Image rights: ecobee.
The ecobee SmartCamera features a clean
design, with a sleek metal stand that allows
for vertical adjustments. It can also be
mounted to a wall. The camera is for indoor
use and doesn’t have an internal battery, so
you can’t access it if the power goes out.
Image–wise you get 1080p resolution with
a 180 Ľeld of view, recording at 30 frames
per second, night vision, and two–way audio
with an integrated microphone.
It connects directly to a Wi-Fi network
without needing a separate hub and has the
Alexa voice assistant built-in, which enables
voice commands. The SmartCamera also
supports HomeKit for streaming live footage
on demand through the Home app.
In–app features include digital panning,
zooming, and a siren activation option.
Image processing is performed on device by
an eight–core processor, and can distinguishecobee SmartCamera
ecobee’s first security camera delivers a solid punch
$179 From ecobee, ecobee.com
Features 1080p video, night vision, two–way audio, person detection, cloud storage onlyECOBEE
SMARTCAMERA
Excellent image
Person detection
HomeKit support
Expensive cloud
storageGREAT
between humans and pets. It also enables
Smart Focus, which tracks activity by
panning around to follow people in view.
Setup is quick and painless, and the app
is easy to navigate. The live stream Ľres up
instantly and footage is clear and detailed,
even at night. Oddly, when you get alerts on
your iPhone, there’s no thumbnail preview.
There’s no local storage on device. Instead,
footage is encrypted and sent to ecobee’s
cloud storage. One month is included, and
after that, pricing starts at $5/month for one
camera. You get a rolling 14–day timeline of
events, and snapshots and videos can be
saved to your phone’s storage at any time.
It’s not cheap, but we’re told that HomeKit
Secure Video — the privacy–centric iCloud
storage solution — will be available soon.
THE BOTTOM LINE. A smart and capable,
if expensive, security camera. CHRIS CLOSEThe SmartCamera will
support HomeKit Secure
Video in the future, so
there will be no need to
subscribe to ecobee’s
own cloud storage.
Tough testing, trusted ratings
maclife.com SEP 2020 51