Wyze
Smart home company Wyze released a new security camera, the Wyze Bulb Cam. This motion-activated smart light replaces a standard light bulb and has a security camera built in. Combining surveillance with an app-controlled light that plugs into a socket keeps the camera powered, giving the device dual purpose.
“We know areas of your home you want to protect, like garages, decks, and pools, may not be close to an outlet,” said Dave Crosby, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Wyze. “The Wyze Bulb Cam makes keeping an eye on those places easy with a high-quality camera that’s affordable and simple to set up, just like all of our other Wyze cameras. It’s literally as easy as screwing in a light bulb.”
Also: Wyze Cam adds ‘no big deal’ AI filter to cut down on your notifications
The camera below the lightbulb features 2K resolution and a 160-degree field of view, which is wider than the Wyze Cam’s 120 degrees. This is thanks to the camera’s adjustable wide view, which lets you manually extend, pan, and tilt the camera to capture the desired viewing angle. The new Wyze Bulb Cam also supports color night vision for round-the-clock color images.
The light bulb attached to the Wyze Bulb Cam works like any other smart bulb, but it is also a motion-activated light. This smart light can reach up to 800 lumens, and you can customize dimming options on the Wyze mobile app.
The Wyze Bulb Cam costs $50, which is pretty affordable, but it means you should expect to compromise on some features. While you can adjust the viewing angle manually, the camera doesn’t automatically track motion by following a subject, for example. The camera is also compatible with Wyze’s new artificial intelligence (AI) notifications, but those are only available with a Cam Unlimited Pro subscription, which costs $20 a month or $200 a year. These AI notifications include Descriptive Alerts and the NBD Filter.
Also: 7 crucial rules for setting up a home security camera – and risky spots to avoid
If you want to avoid the cloud storage costs and access your recorded video clips, you can add a microSD card of up to 256GB to the camera, which can provide continuous local recording.
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