Apple is delaying the release of its home automation devices

The first products to take advantage of Apple’s home automation technology won’t likely reach stores until this spring. That’s nearly a year after Apple announced HomeKit, the software that allows consumers to use their iPhones like remote controls to activate various automated appliances, during its keynote last June at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. Hardly happy news for the instant-gratification crowd, intent on creating their very own versions of the Jetsons home. Among the reasons for the delay, the launch of HomeKit-enabled hardware certification efforts that sources tell Re/code began later than Apple had hoped. As noted by 9to5Mac, the company’s MFI (“Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad”) licensing program kicked off in November. Apple’s rigorous performance standards for chip makers and hardware manufacturers also have contributed to the wait. The Cupertino tech giant didn’t release specifications to chip makers until October.