Apple may be planning to announce a new partnership with home security company ADT, alongside the introduction of its all-new smart home hub, according to several clues. Apple has invited the media to a "Welcome home" experience in New York on Tuesday, October 13, so the partnership could be made official on that day.
Since around July, ADT has posted "Low Voltage Technician" job listings in various U.S. cities, but those hired for the position so far have been provided with very few details about their specific responsibilities. In recent months, some of these people said they have primarily been shadowing other ADT technicians while they await further information. In addition, some of the employees and their managers said they signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) related to the role. This high level of secrecy is very common for Apple.
Another potential giveaway is that ADT has provided these new hires with iPhones for work, whereas its other technicians have received Android devices.
A third clue is that some of the new hires said ADT finally plans to share more details about the role later this month, so the company may be waiting for Apple to announce its smart home hub on Tuesday. Apple is also expected to unveil an ecosystem of third-party smart home accessories it developed in partnership with brands such as LG.
One of the new hires said ADT initially planned to provide details about the role in September, but later delayed this timeframe until October. This would be consistent with reports that Apple has postponed the announcement of its home hub multiple times, as Siri AI was not ready. The revamped version of Siri finally launched last month.
In addition to Siri AI, the home hub will reportedly offer smart home accessory management, home security monitoring, photo faces and galleries, an overview of calendar appointments, music playback, FaceTime video calling, and more. The hub will reportedly be available in a tabletop version with a speaker base and a wall-mounted version.
Some of the new hires who asked their managers about the secretive role were told that it will apparently relate to home automation and in-home installation services, so perhaps Apple will announce an option for customers to have an ADT technician professionally install the wall-mounted home hub or the related accessories from LG.
It is unclear if Apple's partnership with ADT would extend to home security monitoring.
ADT already reached a home security partnership with Google in 2023, but it reportedly dropped some features that it offered on Google Nest devices earlier this year. A few people familiar with the matter told us that ADT's agreement with Google either already expired this year or will expire next year and is not set to be renewed. If this is true, then it would pave the way for ADT to reach a partnership with another tech giant: Apple.
Keep in mind that a potential partnership between Apple and ADT is still just a rumor for now, and all of these clues could somehow prove to be one big coincidence. But if the partnership does become official on Tuesday, you heard it here first.
