The Amazon empire just got bigger. On Friday, December 22, the Seattle-based tech giant announced the acquisition of Kickstarter darling Blink, whose smart security solutions include cameras and doorbells that are, of course, compatible with Amazon’s Echo line. Blink shared the news with its own customers on its website, noting that the company was were “excited to announce” its recent acquisition.
“Since launching in early 2016, we’ve been thrilled by your response to our ultra-affordable, truly wire-free video home security cameras and monitoring systems,” the company wrote. While the security system has been on the market for just under two years, its smart home products first got their start on Kickstarter back in 2014.
Throughout this whole time, their main selling point has been their relative ease of use — all you need to work a Blink camera are two AA batteries. That means there’s no complicated rewiring to speak of, nor is there much of a limit in terms of where you can mount one. Moreover, Blink cameras have historically been quite affordable, setting customers back somewhere between $99 and $129.
So what does this mean for folks who are already using Blink? Really, not much. “If you own one of our systems, nothing changes for now,” Blink noted. “We’ll continue to operate under the Amazon umbrella selling and supporting the same great products you know and love
But for folks who are perhaps unfamiliar with Blink, the product’s new position as a member of the Amazon family could certainly help bolster its presence. And it certainly stands to reason that Blink’s cameras and doorbells will have an even deeper integration with Amazon Alexa and Echo devices. After all, Amazon’s smart home competitor Google has long had a similar company under its wing — Nest has been offering security solutions since early 2017, with connected cameras for both the indoors and outdoors.
Separately, buying Blink could also help Amazon improve upon its Amazon Key system, which would allow delivery people to come into your home to leave packages. Unfortunately, that system has proven somewhat problematic, but the addition of a security system might help assuage some concerns.
Amazon told CNBC, “As one of their distributors, we already know customers love their home security cameras and monitoring systems. We’re excited to welcome their team and invent together on behalf of customers.”
