YI 1080p Home Camera vs. Home Camera 2

There are more options on the market than ever before when it comes to keeping your home protected, and a quality smart camera is a great addition to any home security setup. The YI 1080p Home Camera and Home Camera 2 are both great options for adding in intelligent surveillance, but it’s pretty clear that the Home Camera 2 is a significant upgrade over its predecessor.

While there are great perks to discuss with both camera, there are really no areas in which the 1080p Home Camera excels over the Home Camera 2. As the name suggests, the second iteration of the YI Home Camera is a new and improved model that offers upgrades in a number of important areas like motion detection, FPS, and night vision.

Below we go into detail on the similarities and differences of the YI 1080p Home Camera vs. Home Camera 2, but feel free to use our navigation bar to jump directly to the sections that you care about the most.

YI 1080p Home Camera vs. Home Camera 2 — Things in Common

• Live View – Like any smart cameras worth their salt, the YI 1080p Home Camera and Home Camera 2 both offer the ability to access Live View on-demand whenever you please, as well as the ability to record that live view for future reference.

• Zoom – Premium picture quality doesn’t mean much if the action is too far away! Fortunately, both models include a 4x digital zoom which ensures you’ll never lose access to those important details.

• Power – A slight downside to these cameras is the way that they are powered. Like many electronics, they are powered with an AC Plug and require constant power. Unlike some cameras that have battery backups like the Arlo Pro or Arlo Pro 2, the YI home cameras will go dark in the event that your home loses power. The steady source of power means that they are able to take advantage of useful features like advanced motion detection, but the lack of any sort of backup is a definite drawback.

• Two-Way Audio – In addition to providing a high-quality video feed, both cameras include two-way audio, which is great for yelling at a package thief or scolding your cat off the counter while you’re away from home. The YI brand two-way audio is pretty flexible as well, with options for both an intercom mode and hands-free operation.

• Sound Detection – As part of their monitoring features, the YI 1080p Home Camera and Home Camera 2 have sophisticated sound detection that will alert you of any ongoing commotion. One of the coolest perks of this brand is the addition of “Baby Crying Detection,” which allows the camera to identify the mood of the voice and give you alerts when your child is crying. A specific “Baby Cry” alert will be sent in this case, allowing you to distinguish it from more general notifications.

• Internet Connection – Both cameras connect to the internet via 2.4GHz WiFi, which means you shouldn’t have to worry about hooking your cameras into your router. However, only having that single band WiFi can potentially be an issue if you start to add a bunch of cameras to your network due to the load that it can place on your network. If you’re looking for an alternative dual-band camera option, check out the Nest Cam Indoor instead.

• Local Backup Storage & CVR – Regardless of which model you decide on, you’ll have access to local backup storage, with support for up to 32GB Class10 MicroSD cards with a FAT32 format. Continuous Video Recording (CVR) is also available at no extra cost if you’re using your own local storage, but you also have the option to pay for a YI Cloud premium subscription to store that footage online.

  There are 3 different tiers for CVR. For 7 days of storage, it will cost you $19.99 quarterly or $66 per year. 15 days comes with a price of $9.99 per month or $99 per year, and 30 days costs $19.99 per month or $199 annually. Keep in mind that this pricing is for a single camera, so you’ll have to factor in the additional expense if you’d like CVR in multiple areas around your home.

• Cloud Storage – By default, you can record and review stored footage for the past 7 days at no additional cost, but if you want extra storage or if you want to download and share the video, you’ll need a YI Cloud subscription. This is the more basic subscription that doesn’t include CVR, and it supports up to 5 cameras for no extra fees for around the same costs of the single CVR plan.

  7 Days will cost $19.99 quarterly or $66 annually, and 15 days will cost $9.99 per month or $99 per year — both priced identically to the YI Cloud Premium plans. The 30-day plan is a little bit of a better deal, at $14.99 per month or $149 per year.

  The pricing of the YI Cloud and YI Cloud Premium subscriptions are pretty similar but offer slightly different things. The Premium plan is only for a single camera and includes CVR, while the regular cloud subscription is purely for storage, downloading, and sharing — supporting up to 5 cameras for a low monthly fee.

• Apps – Accessing your YI 1080p Home Camera or Home Camera 2 video feed should be incredibly easy regardless of your choice in platform, with Apps available for Android, iOS, and Web.

YI 1080p Home Camera vs. Home Camera 2 — Differences

• Difference #1: Video Quality – The first, and perhaps the biggest difference when comparing the YI 1080p Home Camera vs. Home Camera 2 is the video quality. Both cameras record in 1080p, so you’ll have a high-quality picture with either camera. However, the YI Home Camera 2 goes above and beyond with all-around better technology.

  Although the resolution is the same, the Home Camera 2 records at 25 FPS vs. the 15 FPS of the 1080p Home Camera. The updated model also includes HDR/WDR, as well as 3D LUT Color Correction for a more beautiful and detailed picture.

  When buying a camera to monitor and protect your home, it’s important that the technology be equipped to give a clear recording. In the commotion of a home invasion, having that crisp picture can make all the difference. This is one of the biggest reasons we feel that the Home Camera 2 is the better buy.

• Difference #2: Image Sensor – If the better video quality wasn’t enough, the YI Home Camera 2 also does a much better job with its Image Sensor technology as well.

  The Home Camera 2 features a new generation Ambarella S2LM chipset, low-power 28nm CMOS Sensor. It’s a 1 /2.8” 12MP sensor, which doesn’t seem that big of an upgrade when compared to that 1 /2.7” 2MP sensor of the original 1080p Home Camera. However, when it comes to this type of technology, that minor incremental upgrade makes a world of difference — with image quality that is almost 2x as good as its predecessor.

  So, long story short, there’s really no contest when it comes to the quality of the video feed when comparing these two models. The better video quality combined with a superior image sensor makes it clear in every way that the newest release is a major upgrade.

• Difference #3: Field of View – Another area in which the YI Home Camera 2 stands apart is in its field of view. With a 130 degree wide-angle lens, your coverage will be extended to every corner of the entire room. In most cases, a security camera will be placed in the corner of a room in order to optimize the viewing angle. However, you’ll still often end up with blind spots with the majority of models. If you’re worried about your video footage leaving key areas uncovered, the Home Camera is definitely a safe bet due to its ultra-wide FoV that pretty much removes any restrictions when it comes to mounting.

  The 1080p Home Camera is still decently impressive with a 112-degree field of view, but there’s no denying that the newer release has really done a great job of giving you more comprehensive room coverage.

• Difference #4: Motion Detection – There are also some differences in the way that these two cameras handle motion detection. Regardless of the model you choose, you’ll have access to motion-triggered recording as well as motion zones that allow to adjust the camera’s sensitivity when monitoring certain areas.

  However, the YI Home Camera 2, once again, has a whole host of extra features that blow the YI 1080p Home Camera out of the water — namely Gesture Recognition and Human Detection. Gesture Recognition will start recording when the feed sees a special hand gesture. From up to 2 meters away, you can wave your hand and trigger a 10-second video to start recording. It’s a cool extra perk that allows you to control some of the camera’s basic functions with a simple hand movement.

  Human detection is a little bit more practical and utilitarian in its use, with the ability to detect and locate human targets in moving images. The camera is trained to recognize human features, which increases the accuracy of notifications — ensuring that you’re aware of potentially dangerous activity while avoiding the spam of false alarms.

• Difference #5: Night Vision – Last but not least, the Yi Home Camera 2 does a better job when it comes to night vision. With 11 infrared LEDs vs. the 8 LEDs on the Yi 1080p, you’ll generally get a brighter picture in the dark with the Home Camera 2. From a technical standpoint, both cameras are pretty similar with the ability to illuminate up to 25 feet in the distances as well as the inclusion of an IR cut-off filter. However, the extra infrared lights give the newer camera a little bit more “oomph.”

YI Home Security Camera, 1080p 2.4G WiFi IP Indoor...

Buy on Amazon Price incl. tax, excl. shipping

YI Home Camera 2, 1080p Full HD Wireless IP...

Buy on Amazon Price incl. tax, excl. shipping

YI 1080p Home Camera vs. Home Camera 2 — Comparison Chart

YI 1080p Home Camera vs. Home Camera 2 — Accessories

The majority of accessories for the YI 1080p Home Camera and Home Camera 2 are focused around mounting and storage expansion. Both cameras are equipped to work right out of the box, but these products help you get a little bit more bang for your buck.

For the YI 1080p Home Camera, we recommend taking a look at the Wall Mount, Wall Mount Stand Bracket, and Outlet Wall Mount to try to find a solution that works best for your home.

The YI Home Camera 2 is also enhanced by a 32GB Memory Card, which should give you the ability to store a pretty impressive amount of CRV and motion-triggered recordings directly on the device itself. Buying a big SD card allows you to skip out on the monthly fees in return for a small one-time investment.

YI 1080p Home Camera vs. Home Camera 2 — Our Thoughts

Overall, when comparing the YI 1080p Home Camera vs. YI Camera 2, we think the choice is pretty clear. The Home Camera 2 is an upgrade in every sense of the word, and we don’t feel like the 1080p Home Camera is cheap enough to warrant passing up on all the extra features.

With better FPS, better motion detection, better night vision, and more, it’s really no contest. Both cameras do a great job, but in a side by side comparison, it’s very clear that the Home Camera 2 is a big step forward past its predecessor.

YI Home Security Camera, 1080p 2.4G WiFi IP Indoor...

Buy on Amazon Price incl. tax, excl. shipping

YI Home Camera 2, 1080p Full HD Wireless IP...

Buy on Amazon Price incl. tax, excl. shipping

Last update on 2024-04-16 at 00:22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API