I’m a fan of SwitchBot’s no-nonsense, responsive home tech design, so I was interested to see what they brought to CES. Among their numerous devices was a video doorbell unlike any other I had seen before, and it could be a path forward for user-friendly front door security.
Let me explain: Video doorbells already pair well with smart displays, which allow you to look through the doorbell, get ring notifications and talk from the speaker to visitors. But that can be complicated and expensive to set up (plus a poor fit if you don’t like voice assistants). SwitchBot’s Video Doorbell comes with its own 4.3-inch touchscreen display that can sit on any nearby surface or be mounted to a convenient wall for an instant, informative connection.
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SwitchBot’s separate display for seeing and talking out of the doorbell can go with you and is ideal for aging-in-place setups.
The display lets you listen for chimes, peer out of your doorbell whenever you want and activate an audio mode to talk to a person, all with large buttons that make it friendly for those aging in place. Users can also expand the monitor with up to 512GB of onboard storage to solve their video storage concerns without a subscription.
The innovative display aside, SwitchBot’s video doorbell also impressed me. It combines 2K resolution with a broad 165-degree viewing angle, color night vision and AI motion detection to specify if a human is approaching and other details. It’s also compatible with Alexa, if you’d rather go the Echo route.
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The doorbell can be screwed into place, but it also has an adhesive mounting option, something I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a video doorbell before but that has the potential to make setup extremely easy. For people looking for an all-in-one video doorbell that’s easy to use, this looks like a competitive option. I’m looking forward to testing it out to see how it functions, how well the simple design could work for seniors aging in place, and how accurate the doorbell AI is.
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