Apple opens preorders for first Apple Home Collection smart home devices

Apple has begun taking preorders for the first devices in its Apple Home Collection, a line of smart home products developed together with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. The items are listed on Apple's online store, with deliveries expected to arrive in mid-December.

The collection was unveiled about a month ago as part of a broader push by Apple into the smart home market. That effort is anchored by the company's new HomeView smart display, which runs on a Siri-driven AI system and became available for purchase on Friday alongside the preorder launch.

For now, only a small group of LG accessories can actually be preordered. The selection includes the LG Outdoor Cam, priced at $299.95, the LG Indoor Cam at $199.95, and the LG Video Doorbell at $249.95. All three show an estimated shipping window of December 11 through December 17.

Several other products in the lineup are not yet available for preorder and carry no estimated ship date. Those include the LG Floodlight Cam at $399.95, the LG Smart Deadbolt Lock at $349.95, and the LG Smart Thermostat at $199.95.

Schneider Electric's contributions to the collection are also still waiting on release details. The Schneider Home Smart Thermostat, priced at $199.95, and the Schneider Home Room Sensor, priced at $39.95, remain listed without preorder options.

The devices do not offer exclusive features compared with rival smart home gear. Instead, Apple says the partnership's main benefit is a simplified setup process: users can get a device running by tapping it with an iPhone.

The collection also relies on the Thread networking protocol, which allows the devices to stay connected to each other even if they lose access to the internet or the home's Wi-Fi network.

In addition, the devices can automatically update their network credentials when the owner makes changes to the wireless network, removing the need to set each product up again after a router swap or password change.