Logitech Debuts New 'Logi Circle' Home Monitoring Camera

[MacRumors]

Logitech today announced its entry into the home security and monitoring market with the Circle Portable Home Connection Camera, which is debuting under its new Logi brand. The palm-sized Circle is a connected camera that's designed to let users monitor and interact with pets, children, and people at home while away.

Through a companion app, the Logi Circle streams HD video to an iPhone or iPad. It includes a two-way talk and listen feature that works using Wi-Fi, letting it go beyond simple monitoring. According to Logitech, the Circle includes "Scene Intuition" technology that sets it apart from other similar home camera systems. With Scene Intuition, the Logi Circle is able to learn home life patterns to send alerts only when interesting activity occurs to save people from having to sort through hours and hours of footage.

The app also offers a "Day Briefs" feature, which is an automatically generated 30-second video that sums up the highlights of each day.

"There's a new movement in home monitoring," said Vincent Borel, director of new ventures at Logitech. "The nature of today's connected world is changing the way people interact with cameras in the home. Video surveillance is no longer just about security, it's about staying connected with our homes and loved ones. Planned or unplanned, magic moments happen in our homes every day and we designed the Logi Circle as your destination for capturing and discovering them no matter where you are or what you're doing. Now you can watch your kids playing or catch your dog chasing its tail even if you're running errands, traveling for business or at the office."

The Logi Circle has an unobtrusive design that lets it fit quietly into any room, and it's both portable and rechargeable. It can be moved from room to room and charged as needed with an included charging ring, with each charge providing three hours of streaming or 12 hours of standby time.

The camera inside the Logi Circle offers a 135 degree wide angle view and an 8x zoom ability. A light on the device blinks white when someone is watching through the app, and the light also doubles as a battery indicator, blinking red when the battery is low. The Logi Circle will store 24 hours of video at no cost, and Logitech plans to offer subscription options for longer storage times.

The Logi Circle Home Connection Camera is available for pre-order beginning today from the Logitech website. It's priced at $199.99.

Article Link: Logitech Debuts New 'Logi Circle' Home Monitoring Camera

 

[jocamero]

Odd that Logitech doesn't seem to mention the resolution of the camera, even in the technical specs of their website.

Anyone know the resolution? i would presume 1080p?

 

[Icaras]

Really? No HomeKit compatibility? Pass.

 

[JustMadeThisNameUp]

I need something that is going to replace the function and features of the Dropcam before Google bought it and ruined it with Nest.

 

[Aston441]

Logitech is a evil company that lies (see UE Mini Boom debacle) Hopefully they will be sued out of existence.

 

[Jason98]

This is fail as it requires data stored remotely. Can you trust anyone with your home data?

These cameras should just have a day of worth of internal ssd storage that you could easily dump into your own local storage device if you need to.

Also no communication (between you and your camera) should be done using any third party mediator.

 

[PilotC150]

A blinking light while somebody is watching? I was hoping to be able to use it as a baby monitor, but I guess that's out.

 

[Avarize]

A blinking light while somebody is watching? I was hoping to be able to use it as a baby monitor, but I guess that's out.

Dab of whiteout ☺️

 

[FoundAHalo]

This is also not Logitech's "entry into the home security and monitoring market" - that dubious honor was a few years back with WiLife, followed by Logitech Alert.

 

[fallenjt]

I need something that is going to replace the function and features of the Dropcam before Google bought it and ruined it with Nest.

I rather go with Blink 3 cameras for less than $190. It's wireless and last for years on a battery.

 

[JustMadeThisNameUp]

Logitech is a evil company that lies (see UE Mini Boom debacle) Hopefully they will be sued out of existence.

Tried Googling it, nothing came up. What happened?

 

[Arran]

Don't we have enough cameras watching us?

The only appealing application I can think of is having one trained on my front door/driveway and hooked up to an app on my watch that notifies me and streams live video whenever the UPS/Fedex guy approaches.

Other than that, I'm not really sold on remote home monitoring. What, for example, do you do when you see something out of the ordinary and you're 50 miles away?

 

[xhArRiSoNxD]

I rather go with Blink 3 cameras for less than $190. It's wireless and last for years on a battery.

Wow, that seems almost too good to be true! No monthly fees even better! Do you own one?

Edit: just realized their not even out yet. :/

 

[silvetti]

This is fail as it requires data stored remotely. Can you trust anyone with your home data?

These cameras should just have a day of worth of internal ssd storage that you could easily dump into your own local storage device if you need to.

Also no communication (between you and your camera) should be done using any third party mediator.

Yeah, because getting your house burglarised and instead of having footage of them they just took the camera.
Great ideia.

 

[JustMadeThisNameUp]

Other than that, I'm not really sold on remote home monitoring. What, for example, do you do when you see something out of the ordinary and you're 50 miles away?

All of us could benefit from having cameras to document and keep us informed of what's going on around us. The government, Google, etc. have them why shouldn't we?

But as far as 50 miles away, if something happens I'd much rather have it on tape than not. Getting back to a surprise break in or seeing it and calling the police, there's no question.

 

[SecureThoughts1]

It looks nice and all but I'm not sure I'd fancy my home data being collected and stored who knows how securely. Feels like just another option for people to spy on your home and info.

I do get the peace of mind aspect this might have for a lot of people, feeling their home is being monitored while they're away.

 

[FuzzMunky]

This is fail as it requires data stored remotely. Can you trust anyone with your home data?

These cameras should just have a day of worth of internal ssd storage that you could easily dump into your own local storage device if you need to.

Also no communication (between you and your camera) should be done using any third party mediator.

Doesn't really work so well as a security cam if the footage can be stolen along with the camera though, does it?
The option of cloud or local would be nice though, or even option of both.

 

[H2SO4]

Doesn't really work so well as a security cam if the footage can be stolen along with the camera though, does it?
The option of cloud or local would be nice though, or even option of both.

This exactly, and it’s the reason I don’t yet have one.

 

[Shoju]

Anyone else thinks the naming is a little unfortunate? Having read "The Circle" by Dave Eggers, I'm not so sure I'd by a little camera that's always online and called just that..

 

[h4ck]

This is fail as it requires data stored remotely. Can you trust anyone with your home data?

These cameras should just have a day of worth of internal ssd storage that you could easily dump into your own local storage device if you need to.

Also no communication (between you and your camera) should be done using any third party mediator.

.....so that someone can break in, see the camera and take the evidence with them?

 

[beanbaguk]

This is fail as it requires data stored remotely. Can you trust anyone with your home data?

These cameras should just have a day of worth of internal ssd storage that you could easily dump into your own local storage device if you need to.

Also no communication (between you and your camera) should be done using any third party mediator.

I disagree. The only reason I would use a camera (which I do), is for security. If you have local storage, a would-be thief could destroy the evidence and you've then installed the camera for nothing.

Ultimately, we trust Facebook with most of our personal moments. We also trust Apple (iCloud). Why shouldn't we trust Logitech? It's the same thing.

 

[netwalker]

Ultimately, we trust Facebook with most of our personal moments. We also trust Apple (iCloud). Why shouldn't we trust Logitech? It's the same thing.

The bigger risk is probably that the security camera or Logitech's servers get hacked.
I use security cameras that only upload to the cloud in case of a triggered event. They can not be controlled remotely. And our security cams are only on when we are not in the room/house.
The Internet connection is obviously the weak spot in this system. In case of one burglary one of our cameras was found and ripped of the wall before it was able to save any data in the cloud (and that model did not have internal storage).

 

[Arran]

Getting back to a surprise break in or seeing it and calling the police, there's no question.

That sort-of makes sense, but only if you're broken into frequently (as long, as others have pointed out, the bad guys don't steal the camer too! )

I was thinking more along the lines of frequent occurrences that might justify the cost and intrusion of a permanently-running camera. Things like the dog jumping up on the furniture. However, there's not much you can do remotely in that scenario. And scolding the dog later, when you get home from work, is no use either. They've forgotten what they did.

 

[netwalker]

I was thinking more along the lines of frequent occurrences that might justify the cost and intrusion of a permanently-running camera. Things like the dog jumping up on the furniture. However, there's not much you can do remotely in that scenario. And scolding the dog later, when you get home from work, is no use either. They've forgotten what they did.

It has 2-way audio, so you could talk (not yell!) to your dog when it happens.

 

[Arran]

Ultimately, we trust Facebook with most of our personal moments.

I don't.