The $199 security cam is weatherproof and much smaller than the original.
Canary's only device since the company's inception in 2013 has been its home security camera, which features an alarm that will shatter the eardrums of even the toughest burglar. Now, Canary is expanding its lineup of smart home devices with Canary Flex, which shaves off more than half the size and weight of the original camera. The Flex is meant to be used any place in or around your home, inside or out.

Canary Flex looks like a small Beats pill but without the bass-dropping abilities. Measuring about 4.5 inches long and weighing just a half a pound, it's an oval device with a camera lens at one end. The Flex magnetically snaps into a curved base that allows it to be propped upright on any surface. Canary is also coming out with other mounting accessories, including a twist mount that can snake around structures to secure the Flex at awkward angles; a stake mount for sticking the camera into a potted plant or your front yard; and a secure mount that sticks to any surface, indoor or outdoor.

That's the big push behind the Canary Flex: its weatherproof design makes it an outdoor-ready security camera, and its integration with the existing Canary app means you can control it seamlessly along with an existing Canary camera you may have already. In this case, "weatherproof" means that the Flex is IP65-level water-resistant: it can withstand jets of water (real-world translation: it's rain-proof) but shouldn't be fully submerged for a long time. The Flex can operate in temperatures between 14 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

With its included magnetic base, you can also use the Flex in your home as a regular security camera. The base lets you swivel the camera a full 360-degrees and lets you angle it to a certain extent, making it slightly more versatile than the original, can-like Canary camera. The Flex has most of the features of its predecessor, too: it records HD video, has night vision, detects motion, can automatically go into armed mode when no one is detected in the house for too long, and works over Wi-Fi. Its field of view does take a small hit—the Flex's is 116 degrees while the original Canary is 147 degrees—and it doesn't have that loud siren that the original has. Canary is hoping that customers see those shortcomings as small prices to pay for a more compact and flexible design.

Another difference between the Flex and the original Canary is that the new model works on a rechargeable battery, so you can place it in areas of your home where there isn't a power source, like outside. Its power cable and AC adapter both charge the device and allow it to run directly from a power outlet. Canary didn't give me an exact battery life for the Flex, but the company did say that it should survive a few months on its rechargeable battery before needing more power.

Outdoor cams are a natural progression for companies that started with home security cameras. Nest recently released its own outdoor camera that lets you watch over both the inside and outside of your home from the same app at the same time. Aside from water resistance and weatherproofing, mounting options for outdoor security cameras are abundant, since most people don't have a flat table or surface on their front lawns to place the device. Canary's mounting options for the Flex are pretty robust, but you will have to pay extra if you want anything more than the included mount.

In addition to the Flex, Canary also released news of its consolidated subscription plans, which may end up being more exciting for existing Canary users. Its free plan used to give you 12 hours of video history, three downloads, and five bookmarks per month. Now all free users will get 24 hours of shared video history and unlimited downloads with no data caps for up to four devices. Instead of the three-tier paid options, there's now only one option: $10 per month for 30 day video history with unlimited downloads and no data caps, a two-year extended warranty for your device, and, in case your home gets broken into or your device captures an incident, you'll get incident support from the Canary team as well as deductible reimbursement up to $1,000. Since most security camera subscription plans just increase the amount of video storage you get in a month, seeing Canary adding different value to its paid service is refreshing. Even if most people stick with the free version (especially now with this upgrade), those who want extra security can get it more easily and for a decent price.

Canary's new membership plans will be effective in October. The $199 Canary Flex as well as the $30 secure mount and the $20 stake and twist mounts are available for preorder now. They will ship in time for the holiday season.