If your dog or cat spends the day home alone and your household runs on iPhones, Apple’s first cameras are worth a look before you sign up for a pet camera plan. The LG Indoor Cam in the new Apple Home Collection costs $199.95 and recognizes pets. It keeps its clips on an iCloud+ plan you may already pay for.
It also tilts down and stops watching as soon as someone in your household comes home, which changes how it works as a pet camera.
The lineup was announced on October 13. Its cameras go on sale in December in the US, Canada and the UK.
Clips on the cheapest iCloud+ plan
Apple charges nothing extra for the cameras’ cloud storage. Clips go to iCloud+, and the size of your plan decides how many cameras it covers:
- 50 GB at $0.99 a month: one camera
- 200 GB at $2.99 a month: up to five cameras
- 2 TB at $9.99 a month: any number of cameras
Every plan keeps 10 days of event clips. The Apple Intelligence video descriptions, which write a sentence about each clip, are limited to fewer cameras depending on the plan.
To record at all, the camera needs a home hub: Apple’s new HomeView, a HomePod, a HomePod mini or an Apple TV 4K. Setup starts with a tap from an iPhone on the latest software. Everything runs in Apple’s Home app, which exists only on Apple devices, so a family member on Android can’t check on the dog from their own phone.
Next to a Furbo Nanny plan
Furbo’s US prices show what the iCloud route saves. Its Standard plan costs $9.99 a month and keeps three days of video history. Premium costs $12.49 a month for seven days, and each extra camera adds $2 a month.
By our arithmetic, a year of Furbo Standard paid monthly comes to about $120. A year of the 50 GB iCloud+ plan costs about $12, and its clips stay for more than three times as long.
Furbo’s camera tosses treats, carries your voice to the dog and sends barking alerts. Apple’s announcement lists none of those for the Indoor Cam, which is a camera and nothing else.
If watching meals is what you’re after, a camera feeder is another route. The PETLIBRO Granary Smart Camera Feeder Dual Bowl points its camera down at the bowls and can save clips to a microSD card, with no cloud plan at all.
A camera that looks away when you’re home
The Indoor Cam tilts up to view the room when you check in from the Home app. It tilts back down to stop monitoring as soon as the first member of the household returns. When the last one leaves, it starts monitoring again. You can also tilt it by hand or from the app at any time.
A partner or a teenager at home with the dog is enough to keep the camera pointed down while you’re at work. It stays that way until you tilt it up from the app.
Furbo’s Home Mode works the other way. It pauses the alerts on your phone when you get home, while the Furbo keeps detecting events and saving clips.
Dog walkers and sitters
A dog walker who comes in at noon isn’t a member of your household, so by our reading the camera keeps watching while they’re inside. Apple hasn’t said whether someone you invite into your Home app counts as a household member for the tilt.
The $349.95 LG Smart Deadbolt Lock is pitched at the same visitors. Guest access can be shared from the Home app, and Apple names a dog walker and a house sitter among the people it’s for. The lock also has a PIN pad, and its core functions work locally, without an internet connection.
When the Wi-Fi drops
Each camera has built-in storage and keeps recording when the Wi-Fi goes down. Every device in the lineup also supports Thread, a low-power home network that helps it stay connected if Wi-Fi fails.
The cameras update their own network details when you change your Wi-Fi. A new router or a new password won’t leave the dog’s camera offline until you get home to set it up again.
What December will show
Sales start in December, with some accessories following in early 2027. Apple hasn’t said which ones wait, so check that the Indoor Cam is on the December list before you cancel a plan you already have.
