LG Is Secretly Co-Developing Apple’s Next Wave of Smart Home Gear
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Apple is expected to kick off a push into the smart home device market next week at a rumored October 13 event to host the unveiling of its long-awaited smart home hub alongside an upgraded Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini.
This will likely initiate new lineups of smart home devices and accessories from several other manufacturers, but it seems that one of those companies may have a bit of a head start.
A new report from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reveals that LG Electronics has already been working with Apple to develop several smart home devices that will work with the new home hub, giving it the inside track on having a set of fully compatible accessories ready as quickly as possible.
The Korean electronics firm has submitted several documents to the Federal Communications Commission and UL Solutions revealing it’s working with Apple on multiple smart home accessories, including an indoor security camera, an outdoor security camera, a floodlight camera, a temperature sensor, a wired video doorbell, a thermostat, and a smart deadbolt lock.
Several of the accessories offer support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread, and Matter, while the lock also offers UWB support for close-proximity auto-unlocking.
Many of these categories aren’t new. Thermostats, temperature sensors, and smart locks have been supported by HomeKit for nearly a decade, and are already sold by a wide variety of brands such as Aqara, Ecobee, Eufy, Eve, Logitech, Schlage, and many more.
This is LG’s first entry into the space, but it’s not clear how its accessories will differ from the assortment of existing HomeKit- and Matter-compatible products already on the market. The implication is that they’ll be designed for compatibility with Apple’s new smart home hub, but it’s hard to imagine Apple leaving hundreds of existing accessories out of the loop.
Apple is not mentioned in LG’s filings, and the company has asked the FCC to keep details confidential. Bloomberg says the devices in question will be built and branded by LG, even though Apple helped develop them.
This arrangement with so-called second-party suppliers gives Apple a way to quickly expand its ecosystem without shouldering the full cost and complexity of producing and supporting a wide range of accessories. Apple can also help shape the products’ design, tailor their features and oversee engineering while keeping the work largely under wraps.
While Apple is expected to introduce the rumored home hub, a new Apple TV 4K, and a new HomePod mini on October 13, the LG accessories won’t be ready to launch for a few months. However, some leaked images and other details have already begun making the rounds online.
As pointed out by Mactrast, this isn’t the first time Apple has worked with LG. Not only does the company use LG Display components in many of its devices, but before Apple began offering its own self-branded displays for the Mac, it worked with LG to offer 4K and 5K UltraFine monitors for use with the Mac.
While LG doesn’t have a track record when it comes to smart home devices and accessories, it grabbed a majority stake in the Homey smart home platform in 2024. Observers believe LG may be looking to compete with Amazon Ring, Google Nest, Samsung SmartThings, and other smart home brands.
Even though Apple is working with LG to make smart home hub accessories, it continues to work on smart home accessories on a separate basis. In a follow-up post on X, Gurman said the security cameras being co-developed with LG are a “completely separate” product from Apple’s privacy-centric home camera and sensor, which he says will hit store shelves sometime next year.
As previously reported by iDrop News, Apple is working on a “privacy-centric home security camera” that will not record video. Instead, it will use AI to analyze the environment to detect which room a person is in.
Apple’s HomeKit platform already supports third-party video cameras with secure cloud storage, and iOS 27 has added AI analysis into the mix — albeit with a hefty price tag. Apple’s own security cameras aren’t intended to displace the current HomeKit Secure Video (HKSV) camera ecosystem, but rather supplement it with additional features.
[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.]
