The original SpotCam Eva, which we reviewed in 2016, was a pretty clunky camera, both in terms of its bulky design and its unpolished performance. It was apparent, however, that it contained the seeds of something better, and those have come to fruition in the SpotCam Eva 2. The rebooted camera has a "snowman" shape that's neither particularly attractive nor an eyesore, but it's smaller and easier to hide in plain sight than the original. It also has a wider field of view (130 degrees) and adds a built-in siren and two-way talk capabilities, Amazon Alexa and Google Home integration, and it supports automatic person tracking. Pan-and-tilt is still its core feature, but this feature works much better than it did in the previous iteration. The first evidence that the Eva 2 had improved on its predecessor surfaced during the setup process.

The global pandemic has put a spotlight on personal safety and security, so it's unsurprising that the video surveillance market is surging as well. Globally, it hit $45.5 billion this year, while AI technology, which is being integrated into video surveillance products at every price point, will hit $100 billion by the year 2025. Both consumers and small- and medium-size businesses are increasingly looking for solutions to manage the safety and security of homes, businesses and assets. More importantly, they're in search of solutions that incorporate sophisticated new video analytics, AI and cloud-based storage technology. Manufacturers are racing to meet the demand, according to a report by IFSEC Global.