Welcome Panda, I too am very excited to get my geeky hands on a few outdoor cams. Crazy neighbors, catching people throwing trash in our back yard, those who have malicious agenda, and catch animal activity. Its enjoying to beta test on stuff that is cool to me.
What is Beta Testing ?
Second level, external pilot-test of a product (usually a software) before commercial quantity production. At the beta test stage, the product has already passed through the first-level, internal pilot-test (alpha test) and glaring defects have been removed. But (since the product may still have some minor problems that require user participation) it is released to selected customers for testing under normal, everyday conditions of use to spot the remaining flaws.
Short answer - the testing before fielding.
Long answer -
In what context?
When I was fielding US Army mapping systems it meant we got everything working in the lab and limited field sites. Beta was to find out things we didn’t expect, like users ignoring documentation putting in the coordinates as Long-Lat versus Lat-Long.
In the Wyze hardware world it seems it’s a limited number of developers and a few Alpha testers ensure the hardware (we are talking about the Outdoor Cam here right?) does not explode and cause forest fires. Then they passed it over to maybe a 100 beta testers to evaluate (that 100 number is just a guess, because if I remember WyzeGwendolyn said they had like 40 more slots open in the first round of beta testing before it started).
Face it - we are all testers in this complex high technology world.
@UserCustomerGwen Whilst don’t expect it at launch is the outdoor cam going to be HomeKit certified in the future? Or are there hardware limitations which prevent this from even being considered? Just wondering.
See this update from Wyze:
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@whyze, there are hardware limitations that would prevent the outdoor camera from working with HomeKit at this time. Thanks for asking!
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This camera will also have person detection right? So why do you have to have PIR? Won’t the A.I. Decrease the notifications?
Gwendolyn, how do I get on the doorbell beta? Sent you a PM on FB.
@whyze and @UserCustomerGwen The Apple Authentication Coprocessor is optional now. You can use Software Based Authentication for HomeKit.
I dont believe the coprocessor was the issue. The issue that they talked about in another thread had to do with minimum resolutions required and the hardware in the cams could not do it. Here is a link to a post about it.
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Horribly dosappointed that the outdoor cam is planned to be battery powered. I wont be purchasing. We need a powered/POE outdoor wyze cam first. Then optimize all you want for PIR and AI and batteries next. Such a waste.
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From another thread:
Not POE, but not strictly battery-powered necessarily.
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100% Agree. If someone from Wyze could confirm that for sure, battery power is the only option for the upcoming outdoor camera… Ive been waiting for Wyze cam outdoor for a year but if it’s battery power only please let us know asap. I will not be buying and would like to look for alternatives on Black Friday. Last I heard that “battery power was an option being looked into”. POE seemed to be the common request on the forum
Sorry you are "horribly dosappointed " but that has been announced about from the get go.
For many of us POE is a non-starter. A lot of people are not allowed to drill holes through their walls but want a camera outside their windows,
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It has been mentioned by WYZE (I found a mention on Facebook) that it will be battery operated and also have the ability to be wired, so it will essentially be both, however I doubt it will be POE
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Thanks for the reply. POE is not a deal breaker for me, but battery power only, like Blink, is. A battery power camera will do just fine for the average Joe looking to play around with a neat camera, not for the serious personal/home security crowd. At least not yet…
You seem to be fixated on batteries and completely ignoring the dozens of posts in this topic saying it can be powered with a cable and/or battery. Even posts made repeatedly by Wyze employees stating such.
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Thanks for the completely unhelpful response. Im basing my data off the email WYZE sent to me today which detailed a battery powered outdoor camera in the works. If you can point me to a Wyze employee’s remarks expressly confirming the outdoor camera having a hardwired solution for power and not only battery that would be great. I went back several weeks on this thread and didn’t see anything
There are a few mentions of it, here is one by a WYZE employee
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Wyze cameras don’t fall under this category anyway they are just smart home cameras
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