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Apple restarts HomeKit on LG-branded devices that LG builds and supports
Apple co-developed seven smart-home devices with LG that will ship under LG's name, with LG handling manufacturing and support, Bloomberg reports. For teams selling locks, cameras and thermostats into HomeKit, LG is now both a rival with Apple's engineering behind it and the obvious partner to call.
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What happened
- Bloomberg describes the LG line as part of "a formal reboot of HomeKit," built to complement the smart home hub Apple has coming.
- LG's recent filings for the devices with the FCC and UL Solutions do not mention Apple's involvement.
- The deadbolt lock adds ultra-wideband for proximity features such as automatic unlocking, and many of the devices support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread and Matter.
- Bloomberg says the LG products are at least a few months from consumers, while Apple's hub is expected at an October 13 event.
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Why it matters
- cost Apple adds accessory categories to its hub without staffing factories or a support line for them; LG carries both.
- constraint Rival teams planning against these devices work from filing names and Bloomberg's feature list until early next year, when LG's confidentiality request on photos and detailed specs runs out.
- decision Camera teams with paid monitoring plans have to choose between competing with Apple's planned in-home security service and building alongside Apple's hub.
- precedent With a second-party template in place, Apple can fill its next accessory category under another maker's brand, so hardware teams outside LG's list have a deal to pitch for.
If someone mounts Apple's new hub, a Siri-enabled device with a six-inch display [12], pairs a wired LG video doorbell [6], and the feed will not load, the first support ticket goes to LG under the arrangement Bloomberg describes. Gurman wrote that "the South Korean firm is handling manufacturing and product support" [4].
Bloomberg calls the line "a formal reboot of HomeKit" [1], and the deal splits the work between the two companies. Gurman wrote that although the two companies "worked together to develop the accessories, the products will carry the LG brand" [3]. Apple helps shape the design and oversees the engineering, according to 9to5Mac's account of the report [10]. LG builds the devices and staffs the support line [4]. Its name is the one on the FCC and UL Solutions paperwork [5].
9to5Mac says the setup lets Apple expand its ecosystem quickly without shouldering the full cost and complexity of producing and supporting a wide range of accessories [9]. Neither report includes commercial terms, so Apple's remaining share of the hardware bill is not public.
Who it is for splits by party. Apple gets accessories in six categories to sit beside its hub [19][1]. LG gets Apple's engineering input on products that carry its own brand [10]. The person at the door sees an LG logo [3].
A team selling a lock into HomeKit will find an LG Smart Deadbolt Lock [6] on the shelf beside it, carrying LG's name, with Apple overseeing its engineering [10]. Camera makers have a second exposure. Bloomberg has reported that Apple is also planning its own in-home security monitoring service and a privacy-centric home-monitoring device [17].
The first question is whether your product sits in one of the seven categories LG has filed [18]. The second is whether customers pay you for hardware that runs on Apple's platform or for an app and service you own.
Hardware in a filed category is the hardest box. You compete on price and features against a device Apple helped engineer, or you pitch to be the next second-party maker. A service in a filed category faces LG on the device and, later, Apple's planned monitoring service [17]. A service outside the list changes little for now. Hardware outside the list is where I'd expect the next deal of this kind to land, since 9to5Mac describes the arrangement as one with "so-called second-party suppliers," plural [13].
For teams in the first box, I'd open a partner conversation with LG or Apple before these devices ship. The tradeoff is that the deal LG took gives Apple a hand in design and engineering [10] while the factory and the support queue stay with the maker [4].
What to watch
- Whether Apple names the LG accessories or the second-party program on stage at the October 13 hub event.
- Whether the Matter support on the LG devices works with hubs outside Apple's, or whether features like the UWB unlock stay tied to Apple's platform.
- The photos and detailed specs in the FCC and UL Solutions databases once LG's confidentiality request lapses early next year.