One of my scripts that regularly crawls various sites, in hopes of finding information about upcoming hardware, found the image you see above sitting on Amazon.com. It appears to be an unreleased home security camera from Amazon, to compete directly with products like the Nest Cam. Surrounding the camera lens appear to be 4 infrared LEDs for night vision. The stand and body style imply the camera is for indoor use only.
The blue light ring around the lens is certainly reminiscent of the Amazon Echo’s light ring, so it’s possible the camera will also serve as an Echo Dot of sorts. The two small openings at the top are very likely microphones and it’s not uncommon for indoor camera’s to have built-in speakers to facilitate intercom-style communication, so all the necessary hardware components could be in place to speak with Amazon’s Alexa using just the camera. Given the success of Alexa, it’s almost guaranteed the voice assistant will play some role in this new product.
Update
4/26/17 This product has now launched as the Echo Look. Turns out it’s not a security camera, but rather a “style assistant.”
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Lets hope for free cloud storage of footage (like Nest Aware) but free for prime members? Instant buy for me.
Cameras are hard to do and make all customers happy. Some like cloud storage, some like local, some want both. Then there’s wireless vs wired, powered vs battery. Quality questions too.
Lots to know before this is going to be a good product.
If it’s going to be wireless, it may need a base station to connect to (ala Netgear’s Arlo). If so, how many cams can you have connected? If cloud, how much storage do you get? How long is it kept?
But I usually like the hardware Amazon does so it certainly looks like something to keep tabs on.
This is something I was hoping Amazon would eventually get into. With home security becoming a growing industry, we have seen offerings from numerous manufacturers for security cameras.
While I know this is all speculation at this point, I would absolutely love to see offerings from Amazon for both indoor and outdoor cameras (or hybrid style). I would instantly buy a set of these if there is deep integration with Alexa and Fire TV devices.
I was very much set on buying Netgear’s offerings in Arlo, but this has given me pause for thought. If Amazon can produce a compelling product with features akin to what Arlo Pro is offering, I wouldn’t even think twice about the purchase.
I hope that Amazon is seriously considering offering this product… or one like it! I wouldn’t think twice about purchasing it as I too have been looking for cameras to integrate with The Amazon Echo! I already have multiple Home Automated devices offered by Insteon, Wink and other various manufacturers but would definitely prefer purchasing a device that is manufactured by Amazon because it then should be totally compatible with all… or the majority of the features offered by the Amazon Echo!