Apple said to launch doorbell and smart lock with LG, despite scandal over 216,000,000 spying TVs

Apple is expected to unveil a long-awaited smart home hub at a launch event on October 13. According to the latest information from Bloomberg, Apple is also reportedly planning a range of smart home devices, which the company is developing not on its own, but in cooperation with South Korean technology giant LG.

The timing of this cooperation could hardly be worse, as LG is currently embroiled in a privacy scandal. According to independent investigations, the company is misusing over 216,000,000 smart TVs to monitor users, allegedly not only analyzing the content displayed on the screen, but also recording conversations through smart TV microphones and collecting data on other devices on the home network. LG denies these allegations, yet at the same time requires customers in its own terms and conditions to inform guests in their homes that the LG Smart TV in the living room is listening in on them.

While these new smart home products are reportedly being jointly developed by Apple and LG, Bloomberg says they will bear only an LG logo, and distribution and support will also be handled by LG – presumably an attempt by Apple to distance itself from this scandal. The lineup allegedly includes a video doorbell, a thermostat, a smart door lock with UWB, an indoor and an outdoor security camera, and a smart camera with an integrated floodlight. These devices are not expected to begin shipping for another few months, and it is not yet known whether these products will be announced alongside Apple's smart home hub.