- Apple could launch smart home security technology
- The smart doorbell can have Face ID and use iCloud for video storage
- Don’t expect this until late 2025 or 2026
We’ve recently heard rumors that Apple is looking to launch a smart home hub with a screen – which is 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, a smart lock and a security camera; So while the Apple Car concept may be dead (another rumored excursion into previously unexplored product territory), the Apple Home could be about to take off.
This comes through Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (behind a paywall) in the latest edition of its Power On newsletter, which says Apple is focusing its efforts on robotics, AI and smart home technology – with smart home most likely to pay off soon in the form of security devices like video doorbells that can lock your front door or home security cameras.
The doorbell could be particularly interesting, as it would supposedly provide a form of Face ID for your home by automatically detecting if it’s you.
Although this smart home seems a bit strange considering the way the HomePod has been treated. It seems to forever be in the background of presentations and announcements and never gets its own chance in the spotlight. However, Gurman notes that Apple’s smart home shift stems from the company’s belief that it has one edge over the competition: confidence in its privacy.
Many people don’t want Amazon cameras in their homes, or cameras from most major tech companies, because they worry about how their private data could be used, even if there’s no evidence that it’s being mishandled. But Apple has been cultivating the persona of being the best there is when it comes to privacy for years (in fact, it’s a key part of Apple Intelligence marketing), and neither was other AI until Apple came onto the scene appeared), and so Gurman reports the The company believes this perception will help it achieve success with home security technology.
He adds that it could also help Apple leverage its iCloud subscription numbers, as people might want to store their recordings in the cloud.
Learn from mistakes, or repeat?
If you go to the Apple Store website, you’ll see that Apple already has a respectable range of smart home accessories, 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 that some reviewers say are of varying quality – with this $330 smart lock from a few years ago being labeled ineffective because it could be lockpicked with the simplest method known to pickers – but hopefully has Apple did learn from the better options among third-party stocks.
As with all leaks, we have to take this latest one with a grain of salt, and even if Apple’s smart home tech is indeed on the way, it could still be some time before we see it in action. Mark Gurman says he’s been told not to expect anything until late 2025.
There’s also a non-zero chance that Apple will give up on home security before it sees the light of day. One of the reasons it didn’t go ahead with the Apple Car was reportedly that executives feared the company would be linked to car accidents. The same fear – but this time of homeland security shortcomings – could be enough to ultimately stop Apple from expanding in this area.
We’ll have to wait and see what 2025 has in store for us, but with reports that Apple is developing a ring, and also developing AR glasses in the background, it might not be long before we see the next big hardware launch from Apple.