Michael Crider
Wyze has quickly made a name for itself with inexpensive, reliable smarthome equipment, including the popular Wyze Cam. While it’s often used as such, it’s not actually rated for use outdoors. The new Wyze Outdoor Cam makes that upgrade, as well as some other interesting upgrades. It’s available in a limited preview starting at $50.
The new camera is IP65 weather-resistant. That means that it’s completely dust-proof and can handle water in a low-pressure jet—more than enough resistance for heavy rain, for example. It can’t take a dunk, but with its magnetic or screw mounting, it shouldn’t need to. It’s also surprisingly tiny, making it an ideal travel companion for, say, an extended AirBnB stay.
While the standard Wyze Cam connects directly to a Wi-Fi router, the Outdoor Cam uses an RF wireless base station (one included in the $50 starter bundle) with a much longer range. That’s a big boon if you’re setting up cameras far beyond the normal limits of your Wi-Fi network. The base station plugs directly into your router via Ethernet, and from there it’s accessible via the standard Wyze app. It can support up to four Outdoor Cams. The cameras still include Wi-Fi, but as a direct connection option: you can monitor directly from the camera to the app on your phone without the need for a Wi-Fi router. That’s another plus if you intend to travel with the Outdoor Cam.
The camera can use a MicroSD card for local backups of 1080p videos, and like the original Wyze Cam, the Outdoor Cam features robust magnetic mounting and tilting options. There’s no panning motor (like, wait for it, the Wyze Cam Pan), but at this price its absence is more than justified. The camera can use either a standard power adapter, or run on a battery for three to six months between charges. Like the standard Wyze Cam, the Outdoor Cam sensor is augmented with infrared emitters for night vision.
At the moment you can “back” the $50 starter bundle with one camera and a base station, though Wyze’s site is slammed with new orders this morning. Wyze says standalone cameras for expansion will be aviable for $40 “soon.” After the initial preview period both options should be available as a standard purchase from Wyze.
Source: Wyze
