Apple Reportedly Teams Up With LG on Smart Home Gear: Locks, Doorbells, Cameras — Under LG's Brand
Apple is working with LG Electronics on a lineup of smart home accessories designed to pair with its upcoming smart home hub, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported on October 6. People familiar with the plans say the co-developed products include a wired video doorbell, a smart thermostat, a smart deadbolt lock, a temperature sensor, an indoor security camera, an outdoor security camera, and a floodlight camera.
In recent weeks LG has sought regulatory approval for the devices from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and UL Solutions, a product certification company. The filings reveal product names, specifications, features, and drawings — Apple is not mentioned in them, and LG asked the FCC to keep details confidential. Bloomberg reports that Apple helped direct the products' design and oversaw engineering.
The division of labor is the interesting part: the accessories were developed together, but they will carry LG's brand, with the South Korean firm handling manufacturing and product support. This "second-party supplier" arrangement lets Apple expand its ecosystem quickly without shouldering the full cost and complexity of producing and supporting a wide range of accessories — while still shaping design, tailoring features, and overseeing engineering largely under wraps.
Apple and LG have a long history: Apple has used LG Display components in its devices, and back when it did not sell Apple-branded displays, the two teamed up on UltraFine monitors made for Macs. LG is not known for smart home accessories, though — it bought a majority stake in smart home platform Homey in 2024, a move widely read as aiming at Samsung SmartThings, Amazon Ring, and Google Nest.
Apple's own smart home hub, a new Apple TV 4K, and a new HomePod mini are expected on October 13 — the hub reportedly a 6-inch square display for countertop or wall mounting. The LG accessories will trail by several months before reaching consumers.
On connectivity, several devices support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread, and Matter, with the lock also offering ultra-wideband for close-proximity auto-unlocking. Apple already supports Matter across its devices, so the accessories should work across multiple smart home platforms out of the box. Sources describe the partnership as a "formal reboot of HomeKit" — the platform introduced with iOS 8 in 2014 that never really caught fire with third-party makers or consumers. This time, Apple appears determined to do its homework.