Despite its lackluster popularity, Samsung is still betting on new smart home products through the SmartThings brand. Today, the company announced a trio of devices consisting of an in-home security camera, a smart power plug, and a smart light bulb.
The highlight of the group is the security camera, simply called SmartThings Cam, which promises premium features at a reasonable price point. It has a 145-degree field of view, while Samsung claims most cameras of its kind are limited to 130 degrees, and it records in Full HD with support for HDR. It also has night vision.
Being a smart camera, of course, it can do things such as recognizing image movement, and it should be able to tell apart a person from a pet or a car passing by the house. Users can set up activity zones so the camera can focus on a specific area of the frame, and through the SmartThings app, users will be notified when movement is detected. The SmartThings app can also be used for communication between a smartphone and the camera, which has a microphone and speaker inside for this purpose. If you use SmartThings-compatible light bulbs, you can also set the lights to turn on when the camera detects movement at night.
SmartThings Cam offers cloud storage for 24 hours of footage at no additional charge, and you can connect up to four cameras to the service. If you want more storage, you can pay $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year for the ability to store up to 30 days of footage from up to eight SmartThings Cams. It"s also worth noting that a SmartThings Hub is not required to use the camera.
The other two devices aren"t quite as noteworthy. The Wifi Smart Plug is a lot like Amazon"s offering and other similar ones, letting you turn any electric appliance into a "smart" device with the ability to turn it on or off with voice controls. Just like the SmartThings Cam, you don"t need one of Samsung"s smart hubs to control it.
Lastly, the SmartThings Smart Bulb is like many other smart dimmable bulbs, which you can control using the SmartThings app and hub. It lets you create personalized animations so that you can have the light dim when you"re watching a movie or let them turn on automatically before you get home.
All of these products are available starting today from Samsung"s website and other retailers. The SmartThings Cam costs $89.99, the Wifi Smart Plug costs $17.99, and the Smart Bulb is $9.99.