Verkada pushed a broad hardware and software update across its cloud platform, and both halves matter to integrators quoting cloud-first projects: new third-generation bullet cameras with added AI detections, and a refreshed access control line.
Cameras
The third-generation bullets come in wide-angle and telephoto configurations with 5MP and 4K resolution options. Optional IR and white-light illuminator attachments improve low-light performance without a separate lighting package, which simplifies both the quote and the install.
On the software side, two detections were added. Inactivity detection alerts when people or vehicles are absent from a defined area for a set period, useful for guard-tour verification and loading-dock coverage. Vehicle line-crossing detection raises an alarm when a vehicle enters a site. Emergency response features were also aligned to the “I Love U Guys” Foundation Standard Response Protocol, which North American school boards will recognize.
Access control
The AC43 is a new four-door controller with cellular backup connectivity, so door decisions keep flowing if the site loses its primary link. A government-grade AC43-G variant adds FIPS-validated encryption for compliance-heavy environments, a line item that matters on federal and defence-adjacent work in Canada. The AF64 Access Station Pro also reached general availability, combining a multi-technology reader, a 5MP wide-angle camera, a single-door controller, and a touchscreen in one device.
The read
Verkada keeps collapsing categories into single SKUs: reader, camera, controller, and intercom functions folded together, managed from one cloud console. That is attractive for multi-site retail and education portfolios with thin IT support. The trade-offs are the usual ones for the category: subscription licensing, cloud dependency for management, and data residency questions that Canadian public-sector buyers should ask before committing.