Apple is making a much bigger play for the connected home with the Apple Home Collection, a new family of cameras, thermostats, sensors, a video doorbell and a smart lock built to work with the company’s new HomeView display. Rather than manufacture every accessory itself, Apple partnered with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric while positioning the Apple Home app and Siri as the connective tissue.
The collection is designed around HomeView, Apple’s new touchscreen home hub, but the accessories can also work with compatible HomePod, HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K devices. Apple says HomeView can show camera feeds, adjust temperature and lighting, lock doors and control other connected devices through touch or Siri. The company’s HomeView announcement frames the display as both a smart-home controller and a personalized household entertainment device.
LG supplies most of the initial hardware: indoor and outdoor cameras, a video doorbell, a thermostat and the Smart Deadbolt Lock. The cameras capture up to 2.5K video and can identify people, familiar faces, pets, vehicles and packages, with video history stored through a supported iCloud+ plan rather than a separate camera subscription, according to Apple’s product announcement. The indoor camera also includes a privacy-focused design that can turn away when household members are home.
The lock is the collection’s most distinctly Apple-like feature. It uses Ultra Wideband to detect a nearby compatible iPhone or Apple Watch and can unlock as the resident approaches, eliminating the need to search for keys or tap a phone. Apple says the deadbolt is intended for North American deadbolt standards, while early coverage from Engadget reports that the lock, cameras and doorbell are part of LG’s contribution to the lineup.
Thermostats and room sensors come from both LG and Schneider Electric’s Schneider Home brand. Apple’s approach is notable because setup and control are meant to happen inside the Apple Home app, reducing the need for separate manufacturer accounts and companion apps. The accessories also fit into the broader Matter and Thread smart-home landscape through Apple’s home hubs, a strategy The Verge describes as a central part of HomeView’s role.
For Apple users, the appeal is less about inventing new categories than about making a fragmented collection of household gadgets feel like one system. HomeView can provide a dedicated place to monitor multiple camera feeds, while iPhone and Apple Watch integration extends Apple’s familiar identity and proximity features to the front door. The larger question is whether Apple’s privacy-first, tightly integrated ecosystem can persuade households to replace devices they already own with a coordinated Apple Home setup.
