ICloud at Home

WHEN YOU ADD compatible home automation accessories to the Home app on any Mac or iOS device, iCloud syncs all your settings, so you can go to Home on any of your other devices, including an Apple TV HD or 4K, and find everything set up just the same. In iOS 13, the Home app can also manage compatible Wi–Fi security cameras and their video feeds. HomeKit Secure Video gives you full control over when the camera will stream or record video, who can access the camera and how you’re notified. You can also review and share live streams and recordings: Go to Favorite Cameras in the Home tab, or look in the room to which you assigned the camera. (This works in macOS too.)

SECRET SERVICE

All video is encrypted end–to–end, so Apple can’t see it or reveal it to the police, for example — a vital privacy feature considering the concerns being raised about systems like Amazon’s Ring. This means no remote processing can be done, so you’ll need a designated “home hub” on your Wi–Fi network, which must be an iPad, Apple TV or HomePod: See bit.ly/mac351hmhb. To make full use of HomeKit Secure Video, you also need a 200GB iCloud storage plan ($2.99 a month) for one camera or 2TB ($9.99) for up to five. This is just to qualify you for the service; recordings don’t count against your storage limit. Five cameras is the max per Apple ID, even with Family Sharing, but they can be in different locations. See bit.ly/mac351camacs for compatible cameras.