Anker makes a huge range of affordable household gadgets, including battery packs, security cams, wireless charging stands and more, but now the company is stepping into the home office with the launch of a new AnkerWork line.
Many people switched to working from home during the pandemic, and many jobs are expected to remain remote even when return to the office is possible after the pandemic, so Anker’s hub to home office and business equipment seems to come at the right time. And like other Anker gadgets, the new AnkerWork devices still embody the same simple, no-nonsense approach with affordable prices that you see on Anker’s other devices.
The first new device from AnkerWork is an important part of any modern home office: the PowerConf C300 webcam. At $ 130, the C300 appears poised to undercut Logitech’s $ 170 Streamcam, with similar specs including 1080p / 60fps video recording, dual microphones and AI-powered tracking technology to help keep your face centered in the frame.
The C300 even supports HDR and has an adjustable field of view, with three different settings for close (78 degrees), normal (90 degrees) and ultra-wide (115 degrees) to best suit your video calls. In addition to support for Zoom, Teams and all other major video conferencing apps, Anker said the C300 also supports live streaming software such as XSplit, OBS and others.
G / O Media can receive a commission
If your home office meetings are more about large conference calls, AnkerWork also has the PowerConf S500 portable speaker. (FYI, the reasoning behind AnkerWork’s naming scheme is that ‘S’ stands for speaker and ‘C’ stands for camera.) Building on Anker’s previous PowerConf Bluetooth speakerphonethe S500 has four microphones to capture 360-degree audio, along with a 10-watt speaker and a built-in battery that delivers up to 16 hours of continuous talk time. Designed for people who often need to take group calls while traveling, the S500 supports meetings of up to 12 people at a time, although you can link a pair of S500s together to increase the number of participants to 16 or more.
Unfortunately, Anker has not yet released a price or release date for the S500. However, I had the chance to play with the C300 and based on my initial testing, I like what I see so far, including good picture quality for the price. Out of the box, the C300 doesn’t require any additional software to appear as a generic webcam for Zoom, Google Meet, and the like. However, you must install the Anker app if you want support for the AI-powered auto framing or the AI-enhanced color matching. Anker’s app was still in beta during my testing, so I didn’t get a chance to check out more advanced features like HDR and video recording.
The design of the C300 is straightforward and still includes all the basic features such as an adjustable stand with built-in tripod and a USB-C port and cable that comes with a USB-A adapter for use with older computers.
I’m also a big fan of the adhesive privacy shield that comes with the C300, which has a simple shutter that you can slide over the webcam’s lens when you want to make sure your feed is blocked. It may not sound like much, but compared to the huge lens cap that comes with it The Kiyo Pro from Razer (which has no place to store the lens cap when not in use), Anker’s slide shutter is a more useful and elegant solution to make sure you aren’t being spied on.
Anker said it expects to release more Anker Work devices throughout the year. The PowerConf S500 release date is still in the air, but the PowerConf C300 is available today for $ 130.