Apple’s New Home Collection Features Video Doorbell, Smart Lock, and More

Apple has teamed up with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric to unveil the Apple Home Collection, a lineup of smart home devices designed for straightforward setup and user-friendly operation. This collection serves as a smart home starter kit, featuring security cameras, a video doorbell, a door lock, and two thermostats.

This launch is part of Apple’s significant initiative to expand into the smart home market, spearheaded by the new Siri AI-powered HomeView smart display. These devices mark Apple’s first foray into creating its own smart home products for the Apple Home platform, moving away from its previous reliance on third-party manufacturers. While those partners produced the devices, Apple co-developed each one to ensure seamless integration with Apple Home. The collection was introduced at a recent event in New York City, where Apple also showcased the latest Apple TV 4K and the HomePod Mini 2.

The collection boasts a cohesive design aesthetic, with Apple emphasizing a simple and clean look for each product. Available in black or silver with some white accents, the cameras feature a tubular design. Observing them in Apple’s smart home setup in New York’s Tribeca, they appear understated—functional rather than flashy, intended to blend into their surroundings. They evoke a similar vibe to offerings from French smart home brand Netatmo, though perhaps lacking in style.

Apple’s primary goal with this collection is to ensure that the devices are easy to set up, reliable for daily use, and prioritize user data privacy. All products are compatible with the Apple Home app, eliminating the need for third-party apps or accounts. Pairing is as simple as tapping them with your iPhone, which recognizes them via Bluetooth and NFC. Apple assures that all accessories are managed through Apple devices, such as an iPhone or an Apple Home Hub, with end-to-end encryption to safeguard your data.

While the promise of easier setup is appealing, the real test will be how well these devices handle installation and connectivity issues that often plague smart home gadgets like cameras and door locks. Only time will tell if Apple has effectively tackled these challenges. This collection fills a notable gap in Apple’s offerings, providing a range of products that are fully integrated with its platform. Competing brands like Amazon with Ring and Google with Nest have long had their own smart home solutions, and now Apple joins the ranks.

The collection includes six devices, with the UWB-powered door lock standing out as particularly intriguing—it’s only the third lock available that supports Apple’s hands-free unlocking feature using UWB.

The LG smart lock is priced at $349 and supports Apple Home Key, allowing for hands-free unlocking via UWB. This means you don’t need to tap your phone or watch; if it’s in your pocket or bag, the door unlocks automatically. It also features a keypad for PIN entry and a hidden physical keyhole beneath the rotating keypad.

This smart lock is a complete replacement for a US-style deadbolt, utilizing Matter-over-Thread for connectivity and adhering to the Aliro smart lock standard. It has a circular exterior design and a more traditional rear housing for the batteries (standard AA) and motor, along with a physical thumbturn for manual operation. Available in black and silver for the housing, it will launch in the US and Canada starting in December.

The video doorbell is set to retail for $249 and features two cameras: one facing visitors and another angled down for package monitoring, both supporting up to 2.5K resolution. It comes in silver or black with a long, tubular design that protrudes slightly from the wall. A motion-activated light helps illuminate the area for package visibility and lights up when someone approaches at night.

This doorbell requires wiring into your home’s existing doorbell system and can ring your HomePods as a chime. It will be available in the US, Canada, and the UK, though a release date has yet to be announced. It supports Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video, enabling smart notifications for familiar faces, pets, packages, and vehicles.

If you have an iCloud subscription, recorded video will be automatically saved there. Footage is processed locally on an Apple Home Hub and sent to the cloud with end-to-end encryption. If you enable Apple Intelligence on the camera using a compatible phone (iPhone 15 Pro or newer), you can receive AI-generated text descriptions that provide more detailed insights than standard notifications. These clips utilize Apple’s Private Cloud Compute and require a higher iCloud storage tier.

The indoor security camera features a similar tubular design; the model I observed was white and resembled a desk lamp. Priced at $199, it is compatible with HomeKit Secure Video and records in up to 2.5K resolution. Its standout feature is the ability to move up and down automatically, allowing it to tilt down when you arrive home. Coupled with HomeKit Secure Video’s capability to disable video and audio recording upon your arrival, this offers peace of mind that you aren’t being recorded.

The outdoor camera shares a similar design to the indoor model, is wired, and comes in two versions: one without lights for $299 and one with motion-activated floodlights for $399. Both support up to 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 provided.

All LG cameras integrate with Apple’s new HomeView smart display, which can show live feeds when someone rings the doorbell or when you check in on a camera, as well as playback recorded footage. The HomeView can display up to nine live camera feeds simultaneously.

Apple also announced two smart thermostats: a round model from LG and a square model from Schneider Electric. Both are priced at $199, designed for North American HVAC systems, and can function with or without a C-wire. They will be available in the US and Canada starting in December.

The thermostats feature similar designs, with an opaque screen overlaid by touchscreen controls. The Schneider model displays a glowing orb visual when adjusting the temperature, but both are designed to blend in rather than stand out, unlike Google’s more statement-like Nest thermostat.

Supporting Matter, the thermostats can work with other smart home ecosystems and each comes with remote sensors for monitoring temperature and humidity. They are expected to support Apple Home’s adaptive temperature features, which are currently being confirmed with Apple.