Recently Apple announced a partnership with Cisco to make a bigger push into the enterprise where they are hoping that more users will adopt the iPhone and iPad. However it seems that Apple wants more than just being a company that provides communication tools to consumers and enterprise users, they also want to protect your home.
According to a recent patent filing discovered by AppleInsider, it seems that Apple has patented an idea in which it would effectively turn your iPhone into a smoke detector. This means that while you’re sleeping at night with your phone next to you, it will at the same time be able to detect smoke and warn you of it.
The patent describes how the phone will be equipped with a sensor similar to those found in regular smoke detectors, but shrunk down in order to fit into a smartphone body. Given that smoke needs to enter the monitoring device in order to be detected, it has been suggested that the sensor be placed near an opening in the phone, like the speaker port.
When smoke is detected, the phone will alert the user or can even activate a fire suppression system which we can only imagine will tie-in with Apple HomeKit. Of course whether or not such a system will actually make its way into future iPhones remains to be seen, but given that Apple seems to prefer controlling both its hardware and software, this could be a good way to replace third-party systems, such as the Nest Protect.