It seems like every day that the moment something new comes out, it will naturally lead to a company asking for more money. Gadgets already cost something, but many ask for yet more with a subscription, some of which you can’t get out of because they need the subscription to be useful.
A floodlight with a security camera that won’t fire unless you pay monthly or yearly beyond the hardware cost, or a wearable that only works if you pay for a subscription.
This has been a norm, but it doesn’t have to be the norm.
In the past few years, we’ve seen brands pop up to challenge the subscription status quo, particularly in the world of smart home security. And it appears there’s yet one more on the way in Australia.
Known more globally, Ezviz has launched in Australia, bringing with it an assortment of smart home bits and pieces, always-on video, AI processing, and for a nice change, no required subscription model to use the hardware, which covers an assortment of parts of the home you might want to keep tabs on.
That includes a 3K outdoor security camera system with two lenses and a built-in solar panel, a smaller one-camera 3K camera with solar panel, an indoor smart video calling camera that also works as a photo frame and video call system, and a smart home control screen that brings together controls for the Ezviz hardware into one place in a 7 inch screen.
Perhaps most interesting is what the company is bringing to the door.
Easily a growing market with doorbell cameras and smart door locks, Ezviz will have both, a $400 video doorbell kit, as well as a $1200 smart lock with a built-in camera with 3D facial recognition, night vision, and a 4 inch screen, plus ways to connect to the door lock using Bluetooth keys and even mechanical keys. It could well be the most complex door lock this journalist has heard of just yet.
Throughout the range is a lack of cloud subscription, supporting microSD storage for video capture rather than needing a subscription to store videos in the cloud.
It’s another company joining the likes of Reolink, which has also offered that feature for a number of years now in its cameras, almost as a direct response to the subscription models used by nearly everyone else.
“Australians have enormous choice when it comes to smart home security, but often that choice comes with ongoing subscription costs and compromises around how and when a camera records,” said Jock Jones, Country Manager for Ezviz in Australia.
“We believe consumers should be able to buy a great security product and immediately access the features that make it useful without feeling locked into a monthly bill, while introducing technologies such as Always-On Video that challenge what consumers should expect from battery-powered home security,” he said.
Australians can expect the Ezlink range in stores shortly, priced from just under $300 and available across JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman.
