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Apple has introduced the Apple Home Collection, a lineup of cameras, thermostats, sensors, a smart lock and a video doorbell co-developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. Launched alongside the HomeView smart display, the products give Apple customers a curated hardware option, while the company says it remains committed to supporting the wider Matter ecosystem.
Apple has launched its own smart home devices after more than a decade of relying on other companies to make hardware for its platform. The Apple Home Collection includes cameras, thermostats, sensors, a smart door lock and a video doorbell co-developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, and arrived alongside HomeView, Apple’s first smart display.
Apple’s move gives customers a curated set of products designed to work with Apple Home, rather than leaving them to select from the many third-party devices that support HomeKit or Matter. Apple vice president of product marketing for home Kaiann Drance told The Verge that some customers had asked the company which devices to buy, as Apple prepares a bigger smart home push. The collection is meant to offer a more guided option, while not replacing the broader range of compatible hardware.
Drance attributed the timing partly to the arrival of Matter, the interoperability standard Apple helped establish, and advances in AI that support a more conversational Siri, amid reports of new Matter smart home devices. She said those developments helped Apple bring together the HomeView display and a dedicated smart home offering. The products also emphasize one-tap setup through Apple Home, with no separate LG or Schneider account or app required, according to Drance.
The collection’s devices do not all use the same standards. The lock, thermostats and sensors support Matter; the lock also supports Aliro and works locally, The Verge reported. All the devices support Thread. The cameras instead use HomeKit Secure Video, Apple’s system for secure camera video, rather than Matter. Apple is also working with ADT through its retail stores to help customers install the devices.
Apple Adds a Guided Route Into Home Automation
Apple is addressing a practical weakness in its smart home offering: customers could use many compatible products, but the breadth of choice could make it difficult to know what to buy or how to make devices work together. The new collection gives Apple a set of products it can recommend as a coherent option and a way to show what its home platform is intended to do.
The strategy also links the HomeView display to sales of other household devices. A customer might start with a screen for music, recipes or a calendar, then add a camera or smart lock, The Verge reported. That could give Apple a more direct role in a market where Amazon and Google already sell products under established smart home brands, including Ring and Nest.
The pitch includes simpler setup and privacy protections, but the products start at $200, so Apple is not addressing price as a barrier. Elizabeth Parks, president and chief marketing officer of research firm Parks Associates, told The Verge that people often do not see enough value in smart home products, while complexity and privacy and security concerns also deter buyers. Apple’s branded lineup may help make its proposition easier to understand, but whether customers buy into it remains to be seen.
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From HomeKit to Apple-Branded Hardware
Apple launched HomeKit in 2014 and has since built a system that works with products made by other companies. The Verge reported that, despite that history, Apple’s smart home offering remained less developed than Amazon’s and Google’s in the range of products and in-house hardware available to customers.
Rather than manufacture this collection alone, Apple co-developed it with two companies that bring different kinds of home expertise. Drance told The Verge that LG Electronics brings experience in consumer products, while Schneider Electric has experience in home construction and installation. She described the work as a ground-up collaboration, with Apple contributing a design intended to fit the home and its existing product family.
Apple says the collection supplements, rather than replaces, third-party devices. Drance told The Verge that the company remains committed to Matter and to products carrying the Works with Apple Home designation. That distinction matters: the collection is a shorter, Apple-backed list, not a claim that customers must use Apple-branded hardware.
“With the magic of Siri AI, it comes together in a way that we haven’t been able to deliver before.”
— Kaiann Drance, Apple vice president of product marketing for home, speaking to The Verge
Camera Support and Sales Remain Open
It is not clear why Apple’s cameras do not support Matter, or whether they will do so later. The Verge noted that their Thread radios could indicate hardware readiness, while suggesting Apple may be waiting for Matter to support encrypted uploads. That explanation is not confirmed by Apple in the supplied report.
The launch also does not establish whether customers will prefer Apple’s curated set over the wider range of third-party devices, or whether the collection will materially expand smart home adoption. Apple’s privacy, setup and integration claims are attributed to Drance; independent results on ease of use, security performance and customer uptake are not yet available in the source material.
Watch for Rollout and Matter Updates
The next developments to watch are the collection’s availability and customer response, along with any further details Apple provides about pricing, installation and device compatibility. The source report says the products start at $200, but does not give a full product-by-product price list or a detailed rollout timetable.
Customers and developers will also be watching whether Apple adds Matter support for cameras as the standard develops. For now, Apple says the Home Collection is an additional option, while Matter-compatible products and other devices that work with Apple Home remain part of its platform.
Key Questions
What is Apple’s Home Collection?
It is Apple’s new lineup of cameras, thermostats, sensors, a smart lock and a video doorbell, co-developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric for use with Apple Home.
Why is Apple making its own smart home devices now?
Apple executive Kaiann Drance told The Verge that Matter and advances in AI, including a more conversational Siri, helped make the products and HomeView possible. The collection also gives customers a more curated alternative to choosing from many third-party devices.
Does Apple’s new lineup replace third-party smart home products?
No. Drance said Apple remains committed to Matter and Works with Apple Home, and that customers will continue to have a choice of compatible products.
Do all the devices support Matter?
No. The lock, thermostats and sensors support Matter, according to The Verge. The cameras use Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video instead. All devices support Thread, the report said.
What is not yet known about the launch?
The supplied report does not provide a full product-by-product price list or rollout timetable. It also does not confirm whether Apple plans to add Matter camera support or explain why the launch cameras do not support the standard.
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