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Apple has launched the Apple Home Collection, a lineup of cameras, thermostats, sensors, a smart lock and a video doorbell, alongside its first smart display, HomeView. The devices were developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, and Apple says they add a more integrated, guided option without replacing its wider Matter and Apple Home ecosystem.
Apple has launched its first Apple Home Collection of smart home devices, including cameras, thermostats, sensors, a smart lock and a video doorbell, alongside HomeView, its first smart display. The products were co-developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, giving Apple customers a curated hardware lineup for its home platform after more than a decade of relying on outside manufacturers.
Apple’s move is not simply a decision to make devices under its own name. In an interview with The Verge, Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of product marketing for home, said the company saw the development of Matter and advances in AI as conditions that made the new approach possible. She linked the technology to HomeView, where a more conversational version of Siri is part of the product’s role in the home.
The company’s pitch is that the devices work through Apple Home, with one-tap setup and no separate LG or Schneider account or app required. Drance said Apple and its partners designed the products around simplicity and privacy, and said their data is end-to-end encrypted. The source report says the lock, thermostats and sensors support Matter, while all the new devices support Thread. The cameras use Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video instead of Matter.
Apple is positioning the collection as an easier starting point, not a replacement for the wider range of compatible devices. Drance said customers would continue to have the choice of products that support Matter and Works with Apple Home. Apple is also working with ADT through its retail stores to help customers install the devices. The source reports that prices start at $200, but does not specify which product that starting price applies to.
Apple’s Hardware Could Simplify Home Setup
Apple has had a smart home platform since HomeKit launched in 2014, but it lacked a set of branded devices to recommend as a consistent Apple experience. The new collection gives customers a shorter, Apple-backed list to choose from rather than asking them to compare a broad range of products from different manufacturers.
That could matter to people who have been put off by setup complexity, privacy concerns or uncertainty about whether devices will work together. The report cites Parks Associates research that identifies perceived lack of value as the biggest barrier to smart home purchases, with security, complexity and cost also ranking high. Apple’s approach addresses setup and integration in its pitch, but the source says the products start at $200 and does not indicate that Apple is tackling cost.
HomeView may also serve as a route into the rest of the collection: customers who buy a display for everyday uses such as music, recipes or calendar checks could add connected devices later. That is an interpretation of the strategy, rather than a confirmed sales outcome. The launch shows Apple trying to make its platform easier to enter while giving the company a more direct role in the smart home market.
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From HomeKit to a Curated Lineup
For more than a decade, Apple encouraged other companies to make products for its home platform. The source report describes Apple Home as offering a broad selection of HomeKit- and Matter-compatible devices, while Amazon and Google have had their own established product brands, including Ring and Nest. Apple’s new collection changes its role from platform provider alone to a company that also helps shape and sell a recommended group of devices.
Apple chose to co-develop the products rather than build them alone. Drance told The Verge that LG brought experience in consumer products and Schneider Electric contributed knowledge of homes and installations. She described Apple’s contribution as including the design approach and integration with its product family. The collection therefore combines Apple’s platform and design input with partner companies’ home-product experience.
Matter is an open standard intended to help smart home products work across platforms. Apple helped found it and says the new lineup does not end its support for third-party devices. However, the cameras’ reliance on HomeKit Secure Video rather than Matter sets them apart from the collection’s other listed product categories and leaves a clearer point of Apple-specific integration.
“With the magic of Siri AI, it comes together in a way that we haven’t been able to deliver before.”
— Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of product marketing for home, speaking to The Verge
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Camera Compatibility and Availability
The source material does not give a full release schedule, product-by-product pricing or detailed specifications for the collection. It also does not establish how many customers will buy the devices or whether the curated approach will overcome the barriers identified in the research.
The cameras are the main compatibility question in the reported lineup: they use HomeKit Secure Video rather than Matter, and the report notes that Apple did not announce Matter camera support. The reason for that choice, and whether the cameras could support Matter in the future, is not confirmed in the source. The report suggests Apple may be waiting for the standard to support encrypted uploads, but presents that as a possibility, not an announced plan.
Apple’s statements about encryption, privacy and ease of setup are company claims reported by The Verge. The source does not provide independent testing of those claims or explain all data-handling details for each product. Specific installation arrangements through ADT and the scope of customer support are also not detailed.
Apple smart thermostats with Matter support
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Product Launch Details to Watch
The next concrete details to watch for are product availability, individual prices and specifications, none of which are fully set out in the source material. Those details will show how the collection is positioned against existing Apple Home-compatible alternatives and whether its devices are priced for customers who have not yet bought into a smart home.
Customers will also be able to judge how the promised one-tap setup and shared Apple Home experience work in practice, and how the devices perform alongside products from other Matter and Works with Apple Home partners. Any future announcement on Matter support for cameras would clarify whether Apple intends to bring that part of the collection closer to the open standard.
For now, Apple’s stated position is that the new hardware is an added layer of integration, not a replacement for the broader ecosystem. The company’s next test is whether that curated option helps more customers see a practical reason to add smart devices to their homes.
Apple smart lock with end-to-end encryption
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Key Questions
What did Apple announce?
Apple announced the Apple Home Collection, a co-developed lineup of cameras, thermostats, sensors, a smart lock and a video doorbell, along with HomeView, its first smart display.
Why is Apple making its own smart home devices now?
Apple executive Kaiann Drance told The Verge that Matter and advances in AI helped make the move possible, particularly for HomeView and its more conversational Siri experience. The lineup also gives Apple a curated set of products to recommend to customers.
Will the Apple Home Collection replace third-party devices?
No. Drance said Apple plans to keep supporting the wider ecosystem of Matter and Works with Apple Home products. Apple presents its collection as an additional, more integrated option.
Are all the new devices Matter-compatible?
No. The source report says the lock, thermostats and sensors support Matter, while the cameras use HomeKit Secure Video instead. All the devices support Thread, according to the report.
How much do the devices cost?
The source report says prices start at $200, but it does not identify which product carries that starting price or provide prices for each device.
Source: rss
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