Wyze Can’t Get Chips Right Now, Which is Bad News for All of Us – Review Geek

Wyze is sending out emails to users with some bad news—it can only acquire about a third of the silicon it needs to make cameras. That means in the year to come, Wyze cameras will be in and out of stock frequently, Cam Plus subscribers will get priority access to the Wyze Cam v3, and the company will launch more “dumb� electronics this year.

It’s not just Wyze that’s running into trouble buying the silicon it needs. But according to an email from the company, Wyze is getting hit harder since it’s a low-margin, high-volume business. Without the chips it needs to build cameras and other products, Wyze needs to change how it focuses its business.

That starts with a greater emphasis on services like Cam Plus. Wyze already added new features to Cam Plus recently, along with discounts. With recent Wyze product launches, it started with a pre-order price. But it may raise the price later. The Wyze Cam v3 is the first instance, which launched at $19.99 but will settle at $23.99. Cam Plus subscribers get to pay $19.99.

And for now, only Cam Plus subscribers can buy a Wyze Cam v3. Everyone else has to wait until Wyze can build up more inventory. Naturally, you can subscribe to Cam Plus right now to take advantage of that benefit. The Wyze site will even offer to sell you both at once (if the v3 is in stock).

The chip supply shortage won’t just affect Wyze cameras, though. Wyze says it will start focusing on non-iOT products, like the recent handheld vacuum. Despite not fitting into Wyze’s usual offerings, the vacuum sold out quickly, and the company had to adjust to make more stock available. Wyze says it will release more products that aren’t Wi-Fi-connected later this year.

It’s not great news for fans of Wyze, but at least the company chose transparency. Now we know why only Cam Plus subscribers get to buy Wyze Cam v3 right now. And we have a better idea of what to expect in the future: more non-iOT products and a more significant focus on subscriptions. 

While Wyze only mentioned Cam Plus by name, it did say that focus would be on subscriptions, plural. So expect more news for the new Security Monitoring service. And perhaps we’ll see the launch of other subscriptions too. If that happens, we’ll be here to tell you about it.

Source: Wyze