Why Apple Is Finally Making Its Own Devices
For more than a decade, Apple told other companies to build smart home devices for its platform. This week, Apple launched its own. The Apple smart home push arrives with the Apple Home Collection, a lineup of cameras, thermostats, sensors, a smart door lock, and a video doorbell, all codeveloped with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. They arrive alongside HomeView, Apple’s first smart display.
The move marks a significant shift for a company that spent 12 years building HomeKit as a platform for others. Even after those 12 years, Apple’s smart home ecosystem still felt underdeveloped, especially compared to the competition. Rival ecosystems support more products, and competitors have popular in-house brands. Apple had nothing of its own—until now.
What Is the Apple Home Collection?
The Apple Home Collection is part of the company’s first major push into the smart home category, codeveloped with partners. The lineup includes:
Cameras
Thermostats
Sensors
A smart door lock
A video doorbell
All of these products were codeveloped with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. They launch alongside HomeView, Apple’s first smart display. Together, the collection represents Apple’s most direct entry into smart home hardware to date.
A Decade of Relying on Partners
For 12 years, Apple’s strategy was to let other companies build devices for its platform. HomeKit provided the foundation, but the ecosystem depended on third-party manufacturers to fill out the product catalog. That approach left gaps—especially in categories where rivals offered their own hardware.
Why Apple Is Making This Move Now
Apple’s decision to build its own devices comes after years of relying on third-party manufacturers. While HomeKit provided a foundation, the ecosystem lagged behind rivals in product variety and in-house hardware.
Competitors back their smart home platforms with popular first-party brands. Apple had no equivalent. The Home Collection changes that by giving Apple direct control over hardware that integrates with its platform. It also lets Apple shape the experience from end to end, rather than leaving key details to partners.
The Promise: Easier Setup, Tighter Integration, and Privacy
Apple’s new smart home lineup promises easier setup, tighter integration, and data privacy. These are the core selling points the company is leaning on as it enters a crowded market.
Easier setup matters because smart home devices have long been criticized for complicated installation and pairing processes. Tighter integration means the devices should work more seamlessly with Apple’s platform and with each other. Data privacy is a longstanding Apple theme, and the company is positioning it as a differentiator in a category where always-on cameras and sensors raise real concerns.
The Challenge: Steep Competition and Steep Prices
Apple faces steep competition and steeper prices. The key question is whether Apple can convince more people to adopt its vision of the smart home, given that rivals already offer broader product support and established in-house brands.
Price is a particular hurdle. Smart home buyers are cost-conscious, and Apple’s reputation for premium pricing could limit adoption. Competition is another: rival ecosystems already support more products, which gives buyers more choices and more reasons to stay where they are.
What the Apple Home Collection Includes
The collection covers the core categories of a connected home:
| Category | Device |
|---|---|
| Security | Cameras, video doorbell |
| Climate | Thermostats |
| Sensors | Sensors |
| Entry | Smart door lock |
| Control | HomeView smart display |
Each product was codeveloped with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, a partnership approach that combines Apple’s platform expertise with manufacturing experience.
What This Means for the Smart Home Market
With the Apple smart home lineup, Apple is no longer just providing the platform—it is now a hardware player in the smart home space. The collection, developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, signals a more serious commitment to the category.
Whether that translates into wider adoption will depend on how the company balances its privacy and integration promises against the competition and pricing. For now, the Apple Home Collection and HomeView represent the company’s clearest answer yet to a question it left open for 12 years: what a smart home built by Apple actually looks like.
