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<\/div>\nApple has reportedly codeveloped a new lineup of smart home devices \u2014 including a doorbell, lock, and thermostat, that will launch under LG’s branding. (Image Credit: Blooomberg)<\/em><\/p>\n Apple’s long-rumoured return to the smart home category is reportedly arriving with an unusual twist: much of the hardware won’t carry an Apple logo at all. According to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the plans, Apple has co-developed a lineup of smart home accessories that includes a video doorbell, a deadbolt lock, a thermostat, and multiple security cameras with LG Electronics, which will manufacture, brand, and support the products under its own name.The accessories are built to work alongside Apple’s upcoming smart home hub, a refreshed HomePod mini, and a new Apple TV box, all expected at Apple’s October 13 event, and together represent what reportys describes as a formal reboot of HomeKit, the smart home platform Apple first launched back in 2014. Neither company has confirmed the partnership publicly, and both declined to comment, but regulatory filings have already surfaced several of the device names involved, lending the report some independent paper trail beyond anonymous sourcing alone.<\/p>\n What We Know So Far<\/b><\/p>\n Product names and categories are drawn from public regulatory filings (FCC, UL Solutions) and Bloomberg’s reporting. Either brand confirms none.<\/i><\/p>\n Bloomberg characterises this as a sort of “second-party” development arrangement and a compromise between Apple making hardware on its own and simply certifying third-party accessories for HomeKit compatibility, the latter of which has been the standard practice for most non-Apple smart home devices to date.<\/p>\n Apple, in this case, is shaping the design, tailoring the features, and overseeing the engineering, while LG is shouldering the costs and operational burden of actually manufacturing, branding, and supporting the devices. For Apple, that means a quick expansion of its smart home accessory lineup with minimal production risk, since it doesn’t have to make or support every category; Apple has never made or sold doorbells, locks, or cameras on its own. It’s not the first time the two companies have worked together, either: Apple and LG have an existing relationship through LG’s UltraFine displays, which were designed specifically to work with Apple’s Mac computers.<\/p>\n Apple’s HomeKit platform launched in 2014, but has widely been seen as lagging behind Amazon’s Alexa\/Ring ecosystem and Google’s Nest lineup in terms of both variety and market share over the course of the last decade.<\/p>\n The devices now being released are expected to directly compete in the categories where Apple has had the least presence, like doorbells, locks, and outdoor\/indoor security cameras, while also working alongside Apple’s own upcoming smart home hub, a revamped HomePod mini, and a new Apple TV set-top box, all of which are expected to be unveiled at Apple’s October 13 event.<\/p>\n That makes this more a coordinated platform relaunch than a single product launch, where Apple’s own core smart home hardware arrives first, and the wider LG-built accessory ecosystem follows shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n Smart home security hardware has been a two-horse race for most of the last decade: Amazon’s Ring dominates the doorbell and outdoor camera space, while Google’s Nest covers thermostats, indoor cameras, and doorbell and lock partnerships. Apple’s HomeKit, meanwhile, has primarily relied on third-party manufacturers building HomeKit-compatible accessories independently, with Apple only certifying compatibility after the fact rather than shaping the hardware itself. That has resulted in a less consistent, more expensive, and more limited selection of HomeKit devices compared to the more vertically integrated Ring and Nest ecosystems, where a single company designs, builds, and supports the full product lineup.<\/p>\n This report should be taken as a snapshot of what Apple and LG have planned as of this writing, rather than a set of final products ready for launch. Products mentioned in supply chain and sourcing reports, which essentially build on regulatory filings and people familiar with internal plans, have changed in the past both ahead of launch and during development, whether due to delays, feature cancellations, or entire categories being cut. The development of the accessories has lagged behind Apple’s own devices, which is an indicator that the timeline and feature set for this specific product suite aren’t set in stone. LG’s request to keep photos and detailed specifications confidential until early next year suggests that the companies themselves don’t consider the current designs final.<\/p>\n The LG partnership doesn’t cover everything Apple has planned for the category. Apple is also working on its own devices, independent of LG, including a privacy-centric home-monitoring device, a version of its smart home hub that attaches a display to a robotic arm, and an in-home security monitoring service. These have not been detailed further, and like the LG lineup, have not been confirmed by Apple directly.<\/p>\n\n
The Full Product Lineup<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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\n Product<\/td>\n Category<\/td>\n Notable detail<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n LG Video Doorbell Wired<\/td>\n Doorbell<\/td>\n LG’s first doorbell in recent history<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n LG Smart Deadbolt Lock<\/td>\n Smart lock<\/td>\n Includes UWB (ultra-wideband) for proximity-based automatic unlocking; LG’s first smart lock sold outside South Korea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n LG Smart Thermostat<\/td>\n Thermostat<\/td>\n LG’s first thermostat in recent history<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n LG Temperature Sensor<\/td>\n Sensor<\/td>\n Companion accessory to the thermostat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n LG Indoor Cam Plug-In<\/td>\n Security camera<\/td>\n LG’s first indoor camera in nearly a decade<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n LG Outdoor Cam Plug-In<\/td>\n Security camera<\/td>\n LG’s first outdoor camera in history<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n LG Floodlight Cam<\/td>\n Security camera<\/td>\n LG’s first floodlight camera in history<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n How the Apple-LG Partnership Reportedly Works<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
What This Means for HomeKit’s Long-Awaited Comeback<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
Where This Leaves Apple Against Amazon and Google<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
What Could Still Change Before These Products Actually Launch<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
Apple’s Own In-House Devices, Separate From LG<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
Why LG, and What LG Gets Out of the Deal<\/b><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n