News

May 18, 2024

Wyze may be about to release a new outdoor camera and floodlight cam

By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, a smart home reviewer who's been testing connected gadgets since 2013. Previously a writer for Wirecutter, Wired, and BBC Science Focus. If you buy something from a Verge

By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, a smart home reviewer who's been testing connected gadgets since 2013. Previously a writer for Wirecutter, Wired, and BBC Science Focus.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Wyze already announced three new cameras this month, but it looks like the company has even more up its sleeves. Tech blogger Dave Zatz dug up information on two not-yet-announced cameras: a new Wyze outdoor cam and an updated Wyze Cam Floodlight.

The Wyze Cam Outdoor Pro (or possibly Wyze Battery Cam Pro) looks to be an upgrade of the Wyze Cam Outdoor v2, adding 2K video resolution. The new Wyze Cam Floodlight Pro also appears to be getting a 2K resolution bump over the original 1080p model, in keeping with Wyze’s new line of Pro cameras, as well as possibly more flood lighting.

Zatz says his info comes from details hidden in the Wyze Android app APK, filings at the Bluetooth SIG, and from other sources. The Verge was able to confirm that a filing for the Wyze Cam Floodlight Pro appears in the Bluetooth group’s qualification list.

Renderings show the new Cam Outdoor Pro with a significantly different form factor from that of the standard square Wyze Cam, possibly to incorporate a removable battery.

This would be a first for Wyze: its existing battery-powered cameras have to be charged in place. A removable battery is more convenient as you don’t need to take the whole camera down to charge it. This is a path Ring has successfully followed; it uses removable batteries in all of its wireless cameras.

Zatz speculates that, in addition to 2K video, the Cam Outdoor Pro may have an improved speaker and mics, plus a faster live view. Renderings also show a microSD card to enable local recording, and Zatz says it appears the new camera will not require a separate base station, unlike the v2. This would explain its bulkier form factor, it will need a bigger battery if it relies directly on Wi-Fi, which uses a lot of power.

The new floodlight camera also looks to be part of the “Pro” line. The current Wyze Cam Floodlight is one of our picks for the best floodlight camera, in part due to its rock-bottom $100 price. Interestingly, cost-conscious competitor Blink has a wired floodlight cam slated for release shortly that’s also $100.

There’s no pricing yet on this Wyze model, but the big difference seems to be a purpose-built dome-style camera rather than just adding Wyze Cam v3 onto some floodlights (as is the case with the Wyze Cam Floodlight).

Whether this will supplant the ability to add a second Wyze Cam to see around corners (which you can do with the current model), we’ll have to wait and see. Zatz posits it may be a pan-and-tilt camera and that it may come with more floodlights than the previous model.

It is worth noting that Wyze has a checkered history with security on its cameras and long-term support for its products. There are no details on pricing or availability for either model.

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