Haier’s Tianzun air conditioner is the first smart appliance 'MFi Licensed' for iOS

[RaduTyrsina]

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There are plenty of smart appliances capable of being controlled through iOS devices but not all of them meet Apple's standards for compatibility and functionality. The MFi licensing program includes the hardware components, tools, documentation, technical support needed to create certified electronic accessories that connect to iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Chinese electronics and appliance maker Haier announced at CES 2014 that it is the first in its industry to release a smart appliance that meets Apple’s MFi certification. The company said in a press release the following:

Haier's Tianzun air conditioner is the first air conditioner and white good that is authorized by Apple's MFi program. Haier will use this technology in the other Haier products, such as water heaters, ovens, intelligent home accessories and the like. Users will be able to complete the setup simply by connecting to WiFi. The live demonstration showed that Haier's air conditioner could match the phone automatically and the user could set up parameters for the air conditioner directly without registration, setup password or any other complicated and time-consuming operations when connected to WiFi. And that brings consumers a simple, efficient experience of using smart appliances.

Besides the Tianzun air conditioner, Haier will also release MFI certified water heaters, oven and various other intelligent home devices. An educated consumer will obviously prefer an electronic accessory with MFi logos on it, so more companies are expected to follow Haier’s example in the future.

Source: MacRumors