Wyze, an innovative home company, has unveiled the latest generation of its popular budget security cameras. The Wyze Cam Pro costs $49.99 and features 2K resolution and on-device AI to speed up smart alerts for person detection. Wyze claims the Pro camera is faster than the $29.99 Wyze Cam. It also has two antennas and better Wi-Fi connectivity that still works on 2.4 GHz networks.
Smart Focus is another new feature. It is part of a new Wyze app interface. It provides a smaller view of the live stream, while the main view shows the person being detected. This gives you more information at a glance.
Wyze Cam V3 Pro wired outdoor camera is IP65 rated. It uses a USB cable and a 5V2A power adapter. If you wish to plug the Wyze Cam V3 Pro into an outdoor outlet, purchase the $14 outdoor power adapter. Wyze claims it can deliver 20 FPS video at night and 15 FPS in daylight. Wyze’s 4MP Starlight sensor is also used for night vision. The camera also features an integrated spotlight, a siren, and a flashlight.
The camera can record 24/7 on a microSD card up to 256GB. It also has a 116-degree field of view and 8x digital zoom. It can be integrated with Alexa or Google Assistant to receive alerts and voice commands. The Wyze app also offers automation and schedules.
You should spend $20 more on the Wyze Cam to get a higher resolution (2560 by 1440p) and local processing of person detection events. This latter uses the dual-core processor at 1.2 GHz to provide AI alerts that aren’t dependent on the cloud. Wyze offered onboard processing for person detection free of charge using a company called Xnor.ai’s technology. However, it ended this partnership in January 2020 after Apple purchased Xnor.ai.
The person alerts are not charged as they use local processing and have no cloud component. To view recorded video, you must subscribe to Wyze’s Cam Plus service ($1.99 per month / $20 per year per camera). The new Wyze Cam does not support Cam Plus Lite, which provides 12 seconds of recorded footage with a 5-minute cooling down between recordings.
Wyze Cam Plus allows unlimited video recording without a cool-down period. It also adds vehicle detection, person, pet, and package detection. You can also access your Wyze Cams via its web portal.
