AMA with Wyze VP of Product, Steve McIrvin - 6/15/2022 1:00 PM Pacific

Hi, everyone!

This Wednesday, June 15 , we’ll be hosting an AMA with Wyze VP of Product, Steve McIrvin, over on Reddit r/WyzeCam.

If you have any questions or comments to share, check back at 1:00 PM Pacific Time when the thread goes live (we’ll be answering questions from 1:30 - 3:00 PT). Be sure to upvote other comments you most want to be answered so that they rise to the top.

See you there!

5 Likes

Yay! AMA’s (Ask Me Anything)! My favorite! It’s been a while. I look forward to whatever new info he’s prepared to share with us.

Anyone have any good ideas of questions we can ask him about?

  • Update on the Matter initiative?
  • When they launched the smart switches they indicated they would be working on a version that didn’t require neutral wiring. Is that still on the table?
  • It looks like the Wyze Robot Vacuum has a slot in the front that could house a camera lens to make it like other high end robots that use AI to navigate around smaller things on floor that it can’t vacuum up like pet waste, clothes, or other small objects the lidar can’t see. Plus other upgrades like a dock that auto-empties the dust-bin. What are the chances of Wyze adding a model with similar capabilities?
  • Any hints about other products coming out in the future?
  • Any hints about new AI or other services coming out?
  • Updates on support improvements?
4 Likes

The official AMA thread with the VP of Product is up on Reddit! Go post your questions now. https://www.reddit.com/r/wyzecam/comments/vd3qy3/im_wyze_vp_of_product_steve_mcirvin_ama/


(Summary of his answers are in the following post)

4 Likes

I’m Wyze VP of Product Steve McIrvin - AMA! - Summary

You may easily view every answer he gave without all the extra noise by visiting his profile link directly:

https://www.reddit.com/user/WyzeSteve/

[Note, in the following summary, font changes such as bold, or text in brackets (such as changing “it” to what “it” is meant to stand for) are my alterations to add clarity or to help TL;DR people who want to scan responses fast. Each quote has the source link in the question for those who wish to view it themselves. --please let me know if you notice anything I overlooked]


What concrete improvements do you personally believe you have contributed to Wyze since you joined the company? What are your primary goals and efforts for the near future (preferably something other than finance/profit related)?

[The above response alone automatically makes him one of my favorite Wyze employees now!]

When will RTSP firmware be available again on the Wyze Website?

New Products Hint?

Is there any plan to integrate a microsd into the doorbell in order to local save camera footage?

1) Does Wyze have any plans to revive something similar to MaxDrive? 2) Will a WiFi dashcam ever be considered?

MATTER INITIATIVE UPDATES

Any plans to release the API? This would be a huge help for more integrations with IFTTT or other home automation systems and tools!

[Very excited that he is basically announcing a move toward local control/access here]

What do you see as the future of the smart home (beyond just Matter)? What do you think will be the next breakthroughs in the industry?

Smart Switch without Neutral Wiring

3 Way Light Switch?

Plans for improving Stability/Connectivity

When will webview exit Beta or get an update?

Plans for an app design overhaul? (Including adding dark mode and landscape orientation capabilities)

SD card issues (can’t access when shared, hard to search without cloud recordings, reliability concerns, UI needs an update):

Upgraded Robot Vacuum Models in the works (such as using AI to avoid cords, pet waste, or other things left on the floor that the LIDAR can’t see), upgraded dock, etc?

When will we see a maintained inventory of Wyze Robot Parts Kits?

What’s Wyze’s Product Positioning in the Market?

Cameras with 2K or higher?

4k Camera?

Wishlist Comments in this case about swiping between cameras and different notifications between shared users:

Any plans to increase the volume for the home security system? Maybe add a chime?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this University project you’re doing where you’re having students present capstone projects to you where they present AI features or App design changes. Can you share if you are considering implementing any of their suggestions, or will you be implementing anything similar to what they presented, and what are some examples?

How about a Wyze washing machine and dryer? With a V3 cam inside so I can watch my clothes spin around.

The above mentioned Podcast may be listened to here:
Product Mastery Now for Product Managers, Innovators, and Leaders - # 391: PRODUCT VP OF WYZE USES COMMUNITY FOR PRODUCT INNOVATION AND YOU CAN TOO – WITH STEVE MCIRVIN

What about a fingerprint lock with a key hole?

Wyze Drone?

I don’t have internet at my new house yet - can I connect my Wyze devices to a 2.4 ghz network that’s operational but not connected to the internet?

Can a roadmap be released for products? Maybe a rough timeline for new products and upgrades planned. Even something like Jira or Aha! with public visibility.


Thanks so much, everyone! I really enjoyed talking with you and finding out the issues you’re most concerned about. Please stay safe as you travel now that everything is opening back up again here in the US.

-Steve McIrvin, Wyze VP of Product


You may easily view every answer he gave without all the extra noise by visiting his profile link directly:

https://www.reddit.com/user/WyzeSteve/

11 Likes

Thanks as always for your extra effort on these, @carverofchoice .

The exec was surprisingly forthcoming and detailed, which is nice.

So it seems RTSP is dead and buried, a 2K V4 is coming later this year, Matter is a priority but currently a waste of time, and there are some other goodies coming (multifocal lens for a crappy 1080 sensor?). Also his answer about running without Internet was sadly incomplete. If the customer’s cameras need rebooting or lose power, as we know, they will not function anymore.

4 Likes

You’re welcome. :slight_smile:

Sounds like a reasonable interpretation…at least in it’s current form. He said there was something coming that would be similar or fill some of that need somehow. We just don’t have enough info yet. Could be a solution similar to how TinyCam can give pseudo-RTSP.

I wouldn’t go that far, it’s just not available for Cameras YET because nobody has developed it for Cameras yet. He did say their first Matter enabled device will launch this year in a few months, so definitely not a waste of time. I look forward to it.

That could be the case. I can understand some of the struggles with 2K or 4K at night. I wonder though if they could address some of this by limiting the color nightvision to something like 1080P so there aren’t as many dark artifacts? Then we could still have 2K/4K during the daytime. IDK. But you’re probably right about something like multifocal lens or optical zooming. It’s just hard because the camera doesn’t know what you want to zoom in on later.

I look forward to learning more. I am just happy that he is pushing away from everything being cloud-reliant. I like having things be cloud ENABLED and capable, but it sucks when there is no local control at all. I am extremely happy they’re working on something for this even if we don’t know all the details yet. I don’t think he is talking about not having any cloud connection, just that they’ll no longer be reliant on cloud anymore. THAT is exciting. I’ve been advocating for this change since I got my first camera.

3 Likes

I was referring to this response. It’s mostly wrong and doing a disservice to that customer. “Good to go” until the next power fluctuation.

2 Likes

Yeoman’s work yet again, carver. :+1:

5 Likes

I still don’t get why Wyze is making this more difficult than it should be

The micro sd card does NOT have to go inside of the doorbell , you can easily create a chime and add the micro sd card slot inside of the chime and their you have it .

A micro sd card that’s storing all of the devices data into the chime , that’s inside of your house . So if the device gets stolen , you can view the footage .

Easy …

“in-development” :slight_smile:

1 Like

Thanks to @R.Good for finding and telling me where to find the Podcast Steve McIrvin was interviewed for (as mentioned in the AMA here). I’ve updated the post above, but I’ll include it in this post as well.

The Podcast mentioned above may be listened to here:
Product Mastery Now for Product Managers, Innovators, and Leaders - # 391: PRODUCT VP OF WYZE USES COMMUNITY FOR PRODUCT INNOVATION AND YOU CAN TOO – WITH STEVE MCIRVIN

4 Likes

Who knows what that could be …

In other words, what they already provide as a base for the Wyze Cams Outdoor.

1 Like

More like a hub .

The eufy doorbell has a chime that the micro sd card goes inside of

I hope Wyze is gonna take local recording into consideration , with their VP saying they wanna move everything to Local storage