Revealed late last year, Wyze has aspirations beyond WiFi video cameras and is expanding into full-on smart home capabilities with the new Wyze Sense kit. This $20 bundle includes a wireless bridge, that’s powered by the $26 Wyze Cam, to communicate with a motion sensor and two contact sensor pairs. Monitor your home for under $50? Done!
https://youtu.be/FajfP82VD30
While I’ve unboxed the sensor kit (above), I’ve yet to put it through its paces. But as an industry veteran, I can tell you with certainty that sales of $20-30 hardware can’t sustain a company… and, as such, I fully expect to see some sort of Wyze service subscription to be introduced, providing additional capabilities – like advanced scheduling mentioned in the video or even monitoring like Ring Alarm or SimpliSafe. I also expect further Alexa integration and we do know Wyze intends to release bulbs and an outdoor cam. It’ll be a awhile before Wyze catches SmartThings, but in some respects, they have already eclipsed WeMo with Wyze Sense.
The first batch of Wyze Sense has sold out, but I can’t imagine it’ll be long before broader availability. Gonna be a fun year for them (and us).
If Wyze truly isn’t utilizing Zigbee, this may be something of a walled garden. But it may be enough for the mainstream looking for an inexpensive and simple solution. Then again, they just brought RTSP to the camera… so broader control may get exposed in some way, hopefully to include Alexa.
One YouTube show note: At the top of the box, which I didn’t recognize for what it was while filming, is what looks like a metal SIM removal tool. This is used in the pairing process — click add device in app, poke the sensor hole until the light flashes, get paired up.
One interesting note in the in the RTSP notes for the Wyzecams is the following statement:
“We don’t have the resources to keep developing two branches of firmware for Wyze Cam v2 and Wyze Cam Pan. This means that the RTSP branch will be upgraded infrequently. Using the RTSP firmware will prevent the camera from supporting any future functionality additions, such as A.I. for Human/Animal/Vehicle recognition, event video tagging, further stability improvements, and bug fixes. “
https://support.wyzecam.com/hc/en-us/articles/360026245231-Wyze-Cam-RTSP
AI for person detection would fall in line with some kind of subscription, just like Arlo smart.
I have three little Wyze cameras and I love them! All for niche use. One is in the garage so I can check to see whether or not I closed the garage door! Another is pointing out at my patio to see all of the animal invaders who visit my house. And the final one is pointed at all of my guitars and electronics in the basement.
They are cheap but seem to be very reliable. And the Wyze app is also good. I love this company!