Apple's new 'secondary' HomeKit products will have this iPhone-exclusive feature

Apple could introduce its new co-developed smart home accessories as early as next week. Before that, a new leak today reveals a HomeKit feature exclusive to these “secondary” accessories.

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A new HomeKit exclusive feature

Earlier this week, Aaron Perris discovered code references to a new feature where “nearby smart home accessories could display commands in Dynamic Island.” Now, @itspdfu has found even more details on how this feature works.

In a new social media post today, pdfu says Apple’s “second-party” home accessories, co-developed with LG, will support this new “proximity control” feature.

When you tap or bring your iPhone closer to any of LG accessories, a notification will appear on Dynamic Island. The notification will display an “Open Orders” button for accessories such as thermostats. For cameras and doorbells, you will see a “camera viewer”.

The account explains:

You’ll also see feedback in Dynamic Island when iPhone launches setup when you first tap the accessory to pair.
Behind the scenes, the accessory writes an “apple-deviceid” to the Matter payload stored on its NFC tag that helps iOS identify it when tapped. It also plays a Bluetooth Low Energy ad for Apple Proximity Control.

You’ll apparently have the option to turn this feature off in the Home app. As always, features referenced in Apple’s code may not ship or function significantly differently when they launch.

Apple’s “secondary” LG accessories will launch another Home feature: proximity control.
As with the HomePod, tapping or moving the iPhone closer to the accessory displays a hint in Dynamic Island. An “Open Controls” button opens the controls for the accessory. Cameras and doorbells show a… pic.twitter.com/GiFADVwQe3
– pdfu (@itspdfu) October 9, 2026

However, this is a clear example of a feature that will be unique to these so-called “second party” accessories. Bloomberg first reported on Apple’s collaboration with LG earlier this week, noting that the two companies have worked together to develop smart home products, including a thermostat, deadbolt lock, indoor security camera, outdoor security camera, and floodlight camera.

Since then, we’ve seen a number of other leaks regarding this initiative:

According to BloombergApple probably won’t release these accessories “for at least a few months.” They could still be presented at Apple’s “Welcome home” event next week.