Apple Reportedly Partners With LG for Smart Lock, Thermostat & Doorbell

Apple is reportedly partnering with LG Electronics to develop a new range of smart home accessories, including a video doorbell, smart deadbolt lock and thermostat. The products are being developed to work with Apple’s upcoming smart home ecosystem, but they are expected to carry LG branding rather than Apple’s logo.

The reported partnership represents a significant change in Apple’s approach to the smart home. Instead of building every accessory itself, Apple would help shape the design, features and engineering while LG handles manufacturing and product support. The move comes as Apple prepares for a broader smart home push centered on a new home hub and an upgraded Siri AI experience.

Key takeaways

• Apple and LG are reportedly co-developing a new smart home accessory lineup.
• The reported products include a video doorbell, smart deadbolt lock and smart thermostat.
• The lineup also includes indoor, outdoor and floodlight security cameras and a temperature sensor.
• The devices are expected to carry LG branding, with LG responsible for manufacturing and support.
• Regulatory filings have revealed the names of several products, although those filings do not mention Apple’s involvement.
• The smart lock reportedly supports ultra-wideband (UWB) for proximity-based unlocking.
• Several devices reportedly support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread and Matter.
• The accessories are expected to work with Apple’s upcoming smart home hub.
• The LG-made devices are not expected to reach consumers for several months.
• Apple and LG have not publicly confirmed the reported partnership.

Apple is taking a different route into smart home hardware

Apple has long had a presence in smart homes through its Home app, HomeKit and devices such as HomePod mini and Apple TV. However, the company has never built a complete first-party range of smart locks, thermostats, doorbells and security cameras comparable with Amazon’s Ring or Google’s Nest ecosystems.

That could now change, although Apple reportedly isn’t planning to manufacture all of the hardware itself.

According to a Bloomberg report cited by Business Standard and multiple technology publications, Apple and LG have worked together on a series of connected-home products. The products would integrate with Apple’s smart home ecosystem but would be sold under the LG brand. LG would also handle manufacturing and customer support.

The arrangement gives Apple a way to expand into categories where it has historically depended on independent accessory makers.

Rather than waiting for third-party companies to develop compatible products, Apple can reportedly influence how the hardware works with its software and devices from the beginning.

The reported LG smart home lineup

The partnership reportedly covers seven products.

Product	Category	Reported capability
LG Video Doorbell Wired	Doorbell	Wired video doorbell
LG Smart Deadbolt Lock	Smart lock	UWB-based proximity capability
LG Smart Thermostat	Climate	Connected thermostat
LG Temperature Sensor	Sensor	Temperature monitoring
LG Indoor Cam Plug-In	Security	Indoor camera
LG Outdoor Cam Plug-In	Security	Outdoor camera
LG Floodlight Cam	Security	Outdoor camera with floodlight

The product names have surfaced through regulatory filings submitted by LG to the US Federal Communications Commission and UL Solutions. Those filings provide an independent paper trail for the existence of the product categories, but they do not identify Apple as a partner. Apple’s involvement comes from the Bloomberg report and people familiar with the development.

That distinction is important because the partnership itself remains unconfirmed by both companies.

The smart lock could be particularly important

Among the reported products, the smart deadbolt could have a particularly close connection to Apple’s ecosystem.

The LG Smart Deadbolt Lock reportedly includes ultra-wideband technology. UWB can be used to determine proximity with greater precision than conventional Bluetooth-based detection.

That could enable proximity-based unlocking, where a compatible device can be recognized as the user approaches the door.

However, there is an important distinction between UWB support and confirmed Apple Home Key support.

Reports have identified UWB capability in the lock, but Apple and LG have not publicly confirmed exactly how the feature will work with Apple’s Home Key system. Users should therefore not assume that every Apple-specific unlocking feature will necessarily be available at launch.

If deeper Home integration is eventually confirmed, the lock could become one of the most strategically important products in the lineup because door access is one of the areas where Apple’s ecosystem can connect hardware, iPhone, Apple Watch and identity-based services.

Matter and Thread could make the products more flexible

The reported devices are also significant because several are said to support modern smart home standards.

These include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread and Matter.

Matter is an industry-backed smart home standard designed to improve interoperability between devices and ecosystems. Thread is a low-power networking technology increasingly used by smart home accessories.

Apple already promotes Matter as a way of connecting compatible accessories across smart home platforms. Its Home platform supports accessories controlled through Apple devices, while HomePod and Apple TV can serve as home hubs.

For consumers, support for these standards could reduce some of the lock-in historically associated with smart home ecosystems.

For Apple, however, the bigger advantage may be that these standards provide the technical foundation while Apple controls the user experience through its software.

The products are reportedly LG-branded, not Apple-branded

One of the most unusual aspects of the arrangement is branding.

The reported devices will carry LG branding even though Apple is said to have helped develop them.

That means a customer could potentially purchase an LG smart lock or LG doorbell that is designed specifically to work with Apple’s upcoming smart home ecosystem.

This is different from Apple’s conventional hardware strategy, where the company controls the product design, manufacturing chain, retail experience and customer support under its own brand.

The reported arrangement has been described as a type of “second-party” supplier model. Apple can shape the product without taking on the entire manufacturing and support burden itself.

For Apple, that could make it significantly faster and less expensive to build a broad smart home product portfolio.

Why Apple may prefer this strategy

Building a complete smart home hardware ecosystem from scratch would require Apple to enter several highly specialized categories simultaneously.

A smart lock requires expertise in mechanical security, access control, batteries and wireless communication. A thermostat requires climate-control integration. Security cameras require image sensors, networking, storage and privacy infrastructure. Doorbells require another combination of video, audio, power management and outdoor durability.

Apple could develop these products itself, but doing so would create additional manufacturing, logistics, regulatory and customer-support responsibilities.

Working with LG allows the company to influence the experience without necessarily owning every part of the hardware operation.

This is particularly attractive if Apple’s primary goal is to make the smart home ecosystem more compelling rather than turn Apple itself into a major manufacturer of every category of home accessory.

Apple’s Home strategy is getting a broader reboot

The reported LG partnership comes at an important moment for Apple’s home strategy.

Apple’s Home platform has existed for years, but its smart home hardware offering has remained relatively narrow. Amazon has built a broad ecosystem around Alexa and Ring, while Google has developed products across the Nest brand, including thermostats, cameras and doorbells.

Apple’s current Home app already supports categories including security, climate control, locks and cameras, and Apple says HomePod, HomePod mini and Apple TV can serve as home hubs.

The reported new products would therefore fill some of the most visible gaps in Apple’s hardware lineup.

Instead of asking third-party manufacturers to independently build compatible products, Apple could help establish a coordinated hardware ecosystem.

That could make Apple’s smart home offering feel more like a complete platform.

A new Apple smart home hub is at the center

The LG products are reportedly being developed to complement Apple’s upcoming smart home hub.

Reuters previously reported that Apple is planning a new smart home push around October 13, including a new hub codenamed J490, an updated HomePod mini and a new Apple TV set-top box. That report was based on Bloomberg reporting and did not represent an official Apple announcement.

Separate reports describe the hub as a device designed to provide a central interface for controlling smart home products and interacting with Siri AI.

Apple’s next-generation Siri is already available as part of the company’s 2027 software releases. Apple describes the updated Siri as having personal-context understanding, broader world knowledge, onscreen awareness and systemwide app actions.

That development could be particularly important for the smart home.

A smart home hub becomes more useful when users can communicate with it naturally rather than controlling every device individually.

For example, instead of manually opening separate applications for lights, thermostats, cameras and locks, Apple’s long-term vision could allow Siri to coordinate multiple actions through a single interface.

Apple wants to compete with Ring and Nest

The biggest competitive implication is that Apple would be entering categories where Amazon and Google already have established products.

Amazon’s Ring portfolio includes video doorbells and security cameras, while Google’s Nest portfolio covers products such as thermostats, cameras and doorbells.

Apple’s challenge is therefore not simply developing good hardware. It needs to persuade existing iPhone users that Apple’s ecosystem provides enough additional value to justify replacing or adding smart home devices.

That value could come from integration.

An Apple user may already own an iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, Mac, Apple TV or HomePod. If a smart lock, doorbell, thermostat and camera can communicate naturally with those devices, Apple’s ecosystem could become more attractive as a complete home platform.

Privacy could also be part of the pitch.

Apple’s existing Home platform emphasizes local device control and encrypted communication. The company says Home data is stored in a way that Apple cannot read, while accessories are controlled by Apple devices instead of relying entirely on cloud control.

Whether the reported new cameras will offer the same level of privacy and features remains unknown.

LG also has something to gain

The partnership is not only strategically useful for Apple.

LG has extensive experience manufacturing consumer electronics and home appliances, but it has not been one of the dominant brands in smart locks, video doorbells and consumer security cameras.

The reported lineup would therefore give LG a broader position in smart home accessories.

The company has also been expanding its smart home ambitions. LG acquired a majority stake in smart home platform Homey in 2024, providing another piece of technology infrastructure for connected-home products.

The Apple relationship could give LG a way to combine its hardware manufacturing capabilities with Apple’s software and ecosystem expertise.

It could also create a stronger competitor to Samsung’s SmartThings ecosystem.

The products are not expected immediately

Consumers should not expect to walk into a store and buy the reported LG accessories immediately after Apple’s next smart home announcement.

According to Bloomberg’s reporting, development of the LG accessories has lagged behind Apple’s own products. The devices are not expected to reach consumers for at least several months.

LG has also reportedly requested confidentiality for product photographs and more detailed information in regulatory filings until early 2027.

That means specifications, pricing, regional availability and final features could still change.

The October 13 date is therefore more relevant to Apple’s broader smart home strategy than to the immediate retail availability of the LG accessories.

What remains unconfirmed

There are several important details that remain unknown.

Apple has not publicly confirmed its partnership with LG. LG has not confirmed it either, and both companies declined to comment on the reported arrangement.

The regulatory filings confirm the existence of several LG product categories, but they do not establish Apple’s involvement.

It is also unclear exactly which Apple features will be supported at launch.

For the smart lock, UWB support has been reported, but Apple Home Key compatibility has not been confirmed. Similarly, details about Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video integration for the cameras remain unavailable.

Pricing is another major unanswered question.

Apple’s ecosystem is often associated with premium hardware, while LG operates across a much wider range of price points. The eventual pricing of these products will help determine whether they are positioned as mainstream smart home devices or premium Apple-oriented accessories.

The Bigger Picture

The reported Apple-LG partnership could mark a fundamental change in how Apple approaches the smart home.

For more than a decade, Apple has provided the software foundation while relying heavily on third-party manufacturers to fill out the hardware ecosystem. The reported LG arrangement would put Apple much closer to the product-development process without requiring Apple to manufacture every device itself.

That could give Apple a middle ground between making everything internally and simply certifying third-party products.

The broader strategy also comes at a time when Siri is becoming more capable and Apple’s home software is increasingly positioned around AI. A smart home hub combined with Siri AI, an expanded range of compatible accessories and Apple’s existing device ecosystem could give the company a much stronger foundation for competing with Amazon and Google.

For LG, meanwhile, the partnership could turn its hardware capabilities into a more visible role in the premium connected-home market.

Looking Ahead

The next major milestone will be Apple’s reported October 13 smart home announcement. The company is expected to introduce its own home hardware around that date, but the LG-developed accessories are reportedly still months away from reaching consumers.

The real test will come after launch, when pricing, compatibility, privacy features and Siri integration become clearer. If Apple can make LG-built locks, cameras, thermostats and doorbells feel like one coherent Apple experience, the partnership could give Home a much stronger position against Ring, Nest and other established smart home platforms.

FAQs

Is Apple making a smart lock and doorbell?

Apple is reportedly co-developing these products with LG Electronics, but the devices are expected to be manufactured, branded and supported by LG rather than sold as Apple-branded hardware.

What smart home products are Apple and LG reportedly developing?

The reported lineup includes a wired video doorbell, smart deadbolt lock, thermostat, temperature sensor, indoor camera, outdoor camera and floodlight camera.

Will the LG smart lock work with Apple devices?

The lock reportedly includes UWB, which can support proximity-based functions. However, Apple has not confirmed the exact integration, including whether Apple Home Key will be supported.

When will the new Apple-LG smart home devices launch?

The accessories are reportedly several months away from reaching consumers. Apple’s own smart home hardware is expected to be introduced earlier, with October 13 reported as the target date.

Has Apple confirmed the LG partnership?

No. Apple and LG have not publicly confirmed the reported collaboration and declined to comment to Bloomberg.