We’ve written about Angee before — it’s a smart home security device-slash-service that raised more than half a million dollars in its crowdfunding campaign. Now it appears that the multinational startup is pivoting to a subscription model instead of simply selling its security hardware to smart home users.
Billing its new offering as a “cloud subscription service,” Angee has shifted from selling its $300-ish home security hub to offering it with no upfront hardware or installation costs for subscriptions that start at $17 per month.
“We are very excited about the launch of our subscription service as we believe it is addressing the needs of millions of U.S. households looking for smart, plug & play security,” Angee CEO Tomas Turek said in a release.
In a smart home market dominated by a wave of new security devices, smart cameras, and even body heat sensors, Angee is making a bold move by selling smart home security as a service, rather than as a product. There are definitely some advantages to Angee’s approach: No complex installations, long-term contracts or dependencies on installation labor.
Angee has already started fulfilling its Kickstarter and Indiegogo-based pre-orders, so no word on how that will affect those customers.
The Angee home security system uses a proprietary 360-degree camera and motion-detection tags to monitor any home, in concert with an app that logs activity in the home for the user to monitor. Currently, the two subscription plans are “Basic,” at $17 per month, and “Extended,” which adds an additional two motion-detection tags for $20 per month. Both plans offer unlimited cloud storage, the hardware unit that includes the camera, access to real-time alerts, and more. Users can cancel their plan at any time.
The company initially planned to launch Angee as a hardware device that would retail at more than $400, so the decision to pivot to a subscription model is definitely a strategic one. The company still faces significant competition from Nest, Canary, and similar startup projects aimed at the smart home security market.
Other notable features of the hardware include a built-in battery that enables the system to operate during power outages, voice control, day-and-night modes that can tell the difference between a midnight snack and a break-in, and the ability to differentiate between humans and pets.
Few things ruin a quiet evening faster than a robot vacuum roaring through the living room. Most of us end up pausing the cleaning run, which defeats the whole purpose of owning one. Matic thinks it has the answer with its new Serene robot vacuum, and the big selling point is how little noise it makes.
The Matic Serene runs at 52 decibels even when cleaning at full power. To put that in perspective, Matic compares it to the hum of your refrigerator. It is available now for $1,695, which is $200 more than the original Matic’s current price.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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