Apple Helped Build a Smart Lock, Doorbell and Thermostat

The Apple LG smart home partnership covers seven devices, from a smart deadbolt with hands-free unlocking to a thermostat and floodlight camera. You won’t see Apple’s logo on any of them, and they’re at least a few months away, so here’s what that means if you’re buying a lock or doorbell now.

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Apple has quietly helped design a video doorbell, a smart lock, a thermostat, and a set of security cameras, and it’s letting LG put its own name on every one of them. It’s the clearest sign yet that Apple’s long-delayed smart home push, expected to kick off with a HomePad hub on October 13, is about your whole house and not just another speaker. Here’s what’s in the lineup, why Apple is staying off the label, and what it means if you’re shopping for smart home gear this holiday season.

The report comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has a strong track record on Apple’s plans. The products showed up in LG filings with the FCC (the US agency that approves wireless devices) and UL Solutions, a safety testing lab. The filings don’t mention Apple at all.

Leaked images shared on X by the tipster @itspdfu give a closer look at two of them. The deadbolt supports automatic unlocking, tap to unlock, emergency power, and master codes. It fits the two standard US door sizes (2.375-inch and 2.75-inch backsets) and comes with two physical keys, so you’re not locked out if the battery dies. Its keypad also rotates to open the door.

The thermostat’s settings menu includes a “Far Sight Display” (bigger numbers you can read across the room), a humidity readout, brightness controls, and temperature calibration, so you can correct it if it reads a degree too warm.

Timing is the catch. These devices won’t hit stores for “at least a few more months,” and LG has asked regulators to keep photos and specs private until early next year. No prices have been announced.

Most of these LG devices are expected to support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread and Matter. Those last two matter more than they sound:

That last one is the clever bit. Bluetooth-based auto-unlock has been around for years, but it’s often too slow or too eager. UWB fixes that by knowing exactly where you are.

Under the deal, LG handles manufacturing and customer support. Apple helped shape the design, features, and engineering, but kept its involvement quiet. Gurman calls it a “second-party” arrangement, and Apple has done similar things with Belkin and Logitech accessories.

On the surface, that’s about cost. Apple gets a bigger ecosystem without building a dozen low-margin gadgets. But we think the bigger reason is support.

A thermostat often needs a “C-wire,” a constant power wire many older homes don’t have. Doorbells need to work with existing chimes and wiring. Locks have to fit dozens of door types. Every one of those becomes a phone call, and sometimes an installer visit. Apple Stores aren’t set up to troubleshoot your furnace. LG, which already services fridges and washing machines in people’s homes, is.

There’s also liability. If a lock fails during a break-in or a thermostat fails during a cold snap, Apple would rather that story not have its logo in the headline.

The risk for Apple is the flip side: if LG’s support is slow or the app experience feels clunky, customers will still blame “the Apple thing.” Apple keeps control of the look and feel, but not of what happens after you open the box.

The LG devices are expected to work with three Apple products set for October 13: a new smart home hub, an upgraded HomePod mini and a new Apple TV. The hub, nicknamed HomePad, reportedly has a 6-inch screen and a design inspired by the old iMac G4, and its delays came down to one thing: the HomePad has been waiting on a smarter Siri.

Apple isn’t handing the whole house to LG, though. Bloomberg has also reported that Apple is working on its own privacy-focused home camera that uses facial recognition and infrared sensors to know who’s in a room, plus a possible home security service as soon as 2027. An earlier report described a doorbell that could unlock your door by recognizing your face.

So the split looks deliberate. LG gets the essential but unglamorous gear now. Apple keeps the “magic” features, like face recognition and AI, for products with its own logo. It’s also one of the first big product bets of the John Ternus era, after he took over as Apple’s CEO in September.

Amazon’s Ring and Google’s Nest have owned the doorbell and thermostat shelves for years. iPhone owners have had choices, but they’ve mostly come from smaller brands working through Apple’s HomeKit rules.

Those smaller brands have the most to lose. Aqara, for example, already sells the U400, a UWB smart lock with hands-free Apple Home Key unlocking for $269.99. LG’s lock won’t be the first to do this. But an LG lock co-designed by Apple, maybe sitting next to the HomePad in an Apple Store, is a very different kind of competition.

Ring and Nest face a subtler threat. Because the LG gear supports Matter, it can work with Google and Alexa too. That means Apple doesn’t need you to rip out your Nest speakers. It just needs you to pick the LG doorbell next time, and Google is moving fast here too, with Gemini-powered agents now controlling Google Home devices.

It depends on what you’re replacing and how soon.

Home Key stores a digital key for a compatible smart lock in the Wallet app on your iPhone or Apple Watch. You tap your device on the lock to open it, even if your phone’s battery is low. Newer UWB locks can unlock automatically as you approach. It only works with locks that support Apple Home and Home Key, which is a shorter list than most people expect.

Siri AI is Apple’s rebuilt, more conversational Siri, powered by large language models (LLMs), the same kind of AI behind ChatGPT. Apple is expected to make it the main way you control the HomePad.

If a device supports Matter, it can be added to Apple Home, Google Home and Alexa at the same time, though some advanced features stay limited to one app. Hubs themselves usually don’t mix: Apple’s hub won’t run Alexa. Rules around voice assistants are also loosening, with the EU forcing Apple and Google to open up to rival AI assistants.

Yes, most do. Smart locks run on batteries, and many work locally over Bluetooth or Thread without the internet. You’ll lose remote features, like unlocking from work, until Wi-Fi returns. Most locks also include a physical key or an emergency power option for a dead battery, which LG’s deadbolt reportedly has.

A “home hub” keeps your smart home automations running when you’re away and lets you control devices remotely. Apple TV and HomePod already do this today. The HomePad adds a screen, so you can see camera feeds and tap controls instead of using your voice.

Vincee Cole is a technology journalist with four years of experience covering the full spectrum of modern tech — from consumer devices, artificial intelligence, to quantum computing, blockchain, and digital assets. His reporting cuts through complexity to deliver stories that are sharp, grounded, and relevant to both general readers and industry insiders. Previously, he worked with fintech research teams across Southeast Asia, analysing how emerging technologies are reshaping financial systems at scale.