Anker's eufyCam 2 Pro Camera With HomeKit Secure Video Now Available From Apple

[MacRumors]

Apple retail locations and Apple's online store now offer Anker's eufyCam 2 Pro, a home security camera that supports Apple's HomeKit Secure Video feature.

Priced at $349.95, the eufyCam 2 Pro features a 2K resolution and a 140 degree field of view for sharp wide-angle video. The setup comes with a home base required for operation along with two cameras to use in the home.

With HomeKit Secure Video, video footage is encrypted and stored in iCloud rather than on servers handled by Anker. Footage can be viewed in the Home app, and all motion and people detection is done on-device for privacy purposes.

Using HomeKit Secure Video requires an upgraded iCloud storage plan. Apple's 200GB plan supports one HomeKit Secure Video camera, while the 1TB plan supports up to five cameras.

eufyCam 2 Pro offers customizable notifications, two-way audio support, and night vision in infrared and color. There's a built-in battery that is designed to last for up to 12 months before it needs to be recharged.

In addition to being available from Apple, the eufyCam 2 Pro can also be purchased from Amazon at the same price point, plus Amazon has add-on cameras for $150 each.

Article Link: Anker's eufyCam 2 Pro Camera With HomeKit Secure Video Now Available From Apple

 

[Trik]

Trying to find official information on the HSV support, to see if they also added it to the Eufy Doorbell, which would make me so happy.

 

[centauratlas]

HomeKit secure video needs to support more cameras. Hopefully Apple will do so.

 

[Trik]

This is a bit of a buzzkill:

Battery life: 3 months (HomeKit enabled); one year (HomeKit disabled)

 

[benh911f]

I enjoy these to an extent, but in my experience:

HSV works but getting the notifications and replay from Eufy works better and faster.

I’ve had to recharge them 3-4 over the course of 6 months.

Obviously YMMV

 

[hellosil]

If the cameras had a power cord it would have been better.

 

[iapplelove]

These can’t be hard wired?

 

[iapplelove]

If this had a power cord it would have been better.

I would never buy one, battery only awful

 

[pawcio]

FYI... every single article on MacRumors about Homekit Secure Video always incorrectly states "Apple's 200GB plan supports one HomeKit Secure Video camera, while the 1TB plan supports up to five cameras.".... that should say 2TB NOT 1TB.

Also, it would be useful if someone could confirm if Apple One bundles are counted as a valid plan that includes HSV?

 

[icanhazapple]

I'm looking for cameras which can be AC powered, which are resilient to winter outdoors, and use HSV. From my search, this doesn't exist.

 

[Wilburx3]

They need to get HSV working on the wireless doorbell.

 

[Vazor]

I have 4 of these Eufy cams installed in my home. They work great. Amazing video quality and they only have to be charged once every 6 months.

 

[hellosil]

I'm looking for cameras which can be AC powered, which are resilient to winter outdoors, and use HSV. From my search, this doesn't exist.

Exactly my experience.
Privacy + weather proof + no maintenance isn't too much to ask from an outdoor camera protecting a home.
Weirdly the tech world hasn't produced a proper solution yet.

Netatmo Presence promised HSV ages ago, but fumbled the ball big time.

 

[mrcrlee]

I have 4 of these Eufy cams installed in my home. They work great. Amazing video quality and they only have to be charged once every 6 months.

Is it possible for them to operate while plugged in to the charger?

I could see using that as a power source instead of relying on the battery. I understand it may impact the protection against weather, but that could be mitigated based on the location where the camera is placed.

 

[hellosil]

Is it possible for them to operate while plugged in to the charger?

I could see using that as a power source instead of relying on the battery. I understand it may impact the protection against weather, but that could be mitigated based on the location where the camera is placed.

If this works it probably won't anymore once the internal, not easily replaceable batteries age.

365-Day battery life 2-3 months on a camera with average usage.

 

[poppe]

This is a bit of a buzzkill:

Battery life: 3 months (HomeKit enabled); one year (HomeKit disabled)

These can’t be hard wired?

Is it possible for them to operate while plugged in to the charger?

I could see using that as a power source instead of relying on the battery. I understand it may impact the protection against weather, but that could be mitigated based on the location where the camera is placed.

They are supposedly releasing a solar panel setup for the cameras which will be enough to have to never charge the battery off mount.

 

[FasterQuieter]

Maybe Anker could "invent" a webcam with a nice picture for $100. One with a decent sensor and lens. After 8 months of pandemic, I am really surprised at the lack of innovation in this area.

 

[CJ Dorschel]

Can NAS recording work? I have servers from Synology to rack mounts with camera licenses I’d like to use yet haven’t found a HomeKit camera that can also use local storage. I don’t mind them being wireless - it makes it easier to mount. I bought a HikVision POE camera two years ago and intended to install it when I replaced one of my doors with an Ethernet cable installed but decided against it as I wasn’t sure if it was worth it given the changes and new systems coming out.

I’d still love to find a camera that can connect to a standard wired doorbell instead of a video doorbell as I want to keep my wire doorbell and would love for the doorbell button to trigger the camera. I have an old English plinth doorbell button on a brand new entryway and I don’t want a video doorbell as the quality isn’t good for many of them and some can be easily taken off the front door. Simply mounting a camera that can somehow be wired to the existing doorbell wiring or connecting a wireless adapter to the wires that can communicate wirelessly with a camera would be a perfect solution.

 

[Apple TarHeel]

Trying to find official information on the HSV support, to see if they also added it to the Eufy Doorbell, which would make me so happy.

Yes! All of the security products work with Homekit - Please be aware that you can only connect at 1080 resolution instead of 2K which is advertised ... Eufy claims this is a limitation of HomeKit. I have both doorbell and security cameras around my home.

 

[sw1tcher]

Is it possible for them to operate while plugged in to the charger?

I could see using that as a power source instead of relying on the battery. I understand it may impact the protection against weather, but that could be mitigated based on the location where the camera is placed.

Or offer a solar panel to charge it like how Ring does for their cameras.

 

[8000XE]

Yes! All of the security products work with Homekit - Please be aware that you can only connect at 1080 resolution instead of 2K which is advertised ... Eufy claims this is a limitation of HomeKit. I have both doorbell and security cameras around my home.

Which doorbell? I emailed them this week and was told the doorbell wasn’t compatible yet which prevented me from purchasing a kit.I didn’t see it advertised on the site either.

 

[JOHN PRINCE]

I’ve researched a bunch of security cameras and did not want to be locked into a subscription of any sort. Also don’t want my videos stored in anyone’s cloud. I do not trust Google or Amazon and I strongly prefer local storage.

I just installed two of these a months ago and am almost completely happy. I don’t care if the battery only last 3 months instead of a year. A tiny inconvenience to grab them instantly from their magnetic mount, plug them in for a few hours and you’re good to go for another 3 to 6 months, perhaps longer. No problem there.

Also, because there are no wires required, your mounting options increase. One of mine is mounted on a tree limb opposite the home and has a great view of the carport and front door.

Login for multiple users needs to be improved. Also, the iPhone app works great but the MacOS app needs more options so that appears to be a work in progress at Anker.

I’ll probably purchase a few more cameras in the next few months.

 

[CJ Dorschel]

I’ve researched a bunch of security cameras and did not want to be locked into a subscription of any sort. Also don’t want my videos stored in anyone’s cloud. I do not trust Google or Amazon and I strongly prefer local storage.

I just installed two of these a months ago and am almost completely happy. I don’t care if the battery only last 3 months instead of a year. A tiny inconvenience to grab them instantly from their magnetic mount, plug them in for a few hours and you’re good to go for another 3 to 6 months, perhaps longer. No problem there.

Also, because there are no wires required, your mounting options increase. One of mine is mounted on a tree limb opposite the home and has a great view of the carport and front door.

Login for multiple users needs to be improved. Also, the iPhone app works great but the MacOS app needs more options so that appears to be a work in progress at Anker.

I’ll probably purchase a few more cameras in the next few months.

Thanks for this. So can you use local storage? I have a few Synology NAS’s with camera licenses I’d like to make use of. If these fit I’m in.

 

[zorinlynx]

Does anyone know if these can work with Homekit secure video *ONLY* without having to sign up with a Eufy account?

I see a lot of people complaining that the cameras can't be hardwired, but for me these are very intriguing as I'm interesting in covering a location that has no power or network available.

 

[HiRez]

Please be aware that you can only connect at 1080 resolution instead of 2K which is advertised ... Eufy claims this is a limitation of HomeKit.

"2K" usually means "1080", the 2K (1,920 pixels) is the horizontal resolution and it's ~1K (1,080 pixels) vertically, but no one calls it "1K". When we talk about "4K", the 4K refers to the horizontal resolution, which normally means 3840x2160, so it's 4K horizontally and 2K vertically (but again, no one calls that "2K", I have never heard anyone suggest "2K" to mean ~2,000 lines of vertical resolution).

This is actually pretty confusing because up until "4K", we used to refer to the vertical resolution (480, 720, 1080). Now they switched it to describe the horizontal resolution, I assume because some marketing knob found a cheap way to double the number used without actually changing anything.

EDIT: Now I see the actual resolution of this camera is 2304 x 1296...which is weird. A bit above 2K but not 4K either. So maybe that's what Apple TarHeel meant, it only gives you 1080 lines through Apple Home, but 1296 if not. I wonder why Apple would make that restriction, maybe they only support standard resolutions for encoding and since this is non-standard it can't work?