Ring Video Doorbells to Gain End-to-End Encryption, But Still No Sign of HomeKit Support
Amazon is rolling out end-to-end encryption for video captured by Ring doorbells, after a successful trial in the United States (via BBC News).
Amazon's worldwide adoption of the encryption standard for Ring will mean that video footage from the doorbell cameras is stored on Amazon's servers, but the content won't be accessible to the company and only the user's device on which the video is received will be able to view the files.
Other new security features also set to be added to Ring doorbells include the ability to use two-factor authenticator apps and Captcha images. Amazon bought the US-based firm Ring for around $1 billion in 2018.
Apple offers a similar service for HomeKit-enabled third-party cameras called HomeKit Secure Video, which leverages iCloud to securely stream and store video clips from compatible indoor and outdoor cameras and doorbells, with end-to-end encryption.
HomeKit Secure Video cameras and doorbells are managed through the Home app like other HomeKit accessories. However, despite assurances given in 2018 Amazon's Ring Video Doorbell still does not support Apple HomeKit, and there is no indication that it plans to do so in the near future.
For people looking for alternatives, Apple in December began selling Logitech's Circle View Wired Doorbell ($200), one of the first video doorbells with support for HomeKit Secure Video.
Starting with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, which will be publicly released in September, security cameras and video doorbells that support HomeKit Secure Video will detect and notify you when a package has been delivered.
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Starting with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, which will be publicly released in the fall, security cameras and video doorbells that support HomeKit Secure Video can now detect and notify you when a package has been delivered.
HomeKit Secure Video, available on iOS 13.2 and later, leverages iCloud to securely stream and store video clips from compatible HomeKit-enabled indoor and outdoor cameras and...
Amazon today held a media event that saw the introduction of a slew of new products, ranging from an in-home Alexa robot to a new fitness service that mimics Apple Fitness+. We've rounded up all of Amazon's most interesting announcements below.
Astro Household Robot
Astro is an Alexa-integrated home robot that can monitor the home, help users keep in touch with family, and more. Astro can...
Apple has toggled end-to-end encryption for Safari bookmarks in iCloud, further expanding the type of user data that the company fully encrypts, offering the highest level of privacy and data protection.
Spotted on Reddit, an update to Apple's "iCloud security overview" page has indicated that alongside Safari tabs and history, Safari bookmarks are now end-to-end encrypted, meaning no one,...
Ecobee has updated its SmartCamera to support Apple's HomeKit Secure Video, which allows the cameras to capture and store recordings securely in iCloud.
The firmware update means SmartCamera owners have another option aside from Ecobee's $5-a-month subscription for video recording and movement notifications.
With HomeKit Secure Video, video footage is encrypted and stored in iCloud...
WhatsApp end-to-end encrypted backups are now rolling out for iPhone users, Facebook has announced. Until now, WhatsApp let users back up their chat history to iCloud, but the messages and media contained in the backups weren't protected by WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption while in Apple's cloud servers. Since Apple holds the encryption keys for iCloud Backup, a...
Linksys today announced that it has added HomeKit support to the Linksys Velop AX4200 WiFi 6 System, otherwise known as the Linksys Atlas Pro 6 Tri-Band. HomeKit integration is available through a software update.
Launched last November, the AX4200 is Linksys' latest flagship WiFi mesh system, offering up WiFi 6 connectivity at an affordable price.
HomeKit support in the Linksys Velop...
Alongside AirPods Max, Apple today also began selling the new Logitech Circle View Wired Doorbell, one of the first video doorbells with support for HomeKit Secure Video.
The Circle View Doorbell includes Logitech's "TrueView" video technology with a 160º field of view, head-to-toe HD video quality, HDR, and color night vision. As a wired doorbell, the Circle View connects to your existing...
Apple today released the third beta of iOS 15.1 to developers for testing purposes, and the update introduces some new camera features for iPhone 13 Pro users.
ProRes Video
Today's beta adds support for ProRes video capture with the standard iPhone camera app. It can be toggled on by opening up the Settings app and selecting the "Camera" section. From there, tap on "Formats" and toggle on...
Apple retail locations and Apple's online store now offer Anker's eufyCam 2 Pro, a home security camera that supports Apple's HomeKit Secure Video feature.
Priced at $349.95, the eufyCam 2 Pro features a 2K resolution and a 140 degree field of view for sharp wide-angle video. The setup comes with a home base required for operation along with two cameras to use in the home.
With HomeKit...
As part of a class action lawsuit settlement, Zoom says it will pay $85 million to users for misleading them about offering end-to-end encryption on its videoconferencing service.
According to ArsTechnica, the company was accused of lying about its encryption description on its website and in a security white paper, as well as providing user data to Facebook and Google without users'...
Top Rated Comments
At this point the reasons are one of the following:
1. Amazon is simply trolling Apple and its customers.
2. Because it was promised they want to avoid lawsuits when they admit it is NOT coming. Newer Ring products don't promise HomeKit in the future, so perhaps "legally" as long as they say HomeKit is coming someday for the older products they never have to actually deliver as they never promised "when." Eventually those products will long since be end of life and hopefully for Amazon and Ring... forgotten.
My biggest gripe with Homekt. It's been out for years and there is still slim pickings for hardware in many categories- in many 1 or 2 vendors so they control the pricing really without competition.
Especially for cameras when you get into HKSV due to the certification needed from Apple and restrictions on hardware.
And when it does come out it is often much more expensive than the alternatives since Apple wants their licensing fee for certification; which is also tough hardware-wise and not all hardware supports all Homekit features (versus there own app) which makes it even weirder.
Homekit really has been a bust IMO, minor one since there is some stuff out there, but still a bit of a bust. Maybe Matter will change that, it is hard to say. I doubt Apple will play nice with HKSV unless certified by them though.
Anything I buy at this point cannot be Homekit only, just in case. I don't want to be locked in.
https://ring.com/warranty