What you need to know
- Aqara has confirmed its G2H camera will support HomeKit Secure Video.
- No price or release has been confirmed.
- But it's expected to be relatively inexpensive.
Smart home accessory maker Aqara has confirmed that its upcoming G2H camera will support Apple's HomeKit Secure Video feature, according to a post to its forum that was spotted by HomeKit News and 9to5Mac.
There isn't any official news on when the device will be made available, but it's thought that we can expect it imminently – it was initially believed to have a release window of Q1 2020.
The camera, along with the forthcoming Aqara M2 Hub, was initially announced back in July of 2019, where HomeKit compatibility was first revealed. This product reveal ceremony also included a series of ceiling lights and wireless switches, in collaboration with Opple, that have since been released in China, and the grey market for international consumers, and although initial estimates for the release of the G2H camera weren't officially announced, many rumours suggested a release date in the region of Q1 of 2020. With the Coronavirus pandemic affecting production in China, most production has been inevitably and understandably pushed back, with the G2H being no exception.
The addition of HomeKit Secure Video is an important one, because it means that all video will be saved in iCloud rather than the company's servers. That means that nobody can view the video except the user – something that is a hot button topic right now amid reports that other companies employees may have been snooping.
There are already cameras available that support HomeKit Secure Video, but they are far from inexpensive. That's where the Aqara G2H camera is expected to differentiate itself and that's a great prospect for those who have been waiting for something a little less costly than the Netatmo and Logitechs of the market.
Secure video
The Logitech Circle 2 camera was the first to support the HomeKit Secure Video feature through an update in 2019. This camera has all of the bells and whistles, including 1080p video, 2-way audio, and weather resistance.
Secure video
Netatmo's Smart Indoor Camera recently got the HomeKit Secure Video love with a free update for existing owners. In addition to HSV support, Netatmo's camera has power artificial intelligence features and support for saving videos to Dropbox.
Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.
Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.
