Apples Homekit announcement and Eufycams

#1

From gizmodo report on Apples WWDC

First off is HomeKit Secure Video. If you’ve ever had an Amazon Echo Show, a Google Nest Hub, or god forbid, a Facebook Portal—it can be unnerving giving all the big tech giants a live feed into your home. HomeKit Secure Video is meant to process video locally on-device and encrypt it before sending it to iCloud. The way many connected security cameras currently work, that video data is often stored on a camera’s own cloud service. Another added benefit is users will be able to store up to 10 days of footage at no extra charge and it won’t count against your storage limit. Users can have a single camera with a 200GB plan, and up to 5 cameras with a 2TB plan.

Again, if Apple’s gung-ho approach to privacy appeals to you, you’ll still have to put up with doing a little extra research for a HomeKit Secure Video-compatible camera. That said, it seems like there’ll be plenty of options, with Logitech, Eufy, Arlo, and Netatmo named among the first security camera makers to support it.

HomeKit is also coming to routers. The draw here is the HomeKit routers will supposedly enable firewalls so you can quarantine off hacked devices from the rest of your network. (Again, provided they all support HomeKit.) The first HomeKit-compatible routers will be available from Linksys, Eero, and internet service providers like Charter
Spectrum later this year.While Apple’s been slowly adding greater HomeKit functionality over the past few years, this is the first time it feels like Apple is addressing a huge concern among smart homeowners.

Given that Apple’s been vocal about its commitment to privacy, this seems like a savvy move for a category that’s routinely plagued with news of hacks, leaks, and smaller companies not properly securing the data they collect.

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#2

This has all already been discussed on the Apple WWDC thread…

Announced: Apple HomeKit Compatibility with EufyCams
#3

While it has been mentioned under the Apple WWDC thread, don’t see much harm in a dedicated thread as it was the only Anker related item from the keynote…

Though in fairness this was the first solo topic;

#4

For one Secure Video camera, a 200GB iCloud storage plan is required, while you need the 2TB plan for up to 5 cameras. In the United States, 200GB of storage is priced at $2.99 per month, while 2TB of storage is priced at $9.99 per month.

Many camera companies that offer cloud storage do charge monthly fees for data access, so Apple’s decision to require a $2.99 to $9.99 per month fee isn’t a major surprise, and a lot more utility is provided with an Apple iCloud storage plan than one from Logitech or Eufy.

Apple says that Netatmo, Logitech, and Eufy will be among the first companies to provide cameras with HomeKit Secure Video support, suggesting new hardware is required to take advantage of the Secure Video capabilities.

#5

I have the 2tb iCloud plan :grin:

#6

I’m hoping this isn’t the case an instead just means it requires new software on platforms that support it. In theory if Eufy have enough space for their OS on the base station, the ability to already locally encode/record without a need to be connected or subscribed to a cloud service (unlike Arlo) might be a benefit.

#7

OK - just found this post in another forum. Eufy have stated new homebase required.

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