Apple To Rival Google & Amazon With Its New LG-Branded Smart Home Range; Line-Up Likely To Include Doorbell & Security Cameras

Apple is preparing a wide push into smart home hardware. At its rumoured October 13 launch, Apple is not only launching the smart home hub, but it is reportedly going to unveil a slew of smart home accessories. This includes a doorbell, a deadbolt lock, a thermostat and a trio of security cameras. This move is described asan effort to take on Amazon and Google.

Analyst Mark Gurman reports that these slew of accessories will be launched on October 13. The most unusual part of the plan is who is building the products. Gurman reports that the accessories are being developed through a partnership with LG Electronics, a company better known for TVs and washing machines. Though the two companies worked on the devices together, they will carry the LG brand, with the South Korean firm handling manufacturing and product support.

According to the report, the range will include a smart deadbolt lock, an indoor security camera, an outdoor security camera and a floodlight camera, alongside the doorbell and thermostat. Regulatory filings reportedly list the products as the LG Video Doorbell Wired, LG Floodlight Cam, LG Outdoor Cam Plug-In, LG Indoor Cam Plug-In, LG Smart Deadbolt Lock, LG Smart Thermostat and LG Temperature Sensor. The filings make no mention of Apple. Many of the devices are said to support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as Thread and Matter, the two smart home standards Apple and its rivals have backed in recent years.

The accessories are meant to work with Apple's new smart home hub, as well as an upgraded HomePod mini and a fresh TV set-top box. The new Apple devices are set to be introduced on October 13, according to people with knowledge of the matter. For Apple, the ecosystem will amount to a formal reboot of HomeKit, the platform it launched in 2014.

The partnership is a bigger step for LG than for Apple. The lineup marks LG's first indoor camera in nearly a decade, and its first outdoor camera, thermostat, floodlight camera and doorbell in recent history. It is also selling its first smart lock outside South Korea.

The timing of the LG products is less clear. The LG devices are expected to be announced, if not formally released, around the same time. One account of the report says they will only reach shelves a few months later. The move is being read as a challenge to Amazon, whose smart home range already includes similar products such as Ring's security cameras.