Remember a few months ago when it was reported Apple was working on a Face ID-enabled video doorbell as part of its expansion into smart home hardware expansion?
Well, it seems Face ID mightn’t be the only bit of iPhone tech lined-up for the rumoured Ring rival. New online scuttlebutt suggests that Apple is planning to add MagSafe to the device. An online leaker with previous has dropped a couple of hints about a video doorbell that’s reportedly on deck for 2026.
Skip the iPhone 16e, get the iPhone 15
For just £40 more than the iPhone 16e you can get an ultra-wide camera, the slick Dynamic Island and MagSafe compatibility built in thanks to this epic iPhone 15 deal on Amazon.
- Amazon
- Was £799
- Now just £639
View Deal
“Hint: There’s something Apple ringing on your door,” wrote Kosutami on X (via MacRumors), followed by “More hint: Magsafe on your door, it rings”.
What purpose MagSafe would have for a doorbell remains to be seen. The most obvious usage would be to replenish the device’s battery, but these products tend to last for months of a time so wouldn’t be a pertinent need.
I can’t imagine MagSafe would be used to attach the device to the backplate on (or next to) the door because that would make it really easy to steal and completely defeat one of the purposes of owning a video doorbell in the first place – to stop thieves.
It’s likely to be a while before we find out anyway, with the initial report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman back in December suggesting that it would be next year at the earliest before Apple planned on launching such a device.
“There’s also another home device in the works that hasn’t been reported before: a smart doorbell with advanced facial recognition that wirelessly connects to a deadbolt lock,” Gurman wrote.
“The idea is that the doorbell could automatically unlock the door for a home’s residents by scanning their face — just like Face ID lets them into their iPhone.”
He added: “Work on the doorbell is still in the early stages, though. I’m told not to expect anything to come to market before the end of next year at the soonest.”
A doorbell but not the iPhone 16e?
If Apple is planning to bring MagSafe to a doorbell, it does beg the question why the tech was just omitted from a new iPhone that needs to be charged every 24 hours? That decision gets stranger and stranger, particularly with Apple confirming it had nothing to do with the charging tech interfering with the new C1 modem.
