Eufy Returns to HomeKit with the S3 Pro Cam – Homekit News and Reviews

It’s been a while since Eufy came anywhere close to making a product that’s HomeKit compatible. However, they recently announced their E30 smart lock, with Matter, so things are looking good. Now, the company have introduced a new outdoor cam and HomeBase with HomeKit compatibility.

The eufyCam S30 Pro is an outdoor cam with some serious specs; 4K resolution recording (at 15fps), built-in solar panel, motion and radar detection, and local recordings stored on the HomeBase S380, that offers 16TB of storage. What might take this way beyond other outdoor cams on the market, however, is a feature they call ‘MaxColor Vision’ technology. This allows for “day-like” image clarity in ultra low light conditions. It appears this is helped in even darker situations with the use of two adaptive brightness spotlights (per camera) that adjusts its level of brightness to achieve optimal video recordings. You can even view the live feed and tap on a specific are for the spotlight to adjust itself, for better clarity.

It’s important to note that whilst you can record and view 4K footage (with a 135º FoV), you’re limited to 1080p in Apple Home, which has been the case for a long time now. There’s also 2-way audio, although it’s not clear if this is offered within Apple Home, which previous HomeKit compatible cameras lacked, for whatever reason.

With the solar panel built into the top of the cameras (using the company’s SolarPlus 2.0 technology), there’s no need for a power cable connection, although if you prefer it, you can power the camera via a USB-C port on the rear. However, if you have eaves that might obscure the solar panel from the sun, you can attach a separate solar panel to the S30 Pro to counteract this. The cameras connect to the HomeBase via a 2.4GHz WiFi channel separate from your own network, with the base then connecting to your network via ethernet. The company’s website states that just one hour of daylight will fun charge the camera’s 13,000mAh rechargeable battery, which by itself could achieve up to 365 days of battery life.

The built-in dual detection system mentions a PIR sensor, but also states ‘radar’ without mentioning mmWave specifically. The detection field covers 40ft and 120º, but it also works with their own filtering algorithm, which helps reduce false triggers from rain, insects or trees moving in wind.

The cameras, in coordination with the HomeBase also offers individual recognition for things like people, faces, packages, vehicles and pets. This is all achieved by yet another eufy feature, called BionicMind AI. Add to this the ability to track specific people or objects across a series of these cameras, and it does appear the company has gone all in on security this time, as well as coming back to Apple Home.

One thing that may have had a lasting effect on consumer confidence in the company, unfortunately, is the issues with camera feeds from some customers appearing in other customers accounts. This had the result of many customers basically ditching their setups in favour of other brands. So whether they can instil a new level of trustworthiness for new or returning customers, remains to be seen.

The price for camera and HomeBase setups come in at;

You can also purchase separate S3 Pro cameras for US$219.99