General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) looks to pave the road to the future with its Align technology, and it is getting some help along the way from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). GE plans to engineer intelligent, color-changing LED lighting compatible with Apple’s HomeKit. This product will be introduced during GE’s Connected Future event, unveiling LED-enabled Intelligent Environments capabilities for cities, buildings and homes.

What GE Align technology and the Apple HomeKit-enabled LED bulbs give consumers is the ability to automate lighting according to the body’s natural sleep circadian rhythm. Scientifically speaking, lighting affects our sleep patterns, and GE Align tunes the light spectrum to help promote the body’s natural sleep cycle by controlling the blue concentration of light output. For example, in the morning GE Align produces a bright, bluer tone that suppresses the body’s production of melatonin, and in the evening it produces an amber light, reminiscent of candlelight and campfires.

Beth Comstock, president and CEO of GE Business Innovations, said:

As we continue to grow our infrastructure business by connecting our brilliant industrial machines to the Internet, it is important that consumers experience connected things in easy-to-use, everyday ways. Lighting is how many first experiment with the idea of a smart home, and our insights show that consumers want the ability to control lighting from anywhere, automate lighting and pair lighting with other devices—like sensors, thermostats and door locks.

The real kicker with this announcement is the fact that this can be paired with Apple’s HomeKit. GE’s Align technology will be accessible through a secured pairing with end-to-end encryption on Apple devices such as iPhones or iPads.

Comstock continued:

We’re excited to announce our support for HomeKit as it will bring a seamless, intuitive user experience using Siri and superior quality of light from America’s most trusted lighting brand for more than a century.

Monday afternoon, shares of GE were relatively flat at $27.34, in a 52-week trading range of $23.41 to $28.68. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $30.23.

Apple shares were down 0.4% at $128.49. The consensus price target is $148.05, and the 52-week trading range is $82.90 to $134.54.

ALSO READ: Companies With the Largest Stock Buybacks of All Time

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.