Home app for iOS 9 will reportedly tie Apple's HomeKit devices together

A new app, appropriately called Home, may be the way you control a smarthome from your iPhone or iPad. Home would be the software interface used for HomeKit-approved devices such as lights, switches and thermostats, to name a few items.

Home could debut at the June 8 WWDC keynote says 9to5 Mac.

That's an obvious time to do so since WWDC is a developer event and Apple introduced the HomeKit platform at last year's WWDC. But the app reportedly has limited functionality so far, 9to5 Mac's sources say, suggesting the software may get either a cursory mention or be held back from introduction at a later date.

I suspect the former is a more likely scenario as HomeKit hasn't shown much public promise in the past year.

Recently, some HomeKit partners noted that the platform is still not completely nailed down and could be delayed. Apple quickly responded to such talk by saying it has dozens of committed partners with several HomeKit products expected to launch next month.

So what would Home actually do? It would be the central method of configuring HomeKit products found on your network, for one. You could also set up different views of your home's rooms to group and control HomeKit devices. Essentially, Home would provide the central view of your smarthome.

I'd still expect third-party apps available to control the various HomeKit products, or at least let Home provide an interface that worked with them.

The 9to5 Mac report suggests that really hasn't been decided yet though. Home -- likely with native Siri integration -- could be the main control for all HomeKit devices or it might be the configuration tool used for them and third-party software will still be used for controls.