The WyzeCam gets a smarter sequel that still costs only $20


That the $20 WyzeCam worked as well as it did is still kind of a surprise. It's no wonder then that the Amazon alums who created it have been working on a sequel: the WyzeCam v2. It'll still cost $20 when it starts shipping at the end of February, but don't let yourself be fooled by its almost-unchanged design — version 2 packs a handful of handy extras.

For one, there's an improved CMOS sensor inside that matte white body, which should help produce crisper images in your 1080p live feed — even when using the WyzeCam in night vision mode. Sound quality should be better too, thanks to a more powerful amplifier and an audio chip tweaked to better resist interference.

The WyzeCam 2's real value, however, lies in its improved intelligence. Unlike the original, version 2 can highlight people and objects moving in front of the camera -- with the first model, you'd get a motion alert and have to sit through motion-triggered clips to figure out what was happening. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but consider my setup: I still have a WyzeCam facing out over my desk at the Engadget office to make sure random Oath employees don't come over and fiddle with our treasure trove of gadgets. With the original model, I'd have to watch a clip to see if someone was actually at my desk, or just walking down a corridor behind me. WyzeCam 2, meanwhile, will highlight those people with a color so I could more quickly spot false positives.

Still other features will come over time. After all, Wyze team's M.O. from the outset was to push out cheap, effective hardware and augment it with software improvements, and that hasn't changed here. We're told that a firmware update coming in March will allow the WyzeCam to work with IFTTT applets and provide limited support for Alexa. You won't be able to issue commands to a WyzeCam through one of Amazon's speaker tubes, but you can view the live feed from a WyzeCam on devices like the Echo Show and Spot. For now, it's unclear when — or even if — such features will be made available on the original WyzeCam, but at $20 a pop, the prospect of swapping out your entire collection shouldn't be too expensive.

Source: WyzeCam

via Engadget RSS Feed "http://ift.tt/2CwhhrG"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evernote cuts staff as user growth stalls

Image
Note-taking app Evernote has fallen on hard times of late, culminating in its latest spate of job cuts impacting 15 percent of its workforce (54 employees). CEO Chris O' Neil -- an ex-Googler who took the reins in 2015 -- announced the firings at an all-hands meeting earlier today, reports TechCrunch . In a message on the Evernote blog , O' Neill admitted he'd set "incredibly aggressive goals" for the company in 2018. He continued: "Going forward, we are streamlining certain functions, like sales, so we can continue to speed up and scale others, like product development and engineering." The layoffs follow an exec exodus just weeks ago and the company's recent brand refresh (complete with a refined logo and wordmark). But critics are more concerned about its product, especially the free tier, which they claim lacks the perks to...
Read more

The best air conditioner

Image
By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here . After six summers of researching, testing, and recommending window air conditioners, we've learned that quiet and affordable ACs make most people the happiest—and we think the LG LW8016ER will fit the bill in most rooms. This 8,000 Btu unit cools as efficiently and effectively as any model with an equal Btu rating, and runs at a lower volume and deeper pitch than others at this price. Little extra features like a fresh-air vent, two-axis fan blades, and a removable drain plug help set it apart, too. The LG LW8016ER is a top choice for an office or den, and some people will find it quiet enough for a bedroom, too. If our main pic...
Read more

We won't see a 'universal' vape oil cartridge anytime soon

Image
Pre-loaded cartridges of cannabis concentrate are currently among the most popular means of consumption, and for good reason. They're discreet to use and easy to handle, a far cry from the dark days of 2016 when we had to dribble hash oil or load wax into narrow-mouthed vape pens by hand. But, frustratingly, an ever increasing number of oil cartridge manufacturers employ one-off design standards so that their products won't work with those of their competitors, thereby locking customers into proprietary ecosystems. We've already seen this with nicotine vaporizers -- which has a seen a massive rise in "pod systems" in the last few years, each outfitted with a unique canister and battery built to be incompatible with those of their competition. Is it too late for the burgeoning cannabis industry to set a universal standard for their product designs? ...
Read more