Eufy’s new smart security cameras do things that Amazon’s can’t

Smart home shoppers are eating well this week. Amazon’s Devices and Services event took place on Wednesday, unveiling tens of new products and gadgets to furnish homes, and Anker Innovations kept the ball rolling the day after. Its smart security brand, Eufy Security, took center stage to announce its next-gen Edge Security System, which consists of two EufyCam 3 cameras that can record 4K resolution with “Forever Power” via solar charging, and a HomeBase 3 management hub that uses AI to track and classify the faces of humans, pets, and objects. 

All that data is stored locally. 

More: Trade in your old devices for Amazon gift cards. Here’s how

“There are still several pain points in home security that need to be addressed,” said Brett White, Senior PR Manager, during the presentation. Consumers are susceptible to endless streams of notifications because most security cameras send an alarm for everything and anything they detect, monthly subscription fees are the norm, and video data is typically stored in the cloud — fittingly inexplorable. All that is to say the new Edge Security System does what the larger brands like Ring and Blink don’t do. 

The smart home bundle starts with two EufyCam 3 outdoor cameras. Each unit is packed with a 13,400mAh battery that Eufy says takes only two hours of direct sunlight to fully charge. Theoretically, you will never have to expend your home electricity to top up the security camera. It also shoots in 4K (3,840 x 2,160) resolution, which is instrumental for reliable surveillance during the day and night, and for keeping tabs on who and what comes through your residence. 

The latter plays hand-in-hand with the second half of the Edge Security System, the HomeBase 3 monitoring system. As the brain of Eufy’s new smart home ecosystem, the HomeBase 3 uses “BionicMind” technology to recognize and self-learn the faces of humans, pets, and objects that go in and out of your home. With time, the machine-learning technology will be able to notify you when your child has arrived home from school, the local delivery man drops off a package, or an unrecognized figure is loitering around at night. Homebase also classifies the faces that it records so you can search for a specific person within the Eufy security app. 

More: Best night vision security cameras

For storage, the HomeBase 3 comes with 16GB of free, 256-bit encrypted local memory, and supports up to 16TB via an external hard drive. Eufy says the max storage capacity should hold up to 60 years of video recordings.

With all of your data saved locally, there are no required cloud subscription fees to use the Edge Security System. You simply pay the upfront cost of $549, no strings attached. “When we launched our first EufyCam in 2018, which included free local, encrypted storage, we made a commitment to protect our customers’ homes, as well as their privacy,” said Frank Zhu, Eufy Security General Manager, in a company press release.