HomeKit bells are like unicorns. Mythical and believer, it still holds a place in our imagination. What if they were real? HomeKit house bells, not unicorns, that is. It turns out that they exist and are as magical as any HomeKit enthusiast would expect. Especially if you wait years to get your hands on one.
Yobi B3 is the star of the HomeKit doorbell category. With an affordable price and a consumer-friendly design, Yobi is created to fill the massive gap left by Ring and other popular smart ringtones.
The basics
If you already have a traditional ringtone installed, the process of switching to Yobi is simple.
- Yobi replaces the existing doorbell with the front door
- It is based on your existing cable and the ringing career inside, no Power over Ethernet required
- Yobi includes a power adapter that may need to be attached to your doorbell inside (my 1993 doorbell didn't require this)
Yobi provides good documentation on how to install B3 instead of the old sonnet. If you do not feel comfortable with basic electrical work or do not have an existing bell, contact an electrician.
Like the other smart bells we tested, the Yobi includes two viewing position adapters that install optionally between the B3 ringtone and the wall.
An adapter allows you to angle the view of the smart camera with the door doors up or down, depending on the position. The other adapter allows you to angle the POV to the left or right.
The adapter is white and not black as I would prefer, but that means you can paint it to fit the outside of your home.
application
Yobi B3 is specially created to serve the market of smart home users who have been waiting for years to take advantage of the ringtone category. For this reason, Yobi relies entirely on the Apple Home app for setup and control.
For HomeKit enthusiasts like me, this is a major plus. No unpleasant applications are required to manage configuration or control. Instead, the Apple Home app is the interface for naming, assigning location, and interacting with Yobi B3.
This is great if HomeKit compatibility is your priority as I am. As Apple HomeKit improves with new features (such as next month in iOS 14 beta), Yobi B3 will automatically adopt those new features in the Home app.
On the other hand, you won't have application-specific features that accessory manufacturers can build into their own applications outside of HomeKit - but this is HomeKit room with bell.
HomeKit Secure Video?
The Yobi B3 works like a HomeKit camcorder just like other compatible smart cameras. The added benefit of being a sound camera is that you can get instant notification and quick access to a live video stream in the Home app when someone rings your ringtone. (The doorbell also shudders when someone rings.)
The Home app allows you to easily view and listen to your visitor, optionally speaking through the device's microphone so your visitor can hear you through the doorbell speaker, or turn off exterior lights, or unlock doors that have HomeKit accessories . Integration with other HomeKit accessories is excellent, and you can use HomeKit motion detection to receive alerts if any motion is detected.
However, there is only one open question. Will Yobi B3 work with HomeKit Secure Video? The product would be perfect with Apple's new version of video features. Video HomeKit Secure allows you to receive alerts based on various recognized objects such as people, pets, and cars. This filtering can be important for street cameras. Videos are also recorded for viewing more than just live streams.
The answer is maybe. Yobi is working with Apple to determine if the chip in the Yobi B3 will be able to support HomeKit Secure Video.
The feature requires a 200 GB iCloud storage plan (for one camera) or 1 TB (for up to five cameras). If HomeKit Secure Video is not important to you, this should not be a factor in your purchase decision. If your heart is set to HomeKit Secure Video support, let yourself play a little longer to see what happens.
Availability
The Yobi B3 is a low-cost, easy-to-order HomeKit starter camera available for pre-order for $ 199. This is consistent with the price of many non-door HomeKit camcorders, as well as non-HomeKit smart bells. The hardware is currently available in one color: the mix of black and gold finish seen here.
Being a HomeKit camcorder, not just a ringtone, the Yobi B3 is compatible with the Apple Home application, including on Mac and other HomeKit video applications, including HomeCam for Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.
If you're like me and have been waiting for ages for a lightweight, affordable HomeKit ringtone to come on the market, this is the model to check out.
Specifications
| Color | Gold and black |
| dimensions | Height: 5.98 ″ (152mm) |
| Width: 62 mm | |
| Depth: 52mm ″ (52mm) | |
| Weight | 250g |
| Mounting method | screws |
| ports | NEEDLE |
| processor | 600MHz |
| Memory | 1GB |
| Resolution | 1920 X 1080 (1080p) |
| camera | Lens: F2.2 aperture, focal length 2.7 mm Image sensor: 1 / 2.7 ″ CMOS |
| Field of view | Horizontal: 124 ° Diagonal: 180 ° |
| Night vision | 4 IR LEDs (850 nm) Lights up to 9 m (29 m) |
| Video | H.264 encoding Frame rate: 1-30 FPS |
| Audio | Built-in speaker and microphone Two-way audio talk |
| wifi | 802.11 b / w / w 2.4GHz (Does not support 5GHz network) Supports WPA and WPA2 protocols |
| Connection requirements | 2.0 Mbps upload speed |
| integrations | Apple Homekit |
| Operating systems | Supports iOS 10.3 or later |
| Working temperature | -4 ° - 140 ° / -20 ° C - 60 ° C |
| Operation Humidity | <75% at 104 ° / 40 ° C |
| Weather resistance | Waterproof |
| In the box | 1 Video Doorbell B31 Quick Start Guide
Screws and additional parts |
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