Apple partners with General Electric to bring industrial apps to iPhone and iPad

Apple on Wednesday announced it’s partnering with General Electric (GE) to deliver industrial apps for iPhone and iPad with predictive data and analytics from Predix, which is GE’s Internet of Things (IoT) platform.

The two companies unveiled a new Predix software development kit (SDK) for iOS, which gives developers the tools to make their own industrial IoT apps. The Predix SDK for iOS will be available to download on Thursday, October 26.

Tim Cook was quoted as saying:

GE is an ideal partner with a rich history of innovation across the industrial world in areas like aviation, manufacturing, healthcare and energy. Together, Apple and GE are fundamentally changing how the industrial world works by combining GE’s Predix platform with the power and simplicity of iPhone and iPad.

These specialized apps will give industrial operators more insight and visibility into the performance of their equipment and operations right from their iPhone or iPad, Apple said.

As an example, a Predix app can notify a worker on their iPhone of a potential issue with equipment such as a wind turbine and allow them to collaborate with remote teams when performing inspections and repairs, collecting relevant data instantly.

GE is also partnering with Apple on apps for both internal use and its customers. Moreover, GE will “standardize” on iPhone and iPad for mobile devices and also promote Mac to its global workforce of more than 330,000 employees.

In return, Apple will promote GE’s Predix as the industrial IoT analytics platform of choice to its customers and developers.