Apple Home Collection: The Hub, iCloud+ Plan and Matter Support Each Device Needs

Apple announced Apple Home Collection on October 13, 2026: smart home accessories designed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric and sold by Apple. The lineup has four LG cameras, an LG smart deadbolt, two thermostats and two temperature sensors. According to Apple’s announcement, availability “begins in December, with select accessories available starting early 2027.” Apple does not say which accessories are in the early-2027 group.

Setup starts with a tap of an iPhone, and Apple says there is “no separate app or account required.” An iPhone is still not the whole shopping list. We read Apple’s press release, the Apple Store product page for each device and Apple’s support pages on home hubs, Thread, Matter and iCloud+ to list what each accessory needs before you order it.

The lineup and what each device connects with

Prices and regions come from Apple’s press release; the connectivity details come from the tech specs on each Apple Store product page. Thermostat installation parts are sold separately: Apple lists the LG and Schneider Home C-Wire Power Adapters at $24.95 each and the Schneider Home Trim Plate at $14.95.

Most of the lineup needs an Apple home hub

An Apple home hub is a HomeView, HomePod or Apple TV set up in the Home app. Every device in the lineup leans on one, and the fine print differs by product:

• Lock and LG Temperature Sensor: the LG Smart Deadbolt Lock page says it requires an iPhone with the latest software for NFC pairing “and a Thread-enabled Apple Home hub such as HomeView, HomePod mini, or select Apple TV 4K devices running the latest operating system software.” The LG Temperature Sensor page carries the same Thread hub requirement. The lock’s alert and notification features also “require an internet connection, the Home app, and an Apple home hub.”
• Cameras and doorbell: each camera page says “HomeKit Secure Video requires a supported iCloud+ plan” and HomeView, HomePod or Apple TV 4K “running as a home hub.”
• Thermostats: both thermostat pages say Adaptive Temperature, the feature that adjusts heating and cooling based on who is home, “requires a home hub such as Apple TV, HomePod, or HomeView.”
• Schneider Home Room Sensor: its page says it is “Built on Matter and Thread so it works with any Thread-enabled home hub.”

“Select Apple TV 4K devices” matters if an Apple TV is your hub. Apple’s Thread support page lists these Thread-enabled Apple devices: Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Ethernet, Apple TV 4K (2nd generation), HomePod (2nd generation), HomePod mini, and iPhone 15 Pro or later running iOS 18. The Wi-Fi-only version of the third-generation Apple TV 4K is not on that list, and neither is the first-generation Apple TV 4K. HomeView is newer than that page; the lock’s product page names it as a Thread-enabled hub.

Apple’s general Matter rules are looser than the lock page. Its Matter support page says an iPhone with iOS 18 or later can add and control Matter accessories without a home hub, and that iPhone 15 Pro and later can control Thread accessories without one, while recommending a hub “for the best experience.” For the LG lock and LG Temperature Sensor, follow the product pages, which list a Thread-enabled hub as a requirement.

If you have no hub yet, Apple announced two new ones the same day. HomePod mini 2 costs $149 in the U.S., with in-store availability beginning October 30, according to Apple. HomeView, the new home device with a 7-inch display, costs $299, with both the tabletop and wall-mounted models available beginning November 13 in the countries Apple lists, per Apple’s HomeView announcement.

Cameras: your iCloud+ plan sets how many you can record

Apple says the cameras need “no separate camera subscription,” because recordings use HomeKit Secure Video in iCloud+, with 10 days of event history per camera. The catch is that each iCloud+ tier covers a set number of cameras. Apple’s iCloud+ plans page lists:

The doorbell counts as a camera. A doorbell plus a floodlight camera already needs the 200 GB plan, and a sixth camera moves you to the 2 TB plan. Apple’s announcement adds that some Apple Intelligence features, such as video summaries, “are available for a limited number of cameras depending on the user’s iCloud+ plan,” and that supported camera counts “may change over time.” Apple also says the cameras have built-in storage that keeps them recording when Wi-Fi goes down.

Matter covers the lock, thermostats and sensors, not the cameras

Apple’s announcement says the smart lock “is Matter compatible and supports Aliro, working entirely locally so core access functions continue even without an internet connection,” and that both thermostats and the temperature and humidity sensors “are Matter compatible.” It makes no Matter claim for the four cameras. Their product pages list Thread, Wi-Fi and HomeKit compatibility and do not mention Matter. Apple’s Matter support page also lists the Matter accessory types the Home app supports, and cameras are not among them.

In practice, the cameras and doorbell are Apple Home devices. The lock, thermostats and sensors use Matter, the cross-platform standard covered in our Matter explainer. Apple’s Matter page says an accessory that is already paired can be added to another app that supports Matter by following the manufacturer’s instructions. What Apple’s pages do not say is whether these accessories can be set up in another platform without an Apple home hub in the home. Gizmodo reported on October 14 that LG’s fine print says the devices require an Apple home hub, and that it had asked LG and Apple about using them in other ecosystems without one. If your home runs on Google Home, Alexa or SmartThings, wait for a clear answer before buying for that purpose. For a recent example of how another platform handles Matter, see our piece on SmartThings local control and Matter 1.6.

Other things to check before ordering

• iPhone software: Apple’s footnotes say the accessories require an iPhone running the latest operating system software for NFC pairing.
• Doorbell wiring: the LG Video Doorbell Wired is “Powered by existing 16–24V doorbell wiring,” so it needs a wired doorbell circuit, not a battery.
• Lock fit: Apple’s page says the lock works with standard single-cylinder deadbolts with door thickness of 40–51 mm, a cross bore of 54 mm and an adjustable backset of 60 mm or 70 mm. It runs on four AA batteries, with USB-C backup power.
• Region: the lock, thermostats and sensors are listed for the U.S. and Canada only, and the cameras for the U.S., Canada and the UK. Apple says HomeView “is not available for sale in the European Union.”
• Warranty and support: the Apple Store pages say products that do not carry the Apple brand are “serviced and supported exclusively by their manufacturers,” so support goes through LG or Schneider, not Apple.
• Installation: Apple says Apple Retail offers third-party installation from ADT “for an additional charge,” in the U.S. starting this fall.

What to do, by situation

If you are comparing camera plans across brands, our guide to choosing a security camera without a subscription covers what to check on other systems.

How we checked: we read Apple’s October 13, 2026 announcements for Apple Home Collection, HomeView and HomePod mini 2; the Apple Store product pages for the nine Apple Home Collection accessories; and Apple Support pages on home hubs, Thread, Matter accessories and iCloud+ plans. We also read coverage from Gizmodo and The Mac Observer. DecodeGear did not test these devices, which are not yet on sale.