Where have all the TV cameras gone?

"Sky Live, a smart camera accessory for the company's line of Sky Glass TVs, will stop working at the beginning of December. "We're proud of the ambition behind [Sky Live]," wrote a Sky representative in a forum post announcing the plans. "It's given us valuable learnings that are helping to shape the future of our products. We have, however, made the difficult decision to discontinue it, in order to focus our investment on what matters most to customers.""

"Launched in mid-2023, Sky Glass was supposed to transform smart TVs from passive media consumption devices into something a lot more social and interactive by bringing Zoom calls, workouts with body tracking, and Kinect-like motion games to the biggest screen in the house. Now all of that is coming to an end, with Sky bricking the camera and reimbursing consumers who bought it."

"Sky's discontinuation of the product comes as other TV makers seem to be rethinking the notion of cameras in the living room as well. LG's Smart Cam, released in 2023, is out of stock at major retailers and appears to be discontinued, as is TCL's smart TV camera. And while Samsung still ships such an external camera, it has stopped integrating cameras directly into its TVs."

Sky announced that Sky Live, a smart camera accessory for Sky Glass TVs, will stop working at the beginning of December and consumers will be reimbursed. A Sky representative said the product provided valuable learnings but was discontinued to focus investment on core customer priorities. Sky Glass, launched in mid-2023, aimed to make TVs social and interactive through Zoom calls, body-tracking workouts, and Kinect-like motion games. Other manufacturers are similarly retreating: LG's Smart Cam appears discontinued and out of stock, TCL's smart TV camera is discontinued, and Samsung still ships an external camera but has stopped integrating cameras into its TVs. The trend signals declining industry confidence in living-room cameras.

Read at The Verge