An Apple supplier may have been tapped to build an Apple-designed smart home camera and future health-focused AirPods, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
After Apple abandoned the decade-long Apple Car project, rumors suggested Apple would increase investments in the smart home and AI. While Apple Intelligence has been released to the public, there has been little evidence of Apple's new commitment to the smart home beyond rumors of a smart monitor.
A new supply chain-based rumor from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests an Apple supplier named Goertek has been tapped with orders for two products due in 2026. The first is a smart home camera, and the second is a set of AirPods with more health-focused features.
Apple had previously relied on Goertek for assembly, but compliance issues led to the company pulling back on orders. Kuo states that the relationship normalized in the second half of 2024, which led to the new product orders.
Apple is making its first foray into the smart home IP camera market, with mass production scheduled for 2026, targeting annual shipments in the tens of millions. https://t.co/yOc2z98OBq
— (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) November 12, 2024
Since HomeKit launched in 2014, Apple has stuck to the background and provided only APIs and protocols for the smart home. The closest products to the smart home category are the HomePod, HomePod mini, and Apple TV 4K.
Rumors have previously suggested Apple could work on its own smart home products like light bulbs, but they never materialized. Apple even abandoned development of its own routers since the inception of HomeKit, seemingly signaling its desire to rely on third-party hardware.
That could change in 2026 with the Apple-made smart home camera. It isn't clear what Apple could offer that existing HomeKit Secure Video cameras can do, especially considering how HomeKit takes over the third-party cameras already.
Kuo believes Apple sees IP cameras as a prime target for future growth. The total market for these cameras is about 30 to 40 million per year, with Apple targeting about 10 million shipments.
Targeting 2026 for the smart camera coincides with the expected wider adoption of Matter-enabled cameras. That, and Apple is expected to enter more smart home accessory markets over time.
Apple's other growth opportunity is in wearables, and that's where AirPods come in. Goertek has apparently been targeted as the future primary supplier of health-focused AirPods.
The iPhone continues to be Apple's biggest moneymaker, and there's a good chance no other product will ever come close. So, Apple hopes to keep investors happy with more devices sold across more categories that capture smaller, but still lucrative markets.
