- Apple is developing smart home locks with face recognition tech.
- This move aligns with Apple’s growing interest in the home devices market.
- Apple’s device would compete with Google’s Nest and Amazon’s Ring in home security.
Apple is reportedly working on bringing its facial recognition technology to home security.
The tech giant is developing a smart lock and doorbell that would allow residents to automatically open their home doors by scanning their faces, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.
The report said that Apple’s doorbell system could work with existing third-party locks or the company could partner with one lock provider to sell a complete product. The technology is still in the early stages and could be released at the end of 2025 at the earliest, the report said.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
The smart lock adds to Apple’s growing interest in the home devices market. Last month, Bloomberg reported that Apple is working on an artificial intelligence-powered, wall-mounted tablet. The iPad-like device could be voice-operated, serve as an intercom, and control home appliances. Earlier this year, Bloomberg also reported that the company is working on building home robots.
Not all these developments may come to life. This year, Apple scrapped its car project and stopped efforts to develop a subscription model for the iPhone.
The door device could give the company an opportunity for more cross-selling with its other home products and its existing lineup of devices, like the iPhone and Apple Watch.
It could also allow the iPhone maker to compete with Google’s Nest and Amazon’s Ring. These devices have doorbells with a motion sensor that activates the camera and records a video of the surrounding area.
Such a product could draw the company into new debates about balancing users’ privacy rights and working with law enforcement. Through emergency requests, police departments have received videos from Ring without receiving consent from the owner.
Apple and its CEO, Tim Cook, are known for prioritizing user privacy. In 2016, Cook refused to cooperate with the US government to unlock an iPhone used by a shooter in a mass shooting and attempted bombing in San Bernardino, California.
