The $50 Wyze Cam Outdoor could be the new security camera to beat

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Wyze's new budget outdoor security camera looks like a real value

Wyze Cam Outdoor
(Image credit: Wyze)

Arlo, Nest, Blink, and Ring better take notice: Wyze, the company that makes the best home security camera under $50, now has an outdoor model. 

The battery-powered Wyze Cam Outdoor will boast a 1080p camera, both local and cloud storage, and will cost just $50. At this price, it could be an ideal outdoor camera for the security-conscious on a tight budget. 

Wyze Cam Outdoor: Price and availability

The Wyze Cam Outdoor will be available starting today (June 23) at Wyze.com. A bundle, which includes the camera and a base station, costs $49.99. 

Extra cameras cost $39.99 each; you can pair up to four cameras to a single base station.

Wyze Cam Outdoor: Specs

  • Camera resolution: 1080p/20 fps (day), 10 fps (night)
  • Field of view: 110 degrees
  • Night vision LEDs: 8 x 850nm
  • Night vision distance: 25 feet
  • Storage: 32GB (camera), 32GB (base station)
  • Water resistance: IP65
  • Size: 2.8 x 2.3 x 2.3 inches

The Wyze Cam Outdoor measures 2.8 x 2.3 x 2.3 inches and looks like a small white cube — just like the company's indoor camera. However, this model has an IP65 rating, so it's resistant to rain and dust. 

Similar to the $99 Blink XT2 — our current top pick for the cheaper end of our best home security cameras list — the Wyze Cam Outdoor communicates with a base station, which is connected to your home Wi-Fi network. In that way, the Wyze Cam Outdoor can conserve its battery life; the company estimates that the camera will last from 3-6 months without needing a recharge. 

The camera's batteries are not replaceable, so you'll need to charge it via a micro USB port. The Blink XT2, by comparison, runs on two replaceable AA batteries, which the company says can last up to two years. 

Like its indoor camera, the Wyze Cam Outdoor has a microSD card slot (good for up to 32GB of storage), and there's also a 32GB card slot in the base station. But — and this is where Wyze's camera is a truly good bargain — the company also offers 14 days of rolling cloud storage for free. However, clips are limited to 12 seconds. 

Blink's camera doesn't have local storage (an updated base station, which will let you attach a USB drive, is in the works), but the company does offer up to 120 minutes of free video storage, with videos up to 60 seconds in length.

In addition, the Wyze Cam Outdoor has an offline travel mode, so owners can bring the camera with them on a vacation, and use it for such things as monitoring their hotel room, or taking videos outside in nature.

We're looking forward to testing the Wyze Cam Outdoor to see how it compares to other budget outdoor home security cameras. 

Mike Prospero
Mike Prospero
U.S. Editor-in-Chief, Tom's Guide

Michael A. Prospero is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide. He oversees all evergreen content and oversees the Homes, Smart Home, and Fitness/Wearables categories for the site. In his spare time, he also tests out the latest drones, electric scooters, and smart home gadgets, such as video doorbells. Before his tenure at Tom's Guide, he was the Reviews Editor for Laptop Magazine, a reporter at Fast Company, the Times of Trenton, and, many eons back, an intern at George magazine. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston College, where he worked on the campus newspaper The Heights, and then attended the Columbia University school of Journalism. When he’s not testing out the latest running watch, electric scooter, or skiing or training for a marathon, he’s probably using the latest sous vide machine, smoker, or pizza oven, to the delight — or chagrin — of his family.