Smarthome company Wyze has released the latest generation of its popular budget security camera. The $49.99 Wyze Cam v3 Pro adds 2K resolution and on-device AI for faster processing of smart alerts for person detection. Wyze also says the Pro camera has a faster CPU, an improved speaker and microphone, and a better Wi-Fi connection with two antennas compared to the $29.99 Wyze Cam V3. Although it still only works over 2.4GHz networks.
Another new feature is Smart Focus. As part of a new app interface for Wyze’s cameras, Smart Focus adds a smaller view of the live stream, while the main view focuses on the person detected, giving you more information at a glance.
The Wyze Cam V3 Pro is a wired outdoor camera (rated to IP65) powered by a USB cable with a new 5V2A power adapter. (You have to buy the $14 outdoor power adapter if you plan on plugging it into an outdoor outlet.) Wyze says it delivers 20 FPS video in daylight and 15 FPS at night. The camera also uses Wyze’s excellent 4MP Starlight sensor for color night vision, plus a built-in floodlight and siren.
The camera supports up to 256 GB micro SD card for 24/7 recording and has a field of view of 116 degrees plus 8x digital zoom. As with all Wyze Cams, it supports integrations with Alexa and Google Assistant for alerts and voice control, and the Wyze app offers schedules and automations.
The main reason to spend the extra $20: the excellent Wyze Cam v3 is for that higher resolution — 2560 by 1440 p — and the local processing of person detection events. The latter uses the faster dual-core 1.2GHz processor to deliver AI alerts that don’t rely on the cloud. Wyze offered free onboard person detection processing using a company called Xnor.ai’s technology, but it ended that partnership in January 2020 when Apple bought Xnor.ai.
However, it’s not clear whether you need to subscribe to one of Wyze’s Cam Plus plans to enable person detection on this camera. This is necessary for smart notifications on the other Wyze Cams. We have contacted Wyze to confirm. Cam Plus Lite includes person detection and can be added for free (it’s a name-your-own pricing plan and you can choose $0). But you only get 12 seconds of video recording with a five-minute cooldown between shots.
Wyze Cam Plus costs $1.99 per month, which removes the video length limitation and cooldown, and adds vehicle, package, and pet detection, as well as person detection. In addition, you can also view your Wyze Cams on the web portal.
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