Face ID for Your Doorstep? Apple May Be On It

Face Id Iphone X Facial Recognition Credit: Sp3n / Shutterstock
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It looks like 2025 could be the year that Apple gets serious about the smart home. Reliable reports suggest we’ll finally see the long-rumored smart home hub and the possibility of a new display-equipped HomePod, and more rumors have recently surfaced that Apple is looking to create other home accessories like smart cameras.

If the latest reports are accurate, Apple may be ready to make a bold expansion into home automation hardware — a move that could finally give HomeKit its due.

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HomeKit has always been a very robust software platform. Apple had advanced automation rules and a solid foundation nearly a decade ago. In the days when Amazon and Google were still focusing on simple tasks like turning lights on by voice, Apple had developed advanced routines that could power all sorts of sophisticated tasks. Sadly, Apple’s HomeKit strategy from the beginning was to provide a foundation that others would build on top of, but few others came to the party.

For the first two years, the only real way into HomeKit was through third-party apps. A dozen or so apps were put out by third-party accessory makers and other enterprising developers — some of which were quite advanced — but it wasn’t until iOS 10 that Apple finally decided it needed a standard user interface and introduced its Home app.

Now, it looks like the company has decided to do the same on the hardware side. Rather than relying on third-party accessory makers to fill the void in underserved areas, Apple is forging ahead with its own accessories, from an AI-powered smart home hub to home security cameras.

We first heard about Apple’s plans for a smart home camera last month from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. However, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has a new take that suggests Apple may have bigger plans than simply recording video.

outdoor home security camera on wall

In this week’s Power On newsletter, Gurman suggests that the company’s smart camera ambitions range from in-home security cameras that capitalize on Apple’s strong reputation for security and privacy to “a smart doorbell with advanced facial recognition that wirelessly connects to a deadbolt lock.”

It’s the first time we’ve heard about this, but it seems like a logical next step for Apple’s home security initiatives. iOS 15 introduced Home Key, which allows the iPhone and Apple Watch to be used as NFC keys with compatible door locks, and iOS 18 has expanded that to support ultra-wideband (UWB) for proximity-based unlocking (so you can leave your iPhone in your pocket and have your door unlocked when you approach it).

The next stage, Gurman suggests, would be to use Face ID to unlock your front door.

After all, Face ID has already proven itself secure and reliable enough to protect the personal data on hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads. There’s no reason it couldn’t be expanded into home security.

It’s not clear what form this will take, and it’s possible Apple hasn’t even fully fleshed out its plans yet. The HomeKit ecosystem means that a Face ID doorbell wouldn’t necessarily need a bundled lock — it could communicate with any HomeKit-compatible lock just as easily as your iPhone can. Conversely, Gurman suggests that Apple might partner with a specific lock maker like Schlage to offer a complete solution, leveraging the reputation of an established lock maker rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

Plenty of smart video doorbells are already available, including some that work well with HomeKit, like Logitech’s Circle View. However, Apple’s inclusion of Face ID would set its first-party doorbell apart from the competition.

Logitech Circle View Doorbell

In typical Apple style, the company would be entering a space that’s well established but still ripe for reinvention. A Face ID-enabled doorbell and lock system would probably give Amazon Ring and Google Nest some genuine competition.

Mark Gurman

Still, Gurman says we shouldn’t get our hopes up, as the development is in the “early stages.” The end of next year is the soonest we could expect to see this, and it’s more likely to be pushed into 2026 or beyond. It’s also possible the project could get cancelled, as Apple may be reluctant to “attach its name to some dicey situations.” For example, the Apple Car project made some executives nervous about the company being connected to car accidents, and there will likely be some fears about home security breaches or home invasions being tied to Apple’s hardware.

Still, Gurman believes that the pros likely outweigh the cons, and Apple has already weathered quite a bit of negative press related to how its AirTags have been misused and abused for stalking — including a lawsuit blaming it for contributing to “multiple murders.”

Instead of shipping its own Apple Doorbell, the company could offer the technology through a trusted third-party brand like Logitech or Belkin, similar to what it’s done with DockKit.

Either way, Gurman’s sources indicate that Apple is finally ready to get serious about the smart home. When he reported on Apple’s wall-mounted home hub in November, Gurman said that the product has become a priority for Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, who believes it can “make Apple a force in the smart home segment.”



[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]

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