The topic HomeKit Weekly: The Ulticam IQ brings PoE and Gemini AI to a Matter-certified smart… is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
Xthings recently released the Ulticam IQ V2, touting it as the first Matter-certified AI security camera. It boasts an impressive list of features that includes Power over Ethernet, 4K resolution, and some nice Google Gemini AI integrations. Let’s take a closer look at what the Ulticam IQ V2 brings to the table and whether it is worth betting on future software updates.
HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.
The most interesting part of the Ulticam IQ V2 is absolutely its integration with Google Gemini. Notifications on most cameras still aren’t perfect. Xthings is attempting to fix this information overload by combining local edge processing with cloud AI.
The camera handles basic recognition locally, such as identifying a person, a package, or a vehicle. Then it uses Google Gemini in the cloud to provide actual context for those events. Instead of scrolling through dozens of disconnected 30-second clips, the AI generates concise daily summaries. It can stitch together related clips to tell you that a delivery driver arrived, left a package, and stayed on the porch for 2 minutes.
The feature I am most interested in testing is the natural language search. The claim is that you can open the app and simply type something like, “Show me when the UPS driver came yesterday,” and Gemini will pull the exact footage you need. If this actually works as advertised, it would be a massive leap forward in how we interact with our camera history. I am now wishing all enterprise camera systems had this nice of a feature.
Of course, passing your video feed to a cloud AI requires a lot of trust in the vendor. Xthings notes that it uses AES-256 encryption and offers a free, rolling 7-day cloud storage plan without a subscription. That free storage tier alone makes it a very compelling package.
The Ulticam IQ V2 is Matter-certified, supporting Matter 1.5, which finally introduced camera support to the ecosystem. However, there is a catch that we have to talk about. Apple has not yet updated the Home app to actually support Matter cameras. I am usually the first person to tell you never to buy hardware based on a software update that is coming soon and technically not announced. However, Apple has historically been a major driver behind the Matter standard, and it is highly likely we will see them flip the switch for camera support in a future iOS update. With WWDC 2026 right around the corner this summer, I would not be surprised to hear an announcement of expanded Matter support for Apple Home in iOS 27.
Until Apple officially rolls out Matter 1.5 support, the Ulticam IQ still has plenty of fallback options. Because it supports standard protocols like ONVIF, you can still pull the video feed into local systems like Home Assistant or an NVR today.