New WyzeCam costs US$20 with improved hardware and Alexa support

Founded by ex-employees of Amazon, Wyze Labs came back with its latest product – an improved home camera called WyzeCam v2, with a new feature called Motion Tagging, which detects and highlights movements in live streaming and replay video clips, making it easier for users to tell what might have triggered the motion alert.

Other hardware improvements enable 1080p HD image quality both day and night, and better sound quality with Class-K audio power amplifier. There is also a new audio chip which can reduce electromagnetic interference. In addition, the new model comes with a non-reflective matte finish instead of the original glossy finish.

Moreover, Wyze Labs will release a firmware update in March to add Alexa and IFTTT support to its cameras. After the upgrade, users will be able to see video clips from their WyzeCam on any Alexa-enabled devices with a screen, to control certain basic functions with the voice assistant, and to program automatic camera actions via IFTTT.

The company’s cloud offering plans remain the same – 14-day cloud storage for free. Whenever motion or sounds are detected, the camera will record a 10-15 second video clip which is automatically saved in the cloud. Videos are protected by end-to-end encryption in the AWS Cloud. Longer video recording may be achieved with a microSD card inserted into the device.

First announced in October last year, the WyzeCam is designed as a white tiny plastic cube with a magnetic stand that can be mounted to metal surfaces easily. What makes the product stand out in the market is the US$20 low price with all the accompanying features.

“We believe smart home cameras shouldn’t break your budget,” said Dongsheng Song, COO and co-founder of Wyze Labs, in a statement at launch. “We work relentlessly to cut down costs while maintaining the highest quality standards possible; and we keep our margins low.”

The WyzeCam v2 will start shipping by the end of February. Meanwhile, the first-generation model will still receive support and software updates from the company.