Apple HomeView is getting ready to teach Google's Pixel Tablet a home security lesson

Apple’s recently unveiled Apple HomeView is designed to be the central command hub for your smart home, but it might soon take on additional duties as an indoor security camera. Evidence uncovered in HomeView Software 27.2 suggests that Apple is preparing to turn the smart display’s built-in 12MP Center Stage camera into a full-fledged HomeKit Secure Video camera.

According to strings discovered by X user pdfu in HomeView Software 27.2, setup files explicitly state: “Your HomeView can be used as a security camera with HomeKit Secure Video”.

The leak reveals comprehensive camera controls, including four operating states: Off, Detect Activity, Stream, and Stream & Allow Recording. The software also accounts for household presence modes, distinguishing between When Home, When Away, and When Asleep.

To protect privacy, a green indicator is also said to appear on the display alongside an audible chime when someone accesses the live feed or when recording kicks off, and household members will seemingly receive notifications if any security settings are altered.

If this security camera feature rolls out, it would highlight a stark contrast between Apple’s and Google’s ambitions for the centrepieces of their respective smart home ecosystems. When Google launched the Pixel Tablet, the pitch for its Speaker Dock was that it transformed the tablet into a hybrid smart display designed to live on your counter. Yet despite sitting stationary on a magnetic base, the Pixel Tablet never gained Nest Cam functionality or remote indoor surveillance features.

In fairness to Google, Apple never offered security camera functionality on iPads either. But to be fair to Apple, it never marketed iPads as dedicated tabletop home hubs, whereas the Pixel Tablet explicitly straddled that line.

Instead, the Google Nest Hub Max is a lot closer to the Apple HomeView than the Pixel Tablet is. The Nest Hub Max does double as a Nest Cam, letting users check live feeds, receive motion alerts, and record events through Nest Aware. However, HomeView’s implementation could gain the upper hand for privacy-conscious households. By integrating directly into HomeKit Secure Video, Apple’s solution relies on local on-device analysis, end-to-end encryption, and storage handled via iCloud Plus plans rather than a dedicated security subscription (based on leaked details so far).

Turning an always-docked smart display into a home surveillance device makes immense practical sense, sparing users from buying a separate indoor camera for their living room or kitchen. HomeView is already slated to ship on November 13, and while this capability is tied to upcoming 27.2 software builds, it could instantly give Apple’s smart display a compelling utility edge, a boat that the Pixel Tablet missed entirely.