Apple has made significant upgrades to the Home app , introducing new features powered by Apple Intelligence . These updates significantly improve the functionality of HomeKit Secure Video cameras on Apple’s HomeKit platform, offering a more complete user experience and increased security .
iOS 27 Home app: New HomeKit features
Apple Intelligence Summaries
The Home app uses artificial intelligence to generate written summaries of motion and object recognition alerts. The AI is capable of recognizing people, animals, vehicles, packages, and general movement, providing a summary of what’s happening even when you’re not watching the video. This means users can receive alerts like “a person walked through the room” or “a cat played in the room,” providing a detailed picture of activity in their space.
HomeKit Secure Video cameras also feature facial recognition, allowing them to recognize people in your Photo Library. This means you can receive notifications and summaries with names, providing a more personalized experience.
Grouped Footage
Another major improvement is the ability to group videos. The Home app can now group videos from different cameras that capture the same event. If someone moves from one camera to another, the Home app recognizes that the two events are related. When playing back videos, you can see related footage from multiple cameras, giving you a holistic view of what happened throughout your home.
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Search
The Home app also supports natural language search for camera videos. This means if you’re looking for something specific, like when a package was delivered, you can easily search for it. Search can recognize objects, colors, and other features, working both in the Home app and directly in Spotlight.
Notification Summaries
Notifications in the Home app have also been improved, with real-time updates and a combination of relevant notifications . This results in fewer notifications, making the user experience cleaner and more organized. Notification summaries can be enabled in the Home app settings on a per-camera basis, with options for multiple languages.
Video Previews
Another new feature is video previews. Long-pressing on an incoming video notification plays a preview clip of the video and includes access to nearby accessories, like lights, that you might want to quickly turn on.
4K Recording
Apple has also introduced 4K video recording for HomeKit Secure Video cameras, offering higher image quality. This is especially useful for users who want the best possible resolution for monitoring their space.
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Energy Monitoring
Additionally, the Home app now provides information about energy consumption from accessories that can monitor energy, such as smart plugs. This information appears in the Energy tab, although there is currently no way to create automations based on this data.
Apple TV Remote Updates
Another important feature is the ability to remotely update Apple TV through the Home app, similar to how HomePod updates are installed. This offers greater flexibility and ease in managing your devices.
Reliability
The reliability of HomeKit Secure Video recording and storage has also been improved, with Apple saying it's less likely to lose activity. Connectivity for Thread home accessories has also been improved, with Apple adopting Thread 1.4, making HomeKit accessories faster to connect.
When adding a new device to the Home app, there's a simplified interface that's especially useful for configuring Matter. This streamlined process makes integrating new devices into your smart home easier than ever.
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To take advantage of new Apple Intelligence features in the Home app, you need a device that supports Apple Intelligence, such as iPhone 15 Pro and later .Home features also require an Apple TV running tvOS 27 or a HomePod running HomePod software 27.
HomeKit Secure Video requires an plan iCloud+. The 50GB plan supports one camera, the 200GB plan supports up to five cameras, and the 2TB and above plans support unlimited cameras. 4K video recording does not require Apple Intelligence, giving users greater flexibility.
These updates make Apple’s Home app more powerful and flexible, giving users a more complete and secure experience in their smart home. By integrating advanced AI features and improving connectivity and reliability, Apple continues to lead the way in smart home technology.
