iOS 27 is finally here, and it brings genuinely useful Apple Intelligence features to HomeKit Secure Video. The catch is that Apple Home AI summaries come with a steep price. Even the $9.99 per month 2TB iCloud+ plan covers just one camera, and covering five cameras costs $59.99 per month.
What Apple Launched With iOS 27
With the public release of iOS 27 and tvOS 27, Apple Intelligence is now built into the Home app. If you use cameras that support HomeKit Secure Video, you get three new features:
- Video summaries: A short text description of who or what your camera spotted, shown right next to the clip.
- Smart video search: Describe what you want to find, like a package delivery, instead of scrolling through hours of footage.
- Multi-camera clips: When several cameras catch the same moment, the Home app stitches the footage into one video.
The new limits are spelled out on Apple’s Apple Support page for Apple Intelligence usage. Here is how many cameras each iCloud+ plan covers for AI features like video summaries (U.S. monthly prices):
- 2TB plan ($9.99/month): 1 camera
- 6TB plan ($29.99/month): 2 cameras
- 12TB plan ($59.99/month): 5 cameras
Right now, no plan unlocks the AI features for more than five cameras. Apple also warns that these camera counts may change over time.
Why Apple Home AI Summaries Carry a Steep Price
Here is where it hurts. Picture a video doorbell and two outdoor cameras running on the 2TB plan. All three keep recording, but only one of them gets the new AI features.
Think of it like a streaming plan that lets every TV in your house play shows, but only one TV gets subtitles.
Stepping up is not cheap. Adding AI to a second camera means jumping from $9.99 to $29.99 per month. Covering five cameras pushes the bill to $59.99 per month, which adds up to almost $720 per year.
Apple One Premier costs $39.95 per month, but it only includes 2TB of iCloud+ storage. That means Premier subscribers also get AI features on a single camera.
Beta testers are especially surprised. During the iOS 27 beta, the 2TB plan showed AI support for five cameras. Apple never officially confirmed those beta numbers, but the final limits are much tighter.
What Stays the Same
The good news is that your existing recording setup does not change. The camera limits for regular HomeKit Secure Video recording are exactly the same as before:
- The 50GB plan ($0.99/month) records from one camera.
- The 200GB plan ($2.99/month) records from up to five cameras.
- The 2TB, 6TB, and 12TB plans record from unlimited cameras.
- Camera footage still does not count against your iCloud storage.
In other words, the new limits only apply to the AI extras. Your basic recording features keep working as they always have. For a closer look at how the plans and cameras fit together, see our guide to iCloud+ camera requirements.
Choosing Which Camera Gets the AI
You are not locked into one camera forever. According to hands-on reports, you can switch Apple Intelligence on for different cameras, as long as you stay within your plan’s limit.
- Start with your busiest camera: For many homes, the front door sees the most deliveries and visitors.
- Switch before you travel: Move the AI to a backyard or garage camera while you are away.
- Do not expect old summaries: Summaries only appear for footage recorded while the AI is switched on for that camera.
If monthly plans are wearing thin, you can also skip cloud fees entirely with cameras that store footage locally.
