Apple Camera with Face Recognition, Aqara FP400, and New Abode Sensors

This week brings a clearer picture of what Apple's own security camera is meant to do: recognize who is in the room and turn that into a trigger for automations. Aqara, meanwhile, has unveiled the Spatial Multi-Sensor FP400, which tracks up to ten people at once without knowing who is who. Add to that two new Abode sensors for gates and garage doors, four revised Matter devices from IKEA, and a tip on limiting camera alerts to the people you actually care about.

Apple's Rumored Camera Aims to Know Who Is in the Room

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is working on a security camera that uses facial recognition and infrared sensors to determine who is in a room. Apple expects people to place these cameras throughout the home and use them to drive automations: the home turns the lights off once someone leaves a room, or starts playing music a particular family member likes. iOS 27 points the same way, giving HomeKit Secure Video 4K recording, generated clip descriptions, search within recordings, and highlighted moments. 9to5Mac reads that as groundwork, with the camera expected this fall.

Aqara FP400 Tracks Ten People Without a Camera

The Spatial Multi-Sensor FP400 uses 60 GHz radar to track the position of up to ten people at once, and it detects falls even with several people in the room. Unlike Apple's rumored camera, it works without video and without facial recognition: it knows how many people are where, but not which one is which. Person-specific automations are therefore off the table, but no video ever leaves the room. It supports both Zigbee and Matter over Thread, so it connects directly to a HomePod or Apple TV 4K. In China it is sold through selected installers, and Aqara is recruiting testers in Europe and North America until August 16.

Worth Watching: New HomeKit Secure Video Features in iOS 27

Apple Home Authority walks through the four new HomeKit Secure Video features in iOS 27 and shows how they work in the Home app.

In Brief

New Internals: IKEA Revises Four Matter Devices

The MYGGSPRAY motion sensor, the MYGGBETT door and window sensor, and both BILRESA remotes (dual-button and scroll-wheel) have appeared with new model numbers and FCC filings. IKEA has not said what changed inside or when the revised versions reach stores.

Rainproof and Tilted: Abode Adds Two New Sensors

The Outdoor Contact Sensor carries an IP66 weather rating, while the Garage Tilt Sensor reads the angle of a garage door to tell whether it is open. Both use Abode's own 433 MHz radio and only reach Apple Home through an Abode hub. They cost $49.99 and $34.99, around €43 and €30, and orders are currently limited to the US.

Tip of the Week: Limit Camera Alerts to Faces You Know

Face Recognition in HomeKit Secure Video does more than pull names from your photo library. Open Face Recognition in a camera's settings and you will find a list of every visitor it could not place. Tap one of them, give them a name or a label such as mail carrier, and decide right there whether that person should trigger a notification at all.