Smart home security cameras are very much in vogue these days. From Amazon's Cloud Cam to Nest's assorted cameras, it's a popular and growing market. Canary might not be quite so big as its competitors, but it offers affordable alternatives in the wake of its crowdfunding campaign back in 2013. The newest home security camera in the Canary lineup is the $99 Canary View. In addition to this new hardware, Canary has also announced an AI-based Package Detection feature and skill integration with Amazon's Alexa. 

The new Canary View looks more than a bit like the old original Canary, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Even if the monolith look isn't quite your thing, it's tough to complain at just $99. This new Canary View has the same embedded "AI technology" as its forebear, with a 147-degree wide-angle lens and 1080p video. Like the other Canary cameras, it works with Google Assistant and Wink, too.

The price difference between the $169 Canary and the new Canary View likely comes from the lack of sensors in the latter. Although a precise spec list wasn't released, the OG Canary has extra "HomeHealth Technology" sensors including temperature and humidity, as well as other technologies including a 3-axis accelerometer, siren, built-in speaker, and two-way talk. So far, none of those features have been associated with the Canary View.

UPDATE: 2018/01/15 2:29am PST BY

Canary has reached out to let us know that the built-in speaker and two-way talk do work on the View, but the features require a Canary Membership as on all other cameras from the company.

The new Package Detection feature is an expansion of the company's previous Person Detection, which is able to determine via the modern magic of machine learning if there's a person in the frame. Now Canary is applying that same tech to notifying you when a package has been delivered. It might not open your door for you like Amazon's Cloud Cam and Key system, but it will make sure you don't miss your next delivery.

Obviously, Package Detection is the sort of thing that works best outdoors, so this new feature is only available on the outdoor weatherproof Canary Flex, and you'll also need a paid Canary Membership to take advantage of it. (Canary famously ruined its free service by stripping out basic features and relegating them to the paid membership, though the company did later make a half-hearted attempt to "fix" things.)

The Alexa integration comes in the form of a new Canary skill that works with the Echo Spot, Echo Show, and Fire TV devices to show you live feeds from your Canary devices. This new feature will be rolling out in the coming months, and unlike Package Detection, it should work for all Canary customers and devices.

The new Canary View is available now at Canary's site, and it should be available at Canary's retail partners later this month. For more details you can read up the full press release just below.

PRESS RELEASE