Apple reportedly still plans to release a smart home camera that doesn’t record video sometime in the next year. Instead, it will use AI to analyze what’s happening in your home.
The privacy-focused device is separate from the LG Electronics cameras in the new Apple Home Collection. Together, they show how Apple plans to tackle home security from two very different angles.
Apple smart home camera relies on AI instead of video
After years of neglect, Apple is renewing its push into the smart home market, aiming to make its devices central to how people manage and monitor their homes. But the company faces a big challenge as it races to catch up with smart home platforms like Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa.
The newly announced Apple HomeView, a smart display that uses Siri AI as its main user interface, will serve as a command center for smart home accessories, including cameras.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has been reporting on Apple’s rumored privacy-focused indoor camera, code-named J450. And in his latest Power On newsletter, he said the odd device is still on the way.
The device reportedly works by pairing a low-frame-rate sensor with facial recognition and infrared sensors to spot people and pets. Owners would reportedly receive text descriptions of activity around them instead of video.
By building a device that can’t record video of intimate moments around the home, Apple appears to be putting privacy at the center of its plans for an AI-enabled camera.
This mirrors the approach reportedly used by the long-rumored AirPods with built-in cameras. Rather than capturing video, the earbuds would gather data that helps Siri AI understand the wearer’s personal context.
In Sunday’s newsletter, Gurman predicts Apple’s smart indoor camera will launch sometime next year.
LG cameras will record video
Apple’s privacy-focused AI camera is not included in the Apple Home Collection designed in collaboration with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric, which Apple unveiled on October 13 alongside the HomeView hub. LG produces four cameras for the collection: a video doorbell, a floodlight, an outdoor model and an indoor model.
All of them record video at up to 2.5K resolution, with encrypted footage stored in iCloud+ for 10 days. They also come with built-in storage to keep recording during Wi-Fi outages. Camera prices start at $199.95 for the indoor model and top out at $399.95 for the floodlight cam.
Apple could build more smart home gear itself
Apple might take a wait-and-see approach to producing more of its own smart home accessories. Gurman points out that since Apple is the main distributor of the LG products in the Apple Home Collection, Cupertino will have precise data on how they sell.
If demand is strong and the business looks big enough, Apple might consider a line of its own. That would come on top of the J450, which Gurman said Sunday he anticipates will launch “sometime in the next year or so.”
Anurag Chawake is a tech-focused writer specializing in smartphones, apps and consumer technology. His interest in computers began during the Windows 98 era, eventually leading him to explore everything from operating systems to mobile devices and PC hardware. Anurag previously contributed to The Indian Express, covering Apple, Android, gaming and the broader technology landscape.
