Wyze has some of the best budget security cameras out there. We recently highlighted the Wyze Cam V3 as ours thanks to its low price and convenient range of features. While subscription is not required for the company’s cameras, it does add value. With this in mind, a new level of subscription opens up for everyone.
the includes AI-powered people detection (instead of motion detection) and 12-second event recordings. Here’s the twist: it’s a pay-w-you-want plan, so you can access these features without paying a monthly or annual fee.
The existing Cam Plus plan costs $ 2 per month or $ 15 per year. It supports consecutive event recordings (instead of one every five minutes). Additional functions include full-length video recording as long as motion is detected, as well as package, vehicle and pet detection.
Previously, Wyze cameras have recorded 12-second clips every five minutes when they detected an event, and those recordings are retained for up to 14 days. Wyze is moving this feature into its subscriptions, but you will need to sign up for the Cam Plus or Cam Plus Lite plan to continue using cloud recording.
Wyze says it is pairing Cloud recordings with the AI-assisted person recognition function in Cam Plus Lite are intended to make them more useful and avoid unnecessary notifications that could be triggered, for example, by a clip of an insect flying in front of the camera. The company believes this approach will improve the overall experience, although it will incur significant cloud costs. Hence, while users won’t pay for these features, they hope that they will do their part to keep the cost for everyone.
Unless Opt-in on Cam Plus Lite, your cameras save thumbnails of the detected content instead of videos. You can still sign up for Cam Plus Lite at any time.
Wyze is also making some changes to the local storage options. It supports microSDXC cards with more than 32 GB of storage. This feature is now available for Wyze Cam v3 and will be available for the company’s other cameras as part of the next firmware update. By mid-February, Wyze will be rolling out 30-second rewind and fast-forward buttons to help users zip faster through footage stored on a microSD card.
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