Yi Technology's Kami subbrand is known for its inexpensive but well-built smart home devices, including security technology. After introducing its first wire-free, battery-powered indoor camera a few months ago, the company has now taken the wraps off a similar cordless outdoor camera that's rated for up to six months of battery life on a single charge and should help you keep an eye on your house's exterior.

The new camera looks strikingly similar to its wired sibling, but installation should be much easier: You don't have to worry about running cables across your property. Since the cam also doesn't need its own hub, setting it up is a matter of connecting it to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network. The removable and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries should last you up to six months. The camera has an IP65 rating which should protect it from the weather. Its box also includes an additional seal to keep moisture out as the device ages.

The camera records its wide-angle 1080p 20fps footage both to the cloud and to an optional local microSD card, though you'll have to pay for a subscription to unlock its cloud storage's full potential — without the fee, the service will only give you access to short motion-triggered clips. Either way, the videos can be accessed via the Kami Home app.

SPECS

Measurements

3.4 x 2.4 x 2.5 inches, 7.05 ounces

Camera

F1.8 165° wide-angle glass lens
1/2.7" CMOS sensor
1920 x 1080@20fps

Battery

4x 18650 lithium batteries

Storage

8 - 64GB Class10 micro-sd card

Connectivity

Single band 2.4Ghz 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi

You can get the wire-free outdoor camera for $90 on the company's online store. To utilize Kami's cloud storage, you'll need to pay an additional $150 subscription per year, which will let you save footage from up to five of the company's cameras. That's more expensive than Nest's yearly tiers covering all devices in your home. If you don't need full access to your footage in the cloud, the camera could be an inexpensive way to equip your property with video surveillance, but the business model still makes me think of cheap printers that come with expensive cartridges.

Source: Kami