Apple’s home invasion will start with a heaped smorgasbord of gadgets. Want indoor or outdoor cameras? How about a video doorbell and smart lock? Then there’s an Apple-connected smart thermostat and temperature sensors. It’s a lot, yes, but you should know many of these gadgets may not have Apple’s unique touch. They’re instead crafted with the help of LG and Schneider Electornics, and they’ll be the Cupertino tech giant’s foot in the door for smart homes, literally.
Unlike the new HomeView smart home hub, these other devices weren’t developed by Apple in-house. The selection of LG-developed smart home gear, all held under the “Apple Home Collection” monicker, will be available starting in December. However, some “select accessories” won’t be around until early next year. While there were plenty of Apple Home-compatible devices available previously, the new selection is meant to support a privacy-focused connection with Apple’s smart home. Here’s the full list of products you can expect to see online or in Apple’s brick and mortar stores before the year is out:
- LG Video Doorbell Wired: $250
- LG Floodlight Cam: $400
- LG Outdoor Cam Plug-In: $300
- LG Indoor Cam Plug-In: $200
- LG Smart Deadbolt Lock: $350
- LG Smart Thermostat: $200
- LG Temperature Sensor: $40
- Schneider Home Smart Thermostat: $200
- Schneider Home Room Sensor: $40
There’s an additional selection of power adapters for both the LG and Schneider smart home products. The big difference between these and every other camera is that they work directly with Apple subscriptions, including storing your data in an iCloud+ plan. Users can expect to receive Apple Intelligence-generated video descriptions and summaries. Users can also export their footage or control any of their other devices using the Home app.
This LG partnership isn’t unheard of for the notoriously insular company. Apple does work with outside companies on occasion, especially if it doesn’t have a home-made effort to break into any specific category. For instance, Apple previously worked with Corsair on a Mac-native gaming keyboard and mouse. However, Apple may be gearing up for its own slate of smart home gadgets, including rumored cameras that don’t so much “see” as they use AI to interpret scenes from low-framerate footage.
There’s naturally going to be a difference between these third-party devices and anything Apple makes. While these devices may keep the footage end-to-end encrypted, the footage is processed using Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers. Apple has plans to use its own “Secure Exclave,” where it can ensure that all data is processed locally without any data going to a cloud. Still, video or audio descriptions are only stored on the cloud when a user agrees to it.
The iPhone maker has already identified its plans for more-capable Apple Home features with AI descriptions from security cameras. We’ll have to see how Apple’s own brand of security products shakes out, likely next year.
