stream given the cloud subscription plans
that accompany most security systems.
It’s also not going to be available to
everyone without a little extra expense. While
Apple is set to provide cloud storage for 10 days
of video without it affecting your limit, such
storage isn’t part of iCloud’s free allocation: to
run a single camera, you’ll need to be signed up
for a 200GB plan, and you’ll be able to monitor
up to five cameras with a 2TB plan.
The HomeKit security refresh extends
beyond cameras, too. Alongside Secure Video,
Apple has announced HomeKit support for
routers. This is due to partition your different
connected HomeKit devices with individual
firewalls, allowing you to control just how much
access they have to your home network, to the
internet at large, and to the devices around
them. Linksys, Eero and US cable operator
Charter/Spectrum are the first to sign up to
build HomeKit routers, and we expect more
information to trickle out on these devices as
we near the release of iOS 13 later this year.
App smarts
Along with a new Shortcuts app, which offers
more opportunity to create custom ways to use
Siri, iOS 13 will (somewhat predictably) see a
revamped Home app hitting your iPhone and
presumably devices running the new iPadOS
too. It’s more of a subtle update than a full-on
redesign, but there are some interesting
additions and updates which should make it
even easier to use and more flexible.
First up, device controls have been further
refined and streamlined from their current
state. Their specific layout still varies by device,
but in the case of (for example) lights, shortcuts
to the colours you frequently apply will now be
available directly on the main brightness
control screen rather than being tucked away
on a separate panel, and the link to the settings
Image credits: Waze
Moving smart
WWDC didn’t leave CarPlay
spinning its wheels. In fact (and
this will please you if you’re
suffering through using your
car manufacturer’s default
entertainment front end, which is
almost certainly terrible), Apple’s
in-car interface for iOS looks
set to receive a major upgrade,
which will make it an even more
essential on-the-move tool.
Amongst the massive
changes announced are a newly
refined dashboard which better
utilises your car’s screen space,
and a major update to Siri which
allows you to control third-party
apps like Waze without taking
your hands off the wheel. That’s
a real plus both to CarPlay’s
usefulness and to your safety –
and may hint at increased third-
party app support making its way
to Siri outside of CarPlay too. No
word yet, though, on whether
Apple has squashed its beef with
Spotify enough to add proper
Siri integration – you’ll need to
make do with Spotify’s own voice
control interface for now.
74 | MACFORMAT | SEPTEMBER 2019
Want to control Waze while you’re driving the car? You can, thanks to an update to Siri.
Project Catalyst means the same apps can
live on your iPhone, iPad and Mac desktop
- perfect for smart home management.
