Apple reported to develop smart doorbell, lock and thermostat with LG

Apple is reported to be developing a set of smart home accessories together with LG Electronics, including a video doorbell, a smart lock and a thermostat, according to CLS, cnBeta and IT Home. IT Home, citing Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, described the cooperation as unusual and said the products would belong to a single device ecosystem. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]

The accessories are intended to work with a new Apple smart home hub as well as an upgraded HomePod mini and a new TV box, and Apple plans to officially launch the new devices on October 13, according to cnBeta and IT Home. cnBeta said the HomePod mini update would be its first since the product appeared in 2020. [ 2 , 3 ]

IT Home reported that the LG-developed list also includes a smart plug lock, indoor and outdoor security cameras and a floodlight camera. Although both companies take part in developing the accessories, the finished products will carry the LG brand, with the Korean company responsible for production and later technical support, the report said. LG has recently filed certification applications for the devices with the US Federal Communications Commission and the certification body UL Solutions, according to IT Home, which said the filings list an LG wired video doorbell, floodlight camera, plug-in outdoor and indoor cameras, smart plug lock, smart thermostat and temperature sensor, and do not mention Apple's involvement. [ 3 ]

IT Home said most of the devices support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and are compatible with the Thread and Matter protocols, and that the lock also supports ultra-wideband technology, which can unlock it automatically when a user approaches the door. LG asked regulators to keep product photographs and further details confidential until early next year, the report said. [ 3 ]

LG's accessory development is behind Apple's own devices and the products are expected to reach consumers at least several months later, IT Home reported. For Apple, the report described the new ecosystem as a restart of HomeKit, launched in 2014, which it said had failed to gain market traction against comparable products from Amazon and Alphabet's Google; Apple hopes to revive the business with the hardware and its Siri assistant, according to the report. [ 3 ]

IT Home said Apple has used a similar second-party supplier approach before, working quietly with companies including Foxconn affiliates Belkin and Logitech International, which sold the resulting products under their own brands. The report said the model lets Apple expand its device ecosystem without carrying the cost and complexity of high-volume accessory production and support, while keeping most development confidential. [ 3 ]

For LG, the report said the line expands a smart home business whose core products are televisions and washing machines, and marks its first indoor camera in nearly a decade and its first outdoor camera, thermostat, floodlight camera and video doorbell in recent history, as well as its first smart lock sold outside South Korea. The two companies would compete more directly with Amazon Ring and Google Nest, IT Home said, noting that Apple and LG have long worked together, including LG Display supplying screens for Apple devices. [ 3 ]