Wyze Labs has introduced a $20 home security sensor kit to pair with its highly regarded $25 Wyze Cam. When Wyze introduced the tiny, 1080p HD security camera, Digital Trends was surprised and delighted to discover its incredible value for the money. The Wyze Sense starter kit bundles two contact sensors, a motion detector, and the Wyze Bridge — an astonishing value for $20.
Details are sparse prior to the Wyze Sense release. The components are each about the size of a quarter, according to a Wyze representative. The general idea is the sensor bridge plugs into a USB port on the back of a Wyze Cam or Wyze Cam Pan. The other Wyze Sense components communicate via the bridge with Wyze Cams and 2.4GHz home Wi-Fi networks.
The Wyze app used to tie the components together is compatible with iOS 8.0 or later and Android 5.0 or later, and integrates with Amazon Alexa and If This Then That (IFTTT) protocols. Wyze recently announced that support for Google Home would launch in early 2019, but Apple HomeKit support won’t be available until at least the end of 2019.
The Wyze Sense motion detector has a 26-foot range within a 120-degree horizontal range of view. When you install the contact sensors on windows or doors, in the closed position, the portion of the contact sensor that moves should be no more than 2 centimeters or 0.78 inches apart from the main or base portion. To be clear, the kit includes two contact sensors, each with two components.
According to Wyze, the motion detectors and contact sensors trigger your Wyze Cam to start recording when they sense movement or their contacts moved, or they can simply send alerts to your phone wherever you are in the world.
The sensors can also inform you when a contact is left open for a particular period of time. Digital Trends will report back when we have more specific information about how the contact and motion sensors send user alerts and activate Wyze security cameras.
Wyze rates battery life for the contact sensors and the motion detector at 12 months, with no further information about the batteries before the announcement.
Like the current Wyze Cams, Wyze Sense is intended for indoor use only. The company suggests one Wyze Sensor Bridge per floor in a house, so if you buy multiple Sense kits for additional contact sensors and motion detectors, you’ll likely have extra bridges. Low price is one of the factors in Wyze’s success, so unused bridges don’t represent a significant expense.
Wyze Sense is scheduled to start shipping on May 8.
