Here are some really quick first impressions of the eufy Security Indoor Cam 2K. Worth knowing I'm moving from a Nest cam and I'm using Apple's HomeKit Secure Video (HSV) for the eufy.

  • Setup
    • The eufy Security Indoor Cam 2K does work with Apple's HomeKit Secure Video.
      • I downloaded the app, plugged it in, did a firmware update, and the option was there.
    • Insanely easy to set up.
    • Minus one ESL translation flub, very smooth transition from the eufy app to HomeKit Secure Video.
  • HomeKit Secure Video
    • HomeKit Secure Video's interface stinks. It's not easy to scroll within a recording at all.
    • You can't set things up to record continuously (aka "24/7"), much less on a schedule from time X to time Y as you can in Nest.
    • The options for HSV's settings aren't clear or particularly intuitive.
      • It's not insane, but tell me how to only get notifications for animals between certain hours. You can, but it wasn't as straightforward as it should be
      • Or how to get it to record between two times, whether I'm here or not be damned. No, the clear use case is are you home or not?. There's no maybe you'd prefer to use a schedule that's presence independent.
    • The interactions, HSV and eufy app, are a little odd. You can still view live vid in eufy after transition, but that's it.
    • That said, it feels like some settings are in the eufy app only? Do I need to keep this app around or not? Idk.
  • eufy cam itself
    • Picture is great. Seems better than my Nest.
    • Favorite option: Can turn off night vision infrared light without leaving night mode.
      • If you want a camera to look out of (but through) a window at night, you know the light can be reflected off of the window to the point the video stream is unusable.
      • But the Nest, eg, turns off night vision when you turn off the infrared light. They're a package deal. Nighttime with your daytime "eye" is dumb, but that's what (afaict) the Nest does.
    • Why is the eufy white? It's so much more obvious than Nest's black, and security cams shouldn't be obvious. But whadda I know?

I think that's it. I feel a little better having Apple hold my video than Google, but the experience (in the UI) is clearly worse with HSV than Nest. The eufy cam, however, holds no blame for that. Its app seems great, video quality is high, and the HSV setup was trivial.

And I can't argue too much if I'm only paying $36 a year for cloud storage and it comes with an extra 150 gigs of unencumbered iCloud space. Guess Apple's services push got me. Going to $120 a year for five cameras on your iCloud account (but also required if you've only got two!) gets you a little closer to Nest's prices...:

The new Nest Aware subscription now costs $6 a month or $60 a year to cover all of your devices. That gets you 30 days of โ€œevent video history,โ€ meaning you get the recordings from whenever the camera detects motion or sound. Jumping up to $12 a month ($120 a year) for Nest Aware Plus doubles your event history to 60 days and also gets you 10 days of 24/7 video recording history.

... and Nest's 24/7 recording really is smooth. But, again, Apple's got the marketing on privacy down pat & you'd get two terabytes (?!!) of iCloud storage for your trouble.

Bottom Line

At $40, the eufy Security Indoor Cam 2K provides a heck of low price of entry for the HomeKit Secure Video world, and the hardware & setup process both hit well above the price's weight-class. If you've wanted to experiment with HSV, this is your cam.

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