Testing $20 WyzeCam, The Money Losing Amazon Vet Startup

Published Dec 12, 2017 15:44 PM

This startup is perfecting the old adage:

We lose money on every sale, but make it up on volume

But it is no joke. The company, Wyze Labs, is led by ex-Amazon managers, who clearly have money for an incredible PR campaign, including fawning coverage in the NYTimes, CNET, Engadget, and more plus slickly produced marketing videos like so:

 

Wyze's pitch is simple and amazing - IP cameras for just $20 sold on their website and Amazon, with 2 weeks free cloud recording.

Indeed, the NYTimes, evidently seriously, declared:

Wyze did not create a home internet camera for a tenth of the price of rivals by skimping on quality.

However, our tests results show the quality is significantly inferior to competitors like Nest and others on many dimensions but we do believe there is potential for this as a business.

Testing Findings

WyzeCam suffers from connection problems, inaccurate motion detection, poor low light performance, poor build quality and non-existent tech support.

On the plus side, it does stream and record video, which for its price (~$20 USD plus a separately purchased SD card) will be attractive for people who just want the basics at a rock-bottom price.

Market Potential Disruption

Despite the various product problems, we believe Wyze has a shot at being a market disruptor. They have already demonstrated strong marketing abilities and obviously a funding source that is willing to lose money for some time as they scale up. If they can scale up, they then have the opportunity to add in higher cost / better margin cameras and upsell customers to ongoing subscription services for various add-ons (longer storage, advanced alerting, etc.). They are the first super low-cost IP camera provider who combines marketing skill and access to venture funding. That combination could work.

Impact on China Manufacturers

The biggest risk is to Chinese manufacturers, like Hikvision / Ezviz. Wyze's super low-cost model combined with their Western marketing is very tough for Chinese manufacturers to match. For example, Wyze has gotten much better PR in just the past month than Ezviz has ever gotten. If Wyze can scale up (and there's definitely risk), they could establish themselves as the go-to-brand for super low-cost, mediocre/'good-enough' IP cameras.

Physical Overview

WyzeCam is smaller than most consumer/DIY cameras, becoming slightly taller if extended from retractable base. Most noticeably, the WyzeCam and its base are made from plastic, making the camera more breakable compared to the Nest.

Below is a physical overview of the Wyzecam:

Pricing

The Wyzecam can be purchased directly from the WyzeCam website for ~$20 USD. This pricing includes the camera and 14 days of free rolling storage. Note that this is the WyzeCam sale price and the camera is originally ~$30.

Pricing of the Wyzecam is significantly lower than other consumer/DIY offerings with the majority being >$100.

Non-Existant Tech Support

During testing, numerous attempts to contact tech support were made. When attempting phone contact we were informed that no techs were available at the time and we should instead send our inquiries through e-mail. Attempts to contact by e-mail were replied with automated responses.

Frequent Connection Issues

During our testing, WyzeCam had a number of issues connecting to our wireless network, sometimes taking numerous attempts to connect. Note that WyzeCam can only connect to 2.4Ghz networks. Below is the error received when attempting to connect fails:

With an SD card inserted, the WyzeCam can be set to continuously record. However, when trying to view playback, WyzeCam constantly alerted us that the camera is not connected. The alert would persist for ~5 seconds before the tabs became responsive. below is an example of the "Device not connected" alert:

 

Motion Alerts Unreliable

During testing motion alerts provided no push notification despite being able to turn them on or off.

Motion alerts also proved to be unreliable, triggering on shadows and light changes at even the lowest settings. WyzeCam offers no way to set up preferred motion zones to combat unwanted alerts. Seen below is an example of what would trigger motion recording:

With every motion event triggered, WyzeCam will record a 10-12 second clip, after that clip is recorded WyzeCam will not record any other motion events for 5 minutes. In our testing, this proved to be too short, sometimes missing the event occurring right in front of the camera after recording the clip.

Users should also beware of a loss of all cloud notifications when deleting the camera and then adding it again to the network and the camera is not named the same as it originally was.

Full Light Image Quality

The Image below shows the test field for both the WyzeCam and Nest. Note that the Nest camera has a wider field of view, resulting in a lower pixel per foot.

At ~10' the WyzeCam offered the same details, Nest looking slightly softer than WyzeCam.

At ~18' and ~228 lux, WyzeCam offered better facial details than Nest but washed out the chart, making everything past the first line unreadable.

Dark Image Quality Not As Claimed

WyzeCam performed similarly to Nest at close distances. Nest offered more facial clarity in the scene below, while more lines of the chart are visible with WyzeCam.

The IR lights on WyzeCam failed to illuminate the subject, making the person barely detectable at ~18'.

App Usability

The WyzeCam app is reasonably simple and straightforward, making it easy for non-tech-savvy people to understand all of the features available. During testing we did have problems with push notifications not providing an alert when a motion event occured. Below is an overview of the app and its features:

Test Parameters

The following firmware versions were used in this test:

  • WyzeCam: 3.9.1.84
  • Nest: 217-610040
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