The silence and evasion responses when they come along the lines of “we haven’t given up” are not acceptable.
The new releases are not hidden Appleesque surprises and neither should the features that 2nd rate eco systems like Amazon and Google already have coming to the largest potential pool of mobile device users WYZE could dream of properly serving.
We must know where the HomeKit efforts are being directed and we need a reasonable expectation before we continue investing hundreds of our dollars (over $2,000 for me) in WYZE products as well as our recommendation to others to join us.
HomeKit integration is THE GAME over loss for WYZE that will hit hard abs fast when is users are left behind because the newest gadget for Alexa took precedence over the current Loyal and Patience since Generation 1 WYZE’ers have been asking for their fair request.
Here’s where I’m at on this and I think a lot of people are in a similar position: Alexa is fine, whatever, a lot of people use it. I don’t because I don’t trust Amazon or Google in my house so it’s not for me, but Alexa is essentially table stakes in 2020. But it’s not a secure ecosystem like Homekit, so the benefits, IMO, are negligible. And there are, oh I don’t know, about a billion different ways for Alexa to take up residence in your life currently. The market is crowded, even at lower price points. But if you want a Homekit camera, specifically, you’re looking at hundreds of dollars for that. No one that I know of is currently serving or even planning to serve the low end Homekit camera market. Ok, so Wyze is clearly a leader in the low end camera market, but can you make a Homekit camera for the $20-30 of Wyze’s cameras? Maybe? Maybe not? Doesn’t matter, because if you offer a Homekit camera for less than, say $150, you’re going to dominate sales now and for a long time. $100? Even better. $50? They will fly off the shelves faster than you can make them. So all of that to say, it pains me to see this market segment untapped (for years) and still not seeing anything promising on the horizon.
I agree and have spoken up before. This feature request has more votes for it than anything that is currently already on the road-map under the “in-development” stage. Homekit looks to be the most requested feature on the Wishlist with a researching tag currently. Everything under the in-development status has less than 400 votes. Wyze has a very large user base that wants this but I feel it keeps getting pushed to the side and we continue to get canned responses that they are looking into it.
Wyze products would be so much more useful for me if they had HomeKit as I wouldn’t have to rely on IFTTT much at all which would speed everything up. It would also allow for local processing which is a must when internet goes down. Alexa and Google are great but I feel companies and some consumers dont understand how powerful HomeKit actually is compared to Google and Alexa. HomeKit is by far not perfect but I am able to accomplish a lot more with HomeKit than I have been using Google or Alexa rules/routines.
IFTTT does a fair job of linking Wyze cams to some homekit devices. Linking to IFTTT notifications is usually within one minute or two. SMS notifications are no longer available on IFTTT and email notifications can take up to 1/2 hour to go through.
Just a thought about Homekit integration.
First step:
The hub that runs the sensors looks like it has a USB connector. If so why not write a small driver for it to be run on Linux, specifically a Raspberry Pi version. That way I could use my Homebridge Pi to access my sensors through this setup., the bridge plugged into a USB port. The Pi could also do the job of the camera with regards to network notifications. I have Homebridge running everything except Wyze.
Second step:
Provide an API for the web services. That way the cameras can dump stuff to the server, and homekit can retrieve it. I know wasteful sending video backwards and forwards, but it would be start while trying to get firmware and Apple specifications met. Or least give rudimentary controls of the camera and a link to the App for further operations.
As my old boss used to say:”There’s more than one way to skin a cat!”
You would think given the size of this thread and the large amount of interest, this would be higher priority. However I just want to add my vote to at least get HomeKit support on the plugs and bulbs. If possible the lock would also be a nice addition to the HomeKit support suite.
I’d be sold on a sensor kit, another cam, pan cam, switches, and maybe lock at this point. It’s the difference between owing a single camera, and using it to fully equip my home.
We’re sorry to say that we don’t have an update on this yet. We are still in contact with the HomeKit team so this isn’t off the table but we haven’t progressed since my last update.
Here’s my problem… I LOVE Wyze… LOVE you guys. I have 6 cams, 4 bulbs, 2 sensors, in a small apartment. I also have HomePods, HomeKit switches.,. hell., I even have a HomeKit enabled diffuser. With each step of automation, even IFTTT, I get more committed to sticking with HomeKit, or Siri integrated products, as are thousands of users. It seems to me that the votes are in, but we aren’t SEEING activity on it. Wyze continues to introduce NEW products that are not HomeKit integrated, so it feels like you are getting farther away from the solution, instead of closer. I get it!! It costs money and resources. Remember… I LOVE Wyze products… but I have to find solutions that meet my needs too. Please, please, please… give us some hope.
Well, we finally have another option. Ankers’s new Eufy 2K cameras with homekit will be out mid May 2020. Pan and Tilt $49.99, Stationary camera $39.99 both also work with Google and Amazon.
This is cool! Going to pick up a few of these Eufy cams when they come out. It’s a shame that Wyze doesn’t appear to take seriously that adding HKSV is something their customers want.
I am moving in a new home soon and will put cameras in every room, and I need homekit support. So I am switching to the new Eufy cam that is cheap and has homekit, if we do not get a clear homekit roadmap from Wyze in the next month.
This needs to get elevated within Wyze leadership for HomeKit integration to be prioritized.
Anker/Eufy’s upcoming AFFORDABLE cameras will have HomeKit support. This is huge. They are precisely in the Wyze Cam market. Their products are known for quality and affordability.
I’ve been loyal to Wyze for years, but HomeKit support might steal me away.
I agree. I fell into the iOS ecosystem due to convenience to have a device back in the day I could easily jailbreak, unlock and use in Europe. That old 3GS was my lifeline so to speak for communicating, replacing both my old flip phone and pda. Anyway, I’m far more invested in iOS than wyze. Now with home automation becoming more and more available and reliable, I’m not going to further invest in wyze products without the integration of HomeKit be it natively or via a bridge. As mentioned too many others are already available or will be coming such as anker and eufy.
