Apple is reportedly developing a smart home camera that doesn’t record video

Apple is developing a home security camera that will not record video, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Speaking on the debut episode of his Power On podcast on Thursday, Gurman said the device, code-named J450, will have “no video recording” and will instead use artificial intelligence to analyze its surroundings and send users text descriptions of activity in and around the home.

Gurman described the camera as a compact metal cylinder resembling an oversized tube of lip balm. Its sensor reportedly captures images at a low frame rate and uses facial recognition to identify which household member has entered a room or left the house. The camera can also recognize pets. Those identifications reach the user only as written updates. “You're not getting anything but text descriptions,” Gurman said.

The J450 could rely on an embedded AI image sensor, according to the reports, a technology similar to what Apple is said to be testing in a pair of camera-equipped AirPods that leaked earlier this year. Sensors of this kind, such as Sony's IMX500 series, can run recognition tasks without transmitting image data off the chip. Gurman did not specify whether all processing would take place on the device itself.

Gurman said Apple is building both first-party and third-party home security products. The J450 is designed as a companion to J490, Apple's smart home hub with a display, which Gurman previously reported is being tested in employees' homes and could be unveiled as early as this month. The hub is expected to arrive alongside a refreshed HomePod mini and Apple TV, both with Siri AI. Reports indicate the camera will follow in 2027, and Apple is also said to be developing a home security and monitoring service to accompany the hardware.

HomeKit Secure Video, Apple's existing platform for compatible third-party cameras, already offers a Detect Activity mode that stops streaming and recording while continuing to monitor motion. Apple announced AI-generated descriptions of camera clips for the Home app in June, but that feature still relies on recorded footage that users can play back.

Rival cameras from Amazon's Ring and Google's Nest store video clips that owners can review after a break-in or package theft and share with police or insurers. The J450, as Gurman described it, would produce no such footage. Apple has not publicly announced the camera.