Does My Nest Camera Actually Work with Apple HomeKit?

[Ishara Fernando]

I've seen this question come up quite a few times, and the answers online seem to be all over the place.

Some people say Nest cameras work with Apple Home, while others say they don't. So, what's the real answer?

From what I've found, Nest cameras do not support Apple HomeKit natively. If you buy a Nest Cam or Nest Doorbell today, you won't be able to scan a HomeKit code and have it appeared in the Apple Home app.

That said, plenty of people are successfully using Nest cameras with Apple Home by using a bridge or software solution.

Some of the most common options are:

• Starling Home Hub for a simple plug and play experience.
• Homebridge if you don't mind a bit of setup.
• Scrypted for users who want advanced camera features and low latency.

For those already running one of these solutions:

• Which method are you using?
• How reliable has it been?
• Are live streams fast and responsive?
• Does two-way audio work well?
• If you're using HomeKit Secure Video, which Nest camera model are you using?

I'm also curious whether anyone has switched between Starling, Homebridge, and Scrypted. Was the change worth it?

It seems like the biggest point of confusion is that people assume Matter has solved this problem. From what I understand, Matter still doesn't support security cameras, so a bridge is still required if you want to view Nest cameras inside Apple Home.

I'd love to hear some real-world experiences before recommending one solution over another. Which setup has worked best for you?