Apple has announced what is arguably the biggest update to Apple Home in years, bringing major improvements to HomeKit Secure Video, Apple Intelligence integration, energy monitoring, device onboarding and Shortcuts.While there was no sign of the long-rumoured HomeOS platform or new Apple Home hardware, Apple has clearly made the smart home a bigger focus for 2026.
Here is everything new coming to Apple Home.
HomeKit Secure Video Finally Gets 4K Support
One of the most requested Apple Home features is finally arriving. HomeKit Secure Video now supports 4K recording on compatible cameras, removing the long-standing 1080p limitation that has frustrated users for year. Previously, even cameras capable of recording in 2K or 4K would be limited to 1080p once footage was processed through HomeKit Secure Video. The move to 4K should provide significantly improved image quality, making it easier to identify faces, packages and other important details.
Apple Intelligence Comes to HomeKit Secure Video
The biggest story isn’t actually 4K. Apple Intelligence is now deeply integrated into HomeKit Secure Video. The Home app can analyse recorded clips and automatically generate descriptions of what happened in a recording. Rather than manually opening clips and scrubbing through footage, Apple Home can identify events and provide useful summaries. This transforms HomeKit Secure Video from a simple recording platform into a much smarter security solution.
Natural Language Search for Camera Recordings
Apple is also introducing natural language search for camera recordings.
Users can now search using everyday phrases such as:
• Package delivery
• Person in backyard
• Dog in garden
Rather than relying solely on motion events or manually browsing through recordings, Apple Home can understand the contents of a video and surface the relevant clips. For homes with multiple cameras and large recording histories, this could dramatically reduce the time spent searching for specific events.
Multi Camera Intelligence
Another major improvement is the ability for Apple Home to understand activity across multiple cameras. Previously, each camera operated independently. Now, Apple Home can connect related recordings together to create a complete timeline of an event. For example, if someone walks up a driveway, approaches the front door and then leaves, footage from multiple cameras can be linked together automatically. This provides a much clearer picture of what actually happened around your home.
Redesigned Camera Experience
Apple has also redesigned the way camera recordings are viewed. Users can now browse recordings from all cameras in a unified view or quickly switch to individual cameras when needed.
New event filtering options allow recordings to be sorted by categories such as:
• Packages
• People
• Animals
• Vehicles
This should make reviewing footage much quicker and more intuitive. One change that may divide opinion is the apparent removal of the traditional date timeline. Instead, users now scroll through recordings to access older events. Hopefully Apple continues refining this experience throughout the beta period.
Smarter Apple Home Notifications
Notifications are also becoming more intelligent. Apple Intelligence can now understand related events and combine them into a single live notification that updates as activity unfolds. Rather than receiving multiple alerts from cameras and accessories during the same event, users receive one notification that evolves in real time. This should help reduce notification fatigue while still keeping users informed.
Energy Monitoring Arrives in Apple Home
Another welcome addition is energy monitoring. Compatible smart plugs can now expose energy usage data directly inside Apple Home. This removes the need to jump into manufacturer apps to view power consumption and opens the door to more advanced monitoring and automation possibilities. Users can track energy usage, monitor appliance activity and gain greater visibility into how devices are consuming electricity throughout the home.
Faster Device Onboarding
The company announced a faster onboarding process designed to make adding new devices quicker and more reliable. The updated setup experience includes a redesigned interface that allows users to name devices and choose icons during the initial setup process.
There are also new pause and cancel options during onboarding, making the setup process more flexible than before. While not the most exciting announcement from WWDC, it is likely to be one of the most widely appreciated improvements.
Shortcuts Gets an AI Upgrade
Shortcuts is now powered by Apple Intelligence which means Instead of manually building automations step by step, users can simply describe what they want using natural language.
For example:
“When I leave work, send my partner my ETA and play my favourite podcast.”
Apple Intelligence automatically creates the required automation.
Users can then refine the shortcut simply by describing additional changes. This dramatically lowers the barrier to creating advanced automations and could eventually become the foundation for AI generated Apple Home automations in future releases.
Siri Gets Rebuilt with Apple Intelligence
Apple also unveiled a completely redesigned Siri powered by Apple Intelligence. The new Siri can understand personal context, work across apps, understand content currently on screen and hold more natural conversations. It can pull information from messages, emails, photos, notes and calendars to answer more complex requests than ever before.
Apple also announced significant improvements to dictation, more natural sounding voices and a dedicated Siri app that allows users to revisit previous conversations across devices. While Apple didn’t announce any specific Siri features for Apple Home, the improvements suggest Siri could play a much larger role in the smart home experience moving forward.
Final Thoughts
WWDC 2026 marks one of the most significant years for Apple Home since the introduction of Matter. While many users were hoping for new Apple Home hardware or a dedicated HomeOS platform, Apple instead focused on making the existing Apple Home experience smarter.
The combination of 4K HomeKit Secure Video, AI powered camera analysis, natural language search, energy monitoring, intelligent notifications and AI powered Shortcuts represents a major step forward for the platform.
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