CES 2022: Wemo Lineup Gains HomeKit Secure Video-Compatible Smart Doorbell

Tuesday January 4, 2022 6:00 pm PST by Juli Clover

Belkin's Wemo brand is gaining a new Wemo Smart Video Doorbell, which is a camera-equipped doorbell option that supports HomeKit Secure Video. The Wemo Smart Video Doorbell offers a 4-megapixel high-resolution camera with a 178-degree field of view, zoom functionality, and night vision.

belkin wemo doorbell rain
With ‌HomeKit Secure Video‌ integration, the Wemo Smart Video Doorbell is able to offer 10 days of storage through an iCloud+ subscription, priced starting at $0.99 per month. Apple's HomeKit video protocol also ensures that access to the camera's footage is fully encrypted, and it adds features like motion detection notifications and specific alerts for when people, animals, vehicles, or package deliveries are detected.

According to Belkin, the Wemo Doorbell is the third Wemo product to offer ‌HomeKit‌ integration alongside the Wemo Stage and the Wemo Smart Plug, and operation of the doorbell can be done without using the Wemo app.

Belkin is partnering with smart home service provider OnTech to offer installation, setup, and education on the video doorbell, which supports existing systems powered by 16-24 V AC transformers with 30 VA or higher power, but it can also be self-installed. There is an optional wedge included with the doorbell that is designed to increase the field of view, but it can be eliminated for those who want a thinner profile.

Along with the Wemo Smart Video Doorbell, Wemo is planning to introduce new versions of its most popular products, including the Wemo Smart Plug, the Wemo Smart Light Switch, and the Wemo Smart Dimmer. The updated products will be built with support for Matter over Thread for more reliable connections and seamless compatibility with other Matter-enabled products.

Matter is a new connectivity standard that's supported by Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, and other companies, and support is rolling out to various smart home products in 2022.

Belkin's Wemo Smart Video Doorbell, which is priced at $250, can be ordered starting today from the Belkin website. Wemo's Matter-supported devices are set to come out later in the year.

Tag: CES 2022

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Top Rated Comments

captrlp

33 months ago

? Belkin…you just announced the largest, ugliest doorbell on the market. Whoever told you that bigger is better, was lying?‍♂️

Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

NVRAM-SMC

33 months ago

Belkin: was the doorbell's design inspired by a World War II-era walkie-talkie...or 1990s brick phone from "Saved by the Bell" (no pun intended)?

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

827538

33 months ago

PoE switches are so cheap and easily accessible (or PoE injectors) that I really wish someone would come along with a PoE HomeKit doorbell. WiFi can be flakey and really add latency from my experience and dealing with 24V transformers can be a pain.

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

zorinlynx

33 months ago

PoE switches are so cheap and easily accessible (or PoE injectors) that I really wish someone would come along with a PoE HomeKit doorbell. WiFi can be flakey and really add latency from my experience and dealing with 24V transformers can be a pain.

Thing is, most homes already have 24V doorbell wiring in place, so you can just install this in a few minutes and not have to run any new wiring.

I get it; PoE would be the ideal solution, but running twisted pair from the doorbell location to the location of your network switch can be a challenge in some homes. Nothing beats wiring that's already there. :)

Most wifi APs are dual-band; my suggestion is to put lower bandwidth stuff like this on 2.4GHz, which has longer reach and it won't be competing with your higher bandwidth stuff on 5GHz.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)