- Apple could launch smart home security tech
- Its smart doorbell could boast Face ID, and use iCloud for video storage
- Don't expect it until late 2025 or 2026
We’ve recently heard rumors that Apple wants to launch a smart home hub with a screen – what’s been described as an Apple HomePod with a display – but the company’s smart home visions reportedly don’t stop there. We could also see it release gadgets like an Apple video doorbell, smart lock, and security camera; so while the Apple Car concept might be dead (another rumored excursion into a previously unexplored product territory), the Apple Home might be about to take off.
This comes via Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (behind a paywall) in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, who says Apple is focusing its efforts on robotics, AI, and smart home tech – with smart home being the one most likely to bear fruit somewhat soon in the form of security devices like video doorbells that can deadbolt your front door or in-home security cameras.
The doorbell may be particularly interesting as it would supposedly offer a form of Face ID for your home by automatically detecting if it’s you.
While this smart home pivot may seem a little odd considering how the HomePod has been treated. It seems forever in the background of presentations and announcements, never getting its own chance in the spotlight. Gurman notes, however, that Apple’s smart home shift comes from the company’s belief it has one edge over the competition: trust in its privacy.
Many people don’t want Amazon-made cameras in their homes, or cameras from most major tech companies for that matter, due to concerns over how their private data might be used even if there’s no evidence it's being mishandled. But Apple has spent years cultivating a persona of being the best there is when it comes to privacy (it’s even a major component of its Apple Intelligence marketing, and wasn’t for other AI until Apple hit the scene), and so Gurman reports the company believes this perception will help it find success with home security tech.
He adds that it could also help Apple juice its iCloud subscription numbers as people would want to store their recordings in the cloud.
Learning from mistakes, or repeating them?
If you head to the Apple Store website you’ll see Apple already boasts a respectable smart home accessory lineup complete with smart locks, smart lights, motion detectors, smart doorbells, and more – but none are made by Apple.
Instead, it relies on third-party accessories which have varying quality according to some reviewers – with this $330 Level smart lock from a few years ago being labeled ineffective as it could be lockpicked with the simplest method known to pickers – but hopefully, Apple has learned from the better options amongst its third-part stock.
As with all leaks, we should take these latest ones with a pinch of salt, and even if Apple’s smart home tech is indeed on the way it could be some time before we see it in action. Mark Gurman says he’s been told not to expect to see anything until at least the end of 2025.
There’s also a non-zero chance Apple may abandon home security before it sees the light of day. One reason for it not continuing with the Apple Car was reportedly execs fearing the company would be associated with car accidents. The same fears – but this time for home security flaws – could be enough to put Apple off expanding into this area in the end.
We’ll have to wait and see what 2025 holds for us, but with reports Apple is developing a ring, and developing AR glasses in the background too, it might not be long before we see Apple’s next big hardware launch.
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