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Apple Home, the company’s smart home platform, currently works with third-party cameras. (Apple Image)
Seattle-area smart-home device maker Wyze Labs and Amazon-owned Ring, among others, could be set to face new competition in the home security camera market from Apple.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported Tuesday that the tech giant plans to make its first foray into the smart home IP camera market in 2026, with plans to ship more than 10 million units per year.
“This strategic move demonstrates Apple’s continued exploration of growth opportunities in the home market,” Kuo wrote. “I believe the user experience will be significantly enhanced by Apple’s great ecosystem and deep integration with Apple Intelligence and Siri.”
Ring released its AI-powered “Smart Video Search” feature in October, allowing users to search the video archive from their doorbells and other Ring cameras using keywords. The feature uses an AI system called Ring IQ, and a vision language model to match text to images.
Kirkland, Wash.-based Wyze released its own AI search feature for specific moments in security-camera videos in August. The company previously said it’s been working on AI integrations for its products since 2019.
Wyze just released a new Duo Cam Doorbell offering two views — one intended for visitors and another pointed down for packages.
Ranked No. 9 on the GeekWire 200 list of top Pacific Northwest startups, Wyze raised $110 million in 2021. Founded in 2017 by a trio of Amazon veterans, the company started with security cameras but expanded to various other smart-home devices.
The Verge noted Tuesday that security cameras make good sense for Apple as it looks for its next hardware hit.
The site pointed out that Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service (HKSV), which is included in Apple’s iCloud plan, stores recorded footage from cameras. It requires an Apple Home Hub, such as a HomePod or AppleTV, which can analyze footage and send specific alerts for people, animals, vehicles, and packages. The Verge added that Apple’s smart home platform, Apple Home, currently supports integration with third-party cameras from several companies for live streaming footage to the app, but only a handful of cameras support HKSV.
