New Apple Home Lineup Includes Video Doorbell, Smart Lock and More

Apple has partnered with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric to launch the Apple Home lineup, a collection of smart home devices designed for easy setup and use. The lineup resembles a smart home starter kit, including security cameras, a video doorbell, a door lock and two thermostats. Apple announced […]

Apple has partnered with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric to launch the Apple Home Collection, a collection of smart home devices that are easy to set up and use. This set is like a smart home starter kit that includes security cameras, a video doorbell, a door lock, and two thermostats.

Apple is introducing these products as part of a big push into the smart home space, led by the new HomeView smart display with Siri AI. These devices are the first smart home devices that the company has made for Apple Home. Previously, the platform relied on third parties to build its products. While third-party companies make these products, Apple co-developed each product and says they're designed to work seamlessly with Apple Home. Apple announced the series at its Welcome Home event in New York City today, where it also showed off the new Apple TV 4K and the HomePod Mini 2.

[Image: LG door lock and alarm camera.

This collection has a similar design beauty. Apple says that it and its partners have designed each product with a simple and clean look. These devices come in black or silver with some colors and white options. The cameras have a tubular design. I installed them in Apple's Smart Home in New York's Tribeca neighborhood this week, and they're largely unremarkable—not ugly but not ostentatious, designed to blend in. As much as possible, they remind me of French smart home maker Netatmo's products, but not as fancy.

Apple said its main focus with the collection was to make the accessory easy to set up, reliable for everyday use, and able to keep your data private. All products work with the Apple Home app (no third-party apps or accounts required), and Apple says pairing is as easy as a HomePod or AirPods. Just tap them with your iPhone and it will recognize them using Bluetooth and NFC. Apple says all peripherals in the suite are managed by Apple products, such as an iPhone or a device that can act as an Apple Home Hub, and communications are end-to-end encrypted, so only you can tell who has access to your data.

Finally, while the easier setup is a nice touch, the installation and ongoing connectivity issues with smart home devices like cameras and door locks are a headache. Hopefully Apple has addressed them here as well, but we won't know until we test them. This collection fills the gap provided by Apple and gives it an array of platform-blessed products. Amazon with Ring and Google with Nest both have products that can guide users when they are looking to set up a smart home. Now Apple has the same.

There are six devices in total, with the UWB-powered door lock being the most interesting — it's only the third lock on the market that supports Apple's hands-free unlocking using UWB.

[Image: The LG Smart Lock is available in silver and black.

LG's smart lock costs $349 and supports Apple Home Key, including hands-free unlocking via UWB, so you don't need to tap your phone or watch (although you can). If it is in your pocket or bag, the door will unlock automatically. It also has a keypad for entering the PIN code and a physical hole hidden under the rotating keypad.

This is a perfect replacement door lock for an American style lock that uses Matter-over-Thread for connection and supports the Aliro smart lock standard. It has a circular exterior design and a more traditional rear compartment for batteries (standard AA) and motor, as well as a physical swivel for manual operation. The phone comes in black and silver for the body, but only black for the front, and will be available in the US and Canada from December.

The video doorbell costs $249 and has two cameras: one facing forward to view visitors and one facing downwards for packages, both supporting up to 2.5K resolution. The camera comes in silver or black and has a long, tubular design that protrudes slightly from the wall. It also has a motion-activated light that illuminates the floor to help it see packages and illuminate the area at night when approaching the door.

The doorbell must be connected to your home's alarm wiring and can ring your HomePods as an alarm. It will be available in the US, Canada and the UK, but Apple has not announced a release date. The app supports Apple's HomeKit Secure Video, so it can send smart notifications to familiar faces, pets, packages, and vehicles.

If you have an iCloud subscription, the recorded video will be automatically saved there. Video is processed locally on the Apple Home Hub and sent end-to-end encrypted to the cloud. If you enable Apple Intelligence on the camera from a supported phone (iPhone 15 Pro or later), you can get AI-powered text descriptions that give you more detail about what the camera saw than standard notifications. These clips use Apple's Private Cloud Compute and require a higher level of iCloud storage.

[Image: LG internal security camera.

The internal camera has a similar tubular appearance. The model I saw was white and looked a bit like a table lamp. It costs $199, is compatible with HomeKit Secure Video, and records up to 2.5K resolution. Its signature feature is that it can move up and down automatically, so you can set it to curl down when you get home. Combined with HomeKit Secure Videos, the ability to turn off video and audio recording when someone arrives home can ensure you're not being recorded.

[Image: LG floodlight security camera.

The outdoor camera has a similar design to the indoor camera, is wired, and comes in two models: one without a light for $299 and one with a motion-activated spotlight for $399. There is a black and a silver version. Both support 2.5K resolution and are compatible with HomeKit Secure Video. All three cameras will be available in the US, Canada, and the UK, but no release date has been announced.

[Image: LG camera without light.

All LG cameras work with Apple's HomeView smart display, which can show a live feed as well as play recorded video when you press the doorbell or drop the camera. HomeView can display up to 9 live camera feeds simultaneously.

Apple introduced two smart thermostats: a round LG model and a square Schneider Electric model. Both cost $199, are designed for North American HVAC systems, and work with or without a C-wire. They'll be available in the US and Canada starting in December.

[Image: Schneider Electric thermostat.

The two thermostats have a similar design and are covered by a matte screen with touchscreen controls. I saw a glowing orb when Schneider's model set the temperature, but they seem designed to blend in, unlike Google's latest Nest thermostat, which is more of a statement piece.

The thermostats are Matter-enabled, so they can work with other smart home ecosystems, and each comes with remote sensors to monitor temperature and humidity. Thermostats must support Apple Home's compatible temperature features. We are confirming with Apple.