Veiu wants to be a smart doorbell that's helpful, not a hassle

20 Apr 2017

While a smart doorbell can be valuable for home security - not to mention avoiding sleazy salesmen and unwanted solicitors - there are a couple of pain points. You have to install it, sometimes you have to sign up for a subscription, and you usually have to choose between a smartphone and a dedicated screen.

Eques wants to eliminate those pain points with Veiu, its new smart doorbell and peephole which is currently looking for support on Kickstarter. The device itself is comprised of two parts, the actual doorbell that sits outside of your home and a 5-inch touchscreen on the other side, with the complete system sandwiching your front door. There's also a companion app for iOS and Android that'll allow you to do the things you're used to with a smart doorbell, like talk to people outside, see live video and take screenshots.

Simple installation is one of the big goals behind the Veiu. The device slots right through your door's existing peephole, and Hu claims that anyone with a screwdriver can install one in about five minutes. However if you don't have a peephole already you'll have to drill one.

Hu tells us one of the defining visions behind the Veiu was the ability for anyone in the family to use it, from kids all the way up to the elderly. Because a lot of smart doorbells are built around the smartphone, it can be difficult for people inside the home without access to see or interact with people on the outside. This is the purpose for the touchscreen peephole inside your home. Anyone inside the house can go up and do anything the companion smart app can do. They can talk to the person outside, capture an image if something shady is going on, or view older saved footage.

That final feature is another pain point that Eques is hoping to solve with the Veiu. While the Veiu can connect to your smartphone and Wi-Fi, it's not reliant on an internet connection to function. It carries 2GB on on-board storage, expandable to 32GB, and a rechargeable battery with up to two months of life, so you can keep and view your footage if your internet cuts out. There is cloud storage available, which will keep your footage for 15 days, but there are no monthly subscriptions.