Amazon released another big update to its Cloud Cam indoor security camera, adding greater integration with Alexa and making it easier to monitor the device’s live feed.
With the new update, available today, Alexa can turn on the camera via voice command. Users can also get motion detection alerts through Echo devices and enable two-way audio to talk through the camera using an Echo Show or Echo Spot.
Prior to the update, the only way to follow the live feed was through the Cloud Cam app or on an Echo device with a display. Amazon created a website where users can follow their live feeds from their desktops at work.
This isn’t the first major update to the device. In November, Amazon targeted some of the most obvious challenges encountered by early Cloud Cam users as documented in the customer reviews for the device on Amazon.com. That update let users disable audio recording from the camera; turn the night vision LEDs on and off via the app; and flip the orientation of the Cloud Cam live view if it’s upside down, when installed on a ceiling, for example.
The $120 Cloud Cam competes with a variety of security cameras on the market, including Arlo and Google’s Nest Cam. Amazon released the device in conjunction with a service called Amazon Key, which allows the company to unlock the front door to let delivery drivers in, but Cloud Cam also works on its own as a standard security camera. Cloud Cam can be used with subscription plans for extended storage and other extra features, ranging from $7 to $20 a month, or a free plan offering 24 hours of cloud storage.
