Apple working with LG on smart home accessories

Despite being developed in partnership with Apple, the products will carry the LG brand. Apple is said to have provided input on their design, engineering and features, suggesting that the company could have significant influence over how these devices integrate with its ecosystem.

The partnership could give Apple a relatively quick way to expand its smart home lineup without incurring the high costs of developing, manufacturing, and supporting the products. At the same time, Apple isn’t giving up on developing its own smart home hardware.

Bloomberg recently reported that Apple is working on a privacy-focused home security camera that could use AI to analyse its surroundings and respond to relevant events, rather than simply recording and storing video footage. This approach would fit with Apple’s long-standing emphasis on privacy and on-device processing.

The LG partnership could therefore represent a two-pronged strategy: use established hardware partners to quickly build out the smart home ecosystem, while Apple continues to develop its own devices and software experiences behind the scenes.

Apple is widely expected to hold an event on 13 October, where it could unveil the long-rumoured smart home hub, a new HomePod mini, and an updated Apple TV 4K.

Source: Bloomberg