Netatmo says Apple's HomeKit coming to Welcome & Presence security cams

Netatmo on Thursday said that two of its flagship smarthome products, the Welcome and Presence security cameras, will gain support for Apple's HomeKit later in 2017 via firmware updates.

The Presence should gain support sometime this fall, while the Welcome's compatibility is due by the end of year, Netatmo said. The former is a weatherproof outdoor unit with a floodlight, while the Welcome is a strictly indoor affair with features like face detection.

Through HomeKit, people will be able to link the cameras into complex scenes, for instance triggering lighting, air conditioning, and locks when a person comes or leaves. The iOS Home app will offer live streams, floodlight control, notifications and screenshots for activity, and the ability to check if a particular person can be seen by a Welcome unit.

Many Home options will have a Siri equivalent, such as "show me the entrance" or "turn Presence's light on."

This fall's iOS 11 will add a variety of new HomeKit features, such as multi-person geofencing and conditional triggers. Apple has meanwhile made HomeKit easier to implement by loosening licensing requirements and enabling software authentication, something Netatmo is presumably taking advantage of.