Apple partnered with LG Electronics to create an array of smart home devices, including a doorbell, a thermostat, a smart lock and indoor and outdoor security cameras, according to a new report.
The devices will work with Apple’s long-rumored smart home hub, which supposedly will launch next week. Although the LG-produced gear won’t arrive for several months, it should bolster Apple’s attempt to catch up in the smart home game.
Apple partners with LG Electronics for new smart home products
The idea of the smart home is to give users easy ways to automate things like turning on lights, locking doors and controlling furnaces. Apple’s HomeKit, introduced in iOS 8 in 2014, provided a platform, but it never really caught fire with third-party accessory makers or consumers.
At first, Apple required that HomeKit-compatible products include a proprietary MFI chip. The company replaced that demand with a software workaround in 2018 after third-party manufacturers found the original HomeKit requirement too onerous.
In the meantime, smart home devices based on Amazon’s and Google’s competing platforms gained devotees while Apple Home devices remained less common. Now Apple — searching for ways to expand its consumer tech empire — seems hell-bent on crashing the smart home party again.
That push to kick-start the Apple smart home reportedly begins on October 13, with the company set to unveil the smart home hub powered by Siri AI, as well as new versions of the HomePod mini and Apple TV. (Both those products currently serve as home hubs in Apple’s ecosystem).
For anyone already committed to the Apple Home platform, a string of new smart devices developed with Cupertino’s input sounds like welcome news.
LG gives Apple an easy way to do smart home products right
The new products produced in partnership with LG would give Apple an easy way to keep the smart home momentum going without getting bogged down.
“Though the two companies worked together to develop the accessories, the products will carry the LG brand,” wrote Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources. “The South Korean firm is handling manufacturing and product support.”
Gurman pointed out that Apple has used a similar strategy with Belkin and Logitech, jointly creating products that bear the partner’s brand rather than Apple’s. This gives Apple a chance to guide the products’ development and make sure they work as intended, without the hassles.
“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,” he wrote. “Apple can also help shape the products’ design, tailor their features and oversee engineering while keeping the work largely under wraps.”
Filings with the Federal Communications Commission and UL Solutions reveal some details about LG’s upcoming products, including names, specs and even drawings.
Gurman said the list includes “products labeled as the LG Video Doorbell Wired, LG Floodlight Cam, LG Outdoor Cam Plug-In, LG Indoor Cam Plug-In, LG Smart Deadbolt Lock, LG Smart Thermostat and LG Temperature Sensor. LG requested that photos and more precise details on the products remain confidential until early next year. The filings don’t mention Apple’s involvement.”
Most of the unreleased products will work with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in addition to the increasingly popular protocols Thread and Matter, which offer cross-platform functionality that makes setting up and maintaining a smart home less of a hassle.
Thread and Matter mean new LG devices will play nice with Apple — and others
Apple supports Thread and Matter with some of its recent products. “Thread-enabled Matter accessories require a Thread-enabled home hub, such as HomePod mini or Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Ethernet, or a supported third-party border router,” according to an Apple support document.
Presumably the new Apple devices expected next week will work with Thread and Matter as well.
A smart lock with UWB
Image: LG Electronics/FCC
LG’s smart deadbolt lock also supports ultra-wideband, or UWB, which could allow it to unlock automatically when users come home with their compatible devices in their pockets or on their wrists. Apple puts a UWB chip in many recent devices, including iPhones, Apple Watches, HomePods and AirTags. (See a full list of Apple’s UWB-compatible devices.)
Many of the devices include support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networks, as well as Thread and Matter, two smart home protocols embraced by Apple and its rivals in recent years. The door lock also supports UWB, or ultra-wideband capability, a feature that allows for auto-unlocking when users approach their door.
Currently, loads of third-party manufacturers make devices that work with Apple’s Home platform, but that’s mostly due to the addition of Matter-compatible devices. It’s still easier to find smart devices that work with Google Home or Amazon’s Alexa.
Apple advises shoppers to “look for works with Apple Home, HomeKit or Matter” on packaging.
You can see the entire list, which includes devices for managing climate, lighting, security, entertainment and water, on Apple’s Home app accessories page.
