TL; DR
- Apple and LG are reportedly co-developing a doorbell, lock, thermostat, and multiple cameras.
- The devices will carry LG branding, with LG handling manufacturing and product support.
- An October 13 reveal is expected alongside Apple’s own smart home hub and HomePod mini.
Apple has had a rather troubled history with some product or service categories. One of the biggest (and most recent) examples is Siri AI. For years, the Cupertino giant experimented with different in-house language models before finally settling on a competitor. It’s Google’s Gemini model that powers Siri AI at its core, along with Apple’s foundation models.
The company’s smart home ambitions, as I see them, fall into a similar category, especially after the recent Bloomberg newsletter. Per Mark Gurman, Apple and LG Electronics have entered into a partnership to co-develop a brand-new lineup of smart home devices. But what’s so unusual? Great question.
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What’s In It For Apple And LG?
While Apple is heavily directing the design, engineering, and features on the back end, the devices will be manufactured, sold, and supported (for service) under the LG brand. For Apple, the second-party supplier strategy lets it scale its smart home footprint without the burden of production and service costs.
For LG, this brings instant expansion into premium smart home categories. Further, the brand cache makes it a default recommendation for smart home devices to pair with iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. Finally, it will also let the company sell its products at a higher margin (or charge the Apple premium).
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What’s Coming And When
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple and LG have co-developed several devices: a smart doorbell, deadbolt lock, and thermostat, along with indoor and outdoor cameras and a floodlight camera.
All of them are reportedly set for October 13, 2026. It’s not like Apple has given up on its own smart home hub; that is also rumored to debut at the event alongside the refreshed HomePod mini and a new TV set-top box.
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| Product | Brand on Device | Expected Reveal | Consumer Availability |
| Smart doorbell | LG | October 13 | Few months later |
| Smart deadbolt lock | LG | October 13 | Few months later |
| Thermostat | LG | October 13 | Few months later |
| Indoor/outdoor cameras | LG | October 13 | Few months later |
| Floodlight camera | LG | October 13 | Few months later |
| Smart home hub | Apple | October 13 | Same day (expected) |
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What Else Do We Know About The Devices?
FCC filings already show UWB support on the smart lock. In other words, your iPhone could auto-unlock your front door just by walking up to it. The lock should also support broad Thread and Matter compatibility, which would tie everything into Apple’s new hub and Siri AI.
I think outsourcing manufacturing while keeping engineering input is the smartest move Apple could make here. HomeKit failed for years partly because Apple never built a wide enough accessory catalog. Leaning on an established hardware giant like LG finally gives it the volume and variety needed to actually challenge Ring and Nest head-on.
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