GE LED Effort With Apple HomeKit: Wave of the Future or Gimmick?

Photo of Chris Lange
By Chris Lange Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

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

Photo of Chris Lange
About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.

Our $500K AI Portfolio

See us invest in our favorite AI stock ideas for free

Our Investment Portfolio

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618