Apple is apparently focusing on smart home devices this month, with the long-rumoured “HomePad” supposedly launching in a couple of weeks alongside a refreshed HomePod mini and a new Apple TV 4K Box. Now, a new leak has claimed that another smart home product is in the works and could debut after the aforementioned devices. This new product is a camera, but one that doesn’t quite work the way one would expect.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the device in question is codenamed J490 and will serve as a companion to the yet-to-be-released smart home hub. Unlike conventional security cameras, this one supposedly won’t record video footage.
The small camera, which will reportedly feature a cylindrical build resembling a “giant metal chapstick”, will have a very low frame rate. Its purpose is to detect and analyse activity around the user’s home, rather than capture moving images. Apparently, the reason for the lack of a recording feature is to address surveillance concerns. That said, the device will feature facial recognition capabilities.
In any case, the idea behind the camera is to identify individuals entering a given space. The device will then inform the user if they know this person, but with text-based reports. Now, how reliable it will be remains to be seen, since the feature will leverage Siri AI, much like the rest of the upcoming smart home lineup. Gurman also went on to note that the camera will use a “very similar technology” to the currently unannounced camera-equipped AirPods.
Of course, the lack of a recording feature means that the camera will be less helpful in the event of a break-in or any other criminal activity. Sure, this is the tradeoff to preserve privacy, but a surveillance camera runs counter to the concept of privacy to begin with. Perhaps Apple’s device may reconcile these conflicts, but for now it does sound like an attempt to have a cake and eat it too.
