I came across this quote from Plum
Not surprised considering its Apple. I wonder what they charge for the chip.
Plum is part of the Apple MFI program and has all the associated legal and technical documentation from Apple. MFI certification (for Apple Homekit in our case) requires the addition of a separate IC which is licensed from Apple. We are trying to make the decision on adding this component (and the applicable firmware changes which may be significant) to the initial devices which we have already engineered.
Not surprised considering its Apple. I wonder what they charge for the chip.