appliances via an Android app.