In this weekly column, hosts Brandon Doyle, Doyle Real Estate Team with RE/MAX Results, and Colton Pratt, project manager, walk through smart-home products and showcase their capabilities while reviewing pros and cons.
The goal at Wyze is to make quality smart-home technology accessible to everyone. By working with efficient manufacturers and selling directly from its website, it’s able to offer high-quality products at much lower prices.
The company’s first product Wyze Cam is a great alternative to more expensive options available on the market. It doesn’t have a have a battery. Instead, it’s powered by an included 6-foot-long micro USB cable, which should work for most indoor applications.
The camera is not marketed for outdoor use. However, many users have placed them underneath an eave or inside a windowsill looking outside. Wyze Cam V2 is capable of streaming full 1080p HD. It records 12-second videos to the cloud automatically when it detects motion or sound, and they’re accessible for up to 14 days for free. (Recording and uploading something to the cloud basically means that you can access the footage online from any device.)
With the addition of a 32 GB Micro SD card (not included), you can record up to a eight days of continuous standard definition video or two days worth of HD footage locally. Once it has run out of storage space, it will record over the oldest footage.
All of this is available for only $19.99 with no subscription fees. This makes it a great option to get started with self-monitored video for security or just peace of mind. The Wyze Cam Pan is just $10 more and adds 360-degree coverage as it can spin around the room. It will automatically track motion and follow the person or your pet around.
Just recently, Wyze Labs has expanded its product offering to include a smart sensor kit ($19.99), bulb ($7.99 each) and plugs ($14.99 for two.) They’re all controlled via the Wi-Fi connection and do not require a hub.
The Wyze App is very easy to use, and it integrates with your favorite voice assistant. Setting up an automation is very straightforward. For demonstration purposes, I put a door sensor on my pantry and a Wyze bulb in the existing light fixture. Now when the door opens, the light turns on, and when it closes it turns off, which is great when your hands are full.
I was also able to setup the motion sensor to turn on a lamp using the smart plug. Wyze Labs will be a company to watch as it continues to offer affordable solutions for smart-home technology without sacrificing features — as long as it pays attention to the security issues that have affected its products at least a couple of times.
Brandon Doyle is a Realtor at Doyle Real Estate Team — Re/Max Results in Minneapolis and co-author of Mindset, Methods & Metrics – Winning as a Modern Real Estate Agent. You can follow him on Twitter.
