Apple's new smart home camera could tell you what happened without recording video

Apple is reportedly working on a new kind of smart home security camera, but don't expect it to work like the usual cameras you see around homes. Instead of recording or streaming video, the device could use AI to understand what is happening around it and send users text descriptions of events. This is said to be part of Apple’s wider project of developing an entire home ecosystem powered by Siri AI.According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who discussed the product on the first episode of the Power On podcast, the camera is part of Apple's wider smart home push. He said Apple is developing a new smart home ecosystem, with the camera reportedly being developed under the codename J450. It is expected to work alongside the company's rumoured J490 smart home display.Apple’s smart home camera could watch without recordingSo, how does a security camera work without actually showing you video? That's where AI comes in. Gurman says the camera could have a very low frame rate and use an image sensor to analyse what is happening in and around your home. The idea is that the camera could analyse what it sees on the device itself, without sending video or images to the cloud.The idea is somewhat similar to Sony's IMX500 image sensors, which can process visual information using AI without necessarily sending the captured images elsewhere. This could also help Apple address one of the biggest concerns around smart home cameras: privacy. The camera could use facial recognition to understand who has entered a room or detect activity around the house. But there is an important catch. You won't actually get a video feed to watch later. As Gurman put it, “You’re not getting anything but text descriptions.”For example, instead of opening an app and watching a recording of someone entering your living room, you could simply receive a text description telling you that someone entered the room. The camera could essentially understand what's happening without becoming another device constantly recording your home. The reported camera is also part of a bigger Apple smart home plan. The company is rumoured to launch a smart home hub with a roughly 6-inch display, which could sit on a countertop or be mounted on a wall. The hub is expected to focus heavily on Apple's AI-powered Siri, while also controlling smart home devices, playing music, handling video calls and showing photos.Apple could introduce the smart home hub alongside a new HomePod mini and an upgraded Apple TV. The reported October 13 launch could therefore mark Apple's bigger push into the smart home market.For now, Apple has not officially confirmed the camera or the wider product plans. Till Apple reveal details about these products in the coming days, we suggest you take it with a pinch of salt.- Ends