Apple locks new Home AI features behind $9.99 monthly subscription, sparking disappointment

I'm disappointed Apple will charge for AI camera features in the Home app

One of the things tucked away in the small print of macOS 27 beta 3 is the news that you'll need a 2TB iCloud+ subscription in order to use the new AI features for home security cameras in the Apple Home app. While some are suggesting that we shouldn't be too surprised by this, I do find it a somewhat disappointing move by Apple ... Apple announced significant AI-powered upgrades to the Home app at this year's WWDC. Intelligent Home app notifications One of these was using Apple Intelligence to replace a whole sequence of individual security notifications with a single summary. At present, something as routine as a family member arriving home might generate a notification that they were seen in the driveway, then that the garage door was opened, then that the garage door was closed, then that they were seen at the front door, then that the front door was unlocked, and finally that it was locked. In iOS 27, all of those individual notifications are replaced with a single one saying that the family member arrived home. Three AI features for video footage But the bigger improvements was an upgrade of HomeKit Secure Video from 1080p to 4K, and the use of Apple intelligence to analyze footage from home security cameras. Apple highlighted three intelligent capabilities. With generated video descriptions, users can quickly understand what happened across a sequence of video clips, even without watching them. They can also search through camera clips so they can easily find what they're looking for, like a package delivery. At the top of the Search page, the Home app elevates noteworthy clips that users may want to review, so they can quickly see important moments. The company illustrated this with footage from multiple cameras capturing a UPS delivery as well as a friend dropping off a fruit bowl. But the new features won't be free Macworld spotted an important note in the release notes for the latest developer beta. Apple revealed the requirement in the release notes for developers for macOS 27 beta 3, though it applies to using the AI features with iOS or iPadOS as well. If you enable Apple Intelligence in the Home app, you need a 2TB iCloud+ subscription. That works out to $9.99 per month. Perhaps unsurprising, but disappointing As the site notes, we perhaps shouldn't be too surprised by this. Existing HomeKit Secure Video features already require a paid iCloud plan, and if you have more than one camera then the minimum requirement is for the 200GB plan at $2.99 per month. If you want unlimited cameras, then you have to upgrade to the 2TB plan at $9.99 per month. Since the AI features will be most useful for those who have multiple cameras, then it's likely that some of the target users are already on the 2TB plan - that requirement kicks in at six or more cameras. However, I do think it's disappointing that Apple is forcing this requirement on those with fewer cameras, perpetuating the unwelcome trend of everything being turned into a subscription these days. Yes, we're used to other security camera brands doing exactly this kind of thing for their own cloud services, but one of the key benefits of HomeKit Secure Video is to bypass those subscriptions. I would have hoped for better behavior from Apple. What's your view? Do you think Apple is being reasonable or unreasonable in imposing this requirement? Please take our poll and share your thoughts in the comments.

Apple Says These iOS 27 Features Only Available With $9.99/Month Subscription

iOS 27 includes new Apple Intelligence features for compatible cameras in Apple's Home app, but only if you have an iCloud+ plan with at least 2TB of storage. This limitation effectively means that the new features are only available with a minimum $9.99/month subscription, even though the centerpiece of the subscription is the 2TB of storage. The features include AI descriptions for HomeKit Secure Video footage, the ability to search through camera clips, and automatic surfacing of noteworthy clips. Apple said some of the new Apple Intelligence features on iOS 27 rely on "powerful server models," which are likely more expensive to run. This likely explains why Apple is limiting these features to customers with higher iCloud+ plans. iOS 27 is currently available in developer beta, with a public beta coming this month. The update should be released to all users with an iPhone 11 or newer in September, but these Apple Intelligence features require an iPhone 15 Pro or newer.

Some Apple Intelligence for Home features require a 2TB iCloud+ subscription

OS 27 also upgrades HomeKit cameras to record in 4K resolution, but accessing advanced AI features demands the premium iCloud+ tier. The OS 27 updates (iOS, macOS, iPadOS, etc) offers some really nice AI-powered updates for the Home app. Almost all of them center around video with cameras that support HomeKit Secure Video. The good news is, these features really elevate the experience of using these cameras, where was falling far behind competitors. The bad news is, it's going to cost you: You need the 2TB paid iCloud+ plan to use them. Apple revealed the requirement in the release notes for developers for macOS 27 beta 3, though it applies to using the AI features with iOS or iPadOS as well. If you enable Apple Intelligence in the Home app, you need a 2TB iCloud+ subscription. The new AI features for Home include the ability to combine activity from multiple cameras into a single action. If a person or event is captured by more than one camera, it can be combined into a single described event, with one continuous video to scrub through. Camera activity is analyzed and given plain language descriptions, and multiple similar notifications for the same event, even across multiple devices, are combined into a single updating notification. That should really help cut down on Home notification spam for those with lots of supported devices. In addition to the AI features, the update to OS 27 allows HomeKit Secure Video cameras to record up to 4K. The previous limit was 1080p, so this is a big upgrade. Apple is rumored to be working on its own security camera and video doorbell, which could arrive as early as this fall. We should note that you have always needed an iCloud+ subscription in order to use HomeKit Secure Video. Apple requires the base 50GB ($0.99 per month) plan to add a single security camera. If you have the 200GB ($2.99 per month) plan, you can add up to five. With the 2TB ($9.99 per month) plan, you can add an unlimited number of cameras, the tier required to enable Apple Intelligence features. This makes sense, and is in line with competitors: Nearly all home security cameras with AI features require some sort of paid monthly subscription, usually around this same price ($10 a month), to enable the AI features. iCloud+ storage is included with all Apple One plans, too. The Individual plan gives you the 50GB, the Family plan gives you 200GB, and Premier comes with 2TB of storage.

Apple Home AI features come with a hidden price tag

I previously covered the new Apple Home AI features revealed at WWDC 2026, which include several quality-of-life improvements, including auto-updating notifications, smarter camera search, automatic tracking and stitching of multiple videos for a single event, and higher-resolution recordings, among others. Like many Apple Home features, these features are only available to iCloud+ customers. However, at the event, Apple didn't notify which plans will get access to these features. Today, we get the answer in the release notes of macOS Golden Gate beta 3, and you are not going to like it. What's the hidden cost of Home AI features Apple offers multiple tiers of iCloud plans, with the cheapest plan starting at $0.99 for 50GB of storage. The rest of the plans are: * 200GB: 200 GB: $2.99/month * 2 TB: $9.99/month * 6 TB: $29.99/month * 12 TB: $59.99/month While I was not hopeful that the new Home AI feature would be included with the cheapest plan, I was sure that users with 200GB would get access to it. But that's not happening, as Apple has restricted the Apple Home AI features to the 2TB iCloud+ plan and above. That means you have to at least pay $9.99/month if you want to enjoy the new AI features in the Apple Home app. Why does 2TB feel like the wrong cutoff? HomeKit Secure Video has always required a paid iCloud plan, and the tiers work like this: the 50GB plan gets you one camera, the 200GB plan supports up to five, and the 2TB plan removes the camera limit entirely. Recommended Videos I can somewhat understand why Apple excluded the AI features from the 50GB tier, since it only supports a single camera. But the 200GB plan is a different story. It already supports up to five cameras, which is exactly the kind of multi-camera setup that benefits most from AI summaries and cross-camera search. Apple should have made these features available starting at the 200GB tier instead of forcing users all the way up to 2TB just to get value out of a feature their setup already qualifies for. It feels like an obvious cash grab by Apple, designed to push users to pay more to help offset Apple's rising AI costs.