What Apple's New Smart Camera Features Do and What They Cost
Apple Home will get Apple Intelligence with the public release of iOS 27 and tvOS 27. The new AI tools come to HomeKit Secure Video first, rather than to speakers or automations first. They can write short descriptions of video and help find moments in past recordings.
The main additions are AI video summaries, video search, and multi-camera stitching. Summaries are short written descriptions of who and what compatible security cameras saw, shown next to the clip, like a short note about what happened. Search lets you ask questions across HomeKit Secure Video history. Stitching joins footage from multiple cameras into one clip, useful for following movement across entryways, driveways, or interior zones without checking separate timelines one by one. The Verge
Access depends on your iCloud+ plan and camera count. Apple Intelligence for Home for one camera needs the 2TB iCloud+ plan at $9.99 per month. Apple One Premier at $39.95 per month also covers one camera. A second camera needs the 6TB plan at $29.99 per month. Cover for up to five cameras needs the 12TB plan at $59.99 per month. The Verge
That is a change from past HomeKit Secure Video starting prices. Access used to start at $1 per month for the 50GB iCloud+ plan, which included recorded footage from one camera plus smart alerts and facial recognition. Recordings from HomeKit cameras do not count toward your iCloud storage limit, so the higher plans act as permission to use the features rather than storage you need. HomeKit Secure Video now supports 4K resolution.
The cost sits inside the larger iCloud+ system. Apple describes iCloud+ as its paid cloud subscription that gives more storage for photos, files, and backups plus extra features only for subscribers. It can be shared with up to five other family members. Included features are iCloud Private Relay, Hide My Email, Custom Email Domain, and HomeKit Secure Video support for an unlimited number of cameras. You can upgrade from an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC, and you pay each month after upgrading. Apple Support
Apple says its iCloud+ plans and prices are set monthly by country or region. Its help pages list 50GB for $0.99, 200GB for $2.99, 2TB for $9.99, 6TB for $29.99, and 12TB for $59.99, with other regional prices at 2TB for $10.99, 6TB for $32.99, and 12TB for $64.99, as well as 2TB at 49.99 lei per month and 6TB at 149.99 lei per month. Once an Apple One trial ends, your current iCloud+ plan is canceled.
On privacy, Apple says that with HomeKit Secure Video you can add home security cameras in the Home app to record video and view it from anywhere, with storage in iCloud described as end-to-end encrypted, which means only you and people you allow can watch it. Apple has also said that in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 or later, activity seen by security cameras is studied and locked up by Apple devices. When you subscribe to iCloud+, you can use HomeKit Secure Video to store video from home security cameras in iCloud.
The broader context here is the cost of running AI shapes the price. Making summaries and searching 4K video takes a lot of ongoing computer work, and Apple puts that work behind its largest storage plans even though the video itself does not use up your limit. In my view, that will feel reasonable to people who work with computer systems and steep to single-camera homes happy on the 50GB plan. If the summaries cut down on empty clips and the stitching stays in sync, the benefit is less time watching video that shows nothing. For homes with several cameras, that benefit grows.
