With iOS 27, the Home app receives its biggest feature update in years. AI-powered summaries, natural language search, and finally 4K recording for security cameras significantly raise the bar for Apple's smart home platform. Much of this relies on Apple Intelligence – but some features work entirely without it.
Apple has long maintained its Home app rather conservatively, while Amazon and Google have expanded their smart home systems year after year. With iOS 27, this impression changes significantly: A whole host of new features revolve around HomeKit Secure Video, smarter notifications, and closer integration with Apple Intelligence. The next generation of Apple Intelligence forms the technical basis for most of these innovations – from automatically generated event summaries to searching your own camera footage. Other improvements simply concern stability and the setup of new devices.
AI summaries recognize what is happening in front of the camera
The most noticeable new feature is automatic summaries for motion alerts. Instead of simply sending a notification about detected movement, the Home app describes in text form what a camera has recorded. The system recognizes people, animals, vehicles, packages, and general movement, summarizing the event in short sentences—for example, "a person walked through the room," "two people were in the room," "a dog was lying on the floor," or "a cat was playing in the room." This allows users to grasp what happened at a glance, without having to view the video footage itself.
Cameras with HomeKit Secure Video go a step further: Using facial recognition, they compare detected individuals with the user's photo library. If there are tagged individuals in the library, the notification will also include their names.
Recordings from multiple cameras in connection
Previously, the Home app treated each camera individually. With iOS 27, it recognizes when multiple cameras are recording the same event. If a person walks past one camera and shortly afterward appears in the frame of a second, the app links both recordings into a single, continuous sequence. During playback, the events can be reviewed across the entire home, supplemented by a summary of the complete sequence.
The app also highlights particularly relevant recordings: In the camera view, a separate area appears above the regular recordings, in which noteworthy events are grouped together.
Natural language search
Also new is a search function that uses natural language. For example, if you're looking for the moment a package was delivered, simply enter the appropriate query – the Home app will find the matching photo. It recognizes objects, colors, and other details. The search works both within the Home app and directly via Spotlight.
Fewer, but more meaningful notifications
Apple groups related notifications together instead of displaying them individually. Notifications update in real time, and the system summarizes related events – resulting in significantly fewer notifications appearing on the lock screen. These summaries can be activated in the Home app settings, individually for each camera and in multiple languages.
A long press on an incoming video notification plays a short preview of the recording. At the same time, the app displays nearby devices, such as lamps, which can be quickly switched on at that moment.
There's a dedicated Apple Intelligence section in the Home app for controlling these features. Here, you can activate video summaries and reduce the number of notifications. A toggle switch for reducing notifications groups related events together – for example, when someone arrives and then unlocks the door.
4K recording without Apple Intelligence
For a long time, cameras with HomeKit Secure Video were limited to 1080p. With iOS 27, this limitation is lifted: If the hardware supports it, streams and recordings can be played back and saved in up to 4K. Unlike the AI features, 4K recording does not necessarily require Apple Intelligence.
Energy consumption in focus
Accessories that can monitor their own electricity consumption – such as smart plugs – will display these values directly in the Home app, collected in the Energy tab. However, automations based on this data are not yet possible.
Update Apple TV remotely
One practical detail concerns Apple TV: Updates can now be installed remotely via the Home app – just as has long been the case with the HomePod. The fact that Apple TV can be updated remotely in iOS 27 eliminates the previously necessary step of turning on each connected television individually.
More stable technology and easier setup
Beyond the visible features, Apple promises greater reliability in the background. Recording and saving HomeKit Secure Video footage should be more stable and less likely to miss activity. For connecting Thread accessories, Apple is now using Thread 1.4, which improves connections, and HomeKit devices will pair faster. Updates for smart home accessories should also be quicker.
Adding a new device is made easier by a simplified interface, which is particularly noticeable when setting up Matter accessories. The rapid evolution of the Matter standard is demonstrated by the jump to Matter 1.6.
Requirements: Which devices and subscriptions are needed
The AI features of the Home app require a device that supports Apple Intelligence - that is, an iPhone 15 Pro or later. Additionally, an Apple TV with tvOS 27 or a HomePod with HomePod software 27 is required in your home for the features to work.
HomeKit Secure Video itself requires an iCloud+ subscription. The number of cameras you can connect depends on your chosen plan.
| iCloud+ plan | Supported cameras |
|---|---|
| 50 GB | a camera |
| 200 GB | up to five cameras |
| 2 TB and larger | Unlimited number of cameras |
Recorded video footage does not count towards the iCloud storage limit. 4K recording is an exception to the AI requirement: it works even without Apple Intelligence.
For users in Germany and the rest of the EU, it's important to clarify: Apple's block under the Digital Markets Act explicitly applies only to Siri AI on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. The other new Apple intelligence features - including the Home app updates described here - are exempt from the EU restriction; only in China does the company include them, along with Siri AI, among the temporarily blocked features. Therefore, the question of which Apple features are currently unavailable in the EU refers to the new Siri generation, not the Home app.
Apple's smart home platform is visibly catching up
With iOS 27, the Home app feels less like an afterthought and more like a fully-fledged part of Apple's AI strategy. The combination of clear event summaries, cross-camera analysis, and natural search makes recorded video footage usable for the first time without extensive scrolling. The fact that tangible improvements like 4K recording and more stable connections are also being introduced demonstrates that Apple is serious about its foray into the smart home. This aligns with expectations for new HomePod models, which would play a key role as the central control hub in the connected home.
The best products for you: Our Amazon Storefront offers a wide selection of accessories, including for HomeKit. (Image: Apple)
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Frequently Asked Questions: The Home app in iOS 27
Key new features include AI summaries for camera events, cross-camera recording, natural language search, bundled notifications, 4K recording, energy monitoring, and remote Apple TV updates.
For AI-powered features like summaries and search, an Apple Intelligence-enabled device is required, meaning an iPhone 15 Pro or newer. 4K recording, however, works even without Apple Intelligence.
In order for the functions to work, an Apple TV with tvOS 27 or a HomePod with HomePod software 27 is also required as a control center.
HomeKit Secure Video requires an iCloud+ subscription. The 50GB plan supports one camera, the 200GB plan up to five, and plans of 2TB and above support unlimited cameras. Video footage does not count against the iCloud storage limit.
They are based on Apple Intelligence, which has been available in the EU since iOS 18.4, and are not part of the Siri AI package that the DMA is currently blocking on iPhone and iPad.
Cameras with HomeKit Secure Video compare detected people with the photo library and name tagged people in the notification.
Devices like smart plugs display their energy consumption in the energy tab of the Home app. Automations based on this data are not yet possible.
