Apple could soon challenge Google’s smart home lineup, with the company reportedly preparing to enter several new product categories, including video doorbells, smart locks, thermostats, cameras, and more.
It’s been around a year since Google refreshed its Nest lineup with products like the new Nest Cam Outdoor and Nest Doorbell, while the company also recently launched its new Google Home Speaker. But now, it looks like Apple is preparing to come in with full force and challenge both Google and Amazon in the smart home market.
Apple is already rumored to launch a Nest Hub-like smart home display with an integrated speaker later this month on October 13. But according to Bloomberg, Apple isn’t stopping with the smart hub category. The company is reportedly looking to build out a much broader smart home lineup that includes a video doorbell, smart lock, thermostat, indoor and outdoor cameras, and floodlight cameras.
Apple is coming straight for Google’s smart home ecosystem
The report says Apple has partnered with LG Electronics to develop this extensive lineup of smart home hardware, which will presumably tie deeply into Apple’s ecosystem. Interestingly, these won’t actually be Apple-branded products. They’ll carry LG branding, but Apple has reportedly been involved in shaping their design, features, and engineering.
And that could pose a much bigger threat to Google’s smart home ecosystem. Google’s Nest lineup is already one of the most complete smart home ecosystems you can buy into, offering everything from cameras and doorbells to thermostats and smart locks. Most of these products also work across both Android and iPhone.
But Apple’s entrance into these categories could pull more iPhone users toward its own ecosystem, especially if these LG products support HomeKit and offer deeper features when used with Apple devices.
For now, though, Google and Amazon still have some time. Bloomberg reports that these new LG accessories aren’t expected to arrive alongside Apple’s rumored October 13 launch. The products are reportedly still in development and could be a few months away.
That said, once Apple starts expanding beyond hubs and speakers into cameras, locks, doorbells, and other smart home hardware, Google and Amazon could suddenly have a much bigger competitor to worry about.
