Wyze Cam Pan v3 versus Wyze Cam Pan v2: What are the key differences?

If you are in the market for a home security camera, Wyze should be in your mind. The company has two great home security cameras; the Wyze cam designed for both indoor and outdoors and the Wyze Cam Pan meant for the indoors. The major difference between these two series is the Wyze Pan series supports Pan and Tilt movements while the Wyze cam doesn’t. I went into more details in this post, but in this article, I want to focus on what’s new with the latest version of the Wyze Cam Pan series — that is 2021’s Wyze Cam Pan v2 versus 2023’s Wyze Cam Pan v3.

In summary, here are the similarities; 

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  • Both offer Pan/Tilt/Zoom
  • Both offer 1080p color night vision 
  • Invisible infrared lights
  • Smoke and CO Alerts 
  • Motion detection with person, package, pet detection on subscription plans
  • Both have 1080p Full HD resolution 
  • You get free cloud storage; 12-second event recordings with 5-minute cool downs
  • Both offer local storage for continuous 24/7 recording via micro SD card 
  • Two-way Audio communication 
  • Alexa and Google Home compatible 

And the differences 

  • Wyze Cam Pan v2 is an indoor camera while Wyze Cam Pan v3  can be used for both.
  • Wyze Cam Pan v2 offers 93 degrees tilt coverage while Wyze Cam Pan v3 offers 180 degrees.
  • Wyze Cam Pan v2 isn’t weather resistant while Wyze Cam Pan v3 supports IP65 weather resistance.
  • Wyze Cam Pan v3 has privacy mode
  • Different designs

From the onset, you can tell the difference between the Wyze Cam Pan v2 and Wyze Cam Pan v3 from just the physical looks. The Wyze Cam Pan v2 follows a tower design with the lens at the top and a swivel base at the bottom able to rotate 360 degrees. The Wyze Cam Pan v3 departs from that design with a cube-shaped module housing the camera lens at the top attached to a swivel base at the bottom. That gives the Wyze Cam Pan v3 much more rotational flexibility compared to its predecessor.

The top module is able to tilt up to 180 degrees vertically covering much more tilt area than its predecessor which can only tilt up to 93 degrees. This also enables the Wyze Cam Pan v3 to turn straight downwards with the camera lens looking into the base. Wyze calls this “Privacy mode” since the camera lens is hidden and can’t capture any of the viewable areas of your house. With the Wyze Cam Pan v2, the best way to achieve privacy is to turn the camera away from viewable areas for instance against the wall.

Besides the looks and the tilt angle, the Wyze Cam Pan v3 now supports IP65 weather resistance which its predecessor didn’t. That means the camera can take occasional rain, snow and dust particles. This makes the Wyze Cam Pan v3 an outdoor camera just as much as the Wyze Cam series but with Pan, Tilt and Zoom capabilities. I already own a Wyze Cam v3, but the one thing I really wanted is Pan and Tilt functionality. With this new feature, I think the Wyze Cam Pan v3 might make its brother, the Wyze Cam v3 redundant as this was the main differentiating factor between these two series.

Another key difference between the two cameras is that the Wyze Cam Pan v3 is much quieter than its predecessor according to early reviews. Because of the panning and tilting movements, the Wyze Cam Pan series inevitably makes some noise. But the noise levels are much lower now with the Wyze Cam Pan v3 and that makes the Pan series less irritating especially when used indoors.

When it comes to price, the Wyze Cam Pan v3 costs slightly less than its predecessor. But I think these must be early bird prices. You can get the Wyze Cam Pan v3 for $34.99 on the Wyze Store or $39.98 on Amazon while the Wyze Cam Pan v2 goes for $43.99 on the Wyze store or $49.98 on Amazon.com.

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