Anker is leveraging its knowledge of portable power with the launch of the Eufy EverCam, its first smart home security camera. Eufy is Anker’s new smart home brand, and the EverCam is unique because it has a built-in 13,400mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery, giving each camera a 365-day battery life. That’s right. Unlike most other smart home security cameras, made by Amazon, Nest and Lighthouse, the Eufy EverCam doesn’t need to be plugged into a wall outlet to work. You can place it anywhere you want and it’ll work as long as there’s wi-fi connection.

Also unlike other smart home security cameras, the Eufy EverCam doesn’t require you to pay for a subscription to get the most out of its features. After the upfront cost of $299 (or $499 for two cameras), the camera just works. Because there’s no cloud-based storage solution, all the camera’s video recordings are stored on the camera’s built-in 16GB micro-SD card. And in order for you to access these recordings, you need to insert the card into Eufy’s base station, which communicates with your smartphone, via Eufy’s companion app. You can view a live feed from the camera anytime through the app, too.

That said, the Eufy EverCam doesn’t work like all other home security cameras. In order to get the most out of its battery, the camera stays in a low-power mode and starts recording only when it detects motion. The company says the camera uses AI to decide what it should and shouldn’t record, but it also has an infrared sensor to detect heat so it can tell if a human or animal is there. Over time, the camera should be able to recognize familiar faces and tell the difference between people and pets. (Note: the camera can be set to continuously record video, via the app, but this will shorten the battery life drastically.)

Additionally, the Eufy EverCam is waterproof (IP66) and can be set up virtually anywhere with its adjustable mount. Because of the locally stored footage (the micro-SD card is AES 128-bit encrypted, too), you’ll have fewer privacy concerns than with cameras that rely on cloud-based storage. And at launch, the Eufy EverCam works with Alexa, with Google Assistant and IFTTT support expected to follow.

The Eufy EverCam is unique because of its long battery life and locally stored video, but it isn’t the only battery-powered home security camera. Netgear’s Arlo 2 is another portable option that is priced similarly — the two-camera system is $450 on Amazon — but it lacks the same battery life, AI technology and local storage. It’s worth noting that the Eufy EverCam is also expensive, costing $299, which is the same as the high-end Nest Cam IQ and Lighthouse cameras, and the EverCam doesn’t come with the same level of tracking and intelligence, respectively, as those models.

If interested in the Eufy EverCam, it’s available on Kickstarter right now and is expected to ship this September. If you back the project now you can get a pretty good deal. A one-camera system costs $199 (normally $299) or a two-camera system for $299 (normally $499).

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