Amazon's Alexa voice assistant suffered an outage today. Starting around 11:30 a.m. Pacific, more than 2,000 reports suddenly hit the outage tracking site DownDetector.

We also saw reports on Reddit with users asking if Alexa is down. My colleagues found delays in Alexa reporting announcements with Ring systems and the Alexa speakers weren't connecting. Some users on Reddit reported that newer Alexa devices were working but that older speakers were the main ones affected.

Sudden spike on Down Detector

Starting around 11:30 am Pacific, a sudden spike of over 2,000 reports suddenly hit the outage tracking site on Down Detector.

Most users just reported it was down but a couple said that their Amazon speakers weren't working.

"No response to voice commands, lots of blue lights. affecting all 3 of my smart speakers," one person wrote.

Relay between Ring and Alexa is down

My colleague John Velasco confirmed that he is getting a delay on announcements from his Ring cameras to Alexa.

"My Alexa speakers don't announce people when my Ring cameras detect them," he said.

He had a minute delay he said.

Reports dive but Alexa.com is down

On DownDetector reports have taken a nose dive with people reporting things back up.

However, I've found that Alexa.com is currently inaccessible. Is it down for you?

Multiple reports on Alexa subreddit

On the Alexa subreddit, I've seen multiple reports from Alexa users saying that the platform is down.

"My Alexa platform is unresponsive and the app interface isn't working on either my iPhone or iPad. I have performed basic troubleshooting (cold boot device and iPhone) but still unresponsive. I can ask Alexa to turn on the lights and the device lights indicate that it hears me but does not perform the task. I can also ask about the weather. Same result. Light on device acknowledging being spoken to but nothing is done. is anyone," said one post.

I have seen some people saying that the outage is only affecting their older devices but not the newer ones.

A blip

Well, it appears the outage is over. Lasting just about an hour, it's not clear what caused the Alexa platform to glitch today.

However, reports on DownDetector are at nearly zero and the systems we have access to have started to receive normal announcements.

The Best Buy Black Friday in July sale is slated to run through this weekend. While there are plenty of great deals you can still get, surprisingly some of my favorite deals are on Amazon products.

For example, right now you can get the Ring Video Doorbell (Battery) with Indoor Cam for $74 at Best Buy. That's a whopping $75 off and one of the lowest prices I've seen for this bundle. It includes the latest Ring Video Doorbell, which we ranked as one of the best value options due to its expansive view and sharp 1080p HD video capture. You also get the wireless Ring Stick Up Cam Battery which you can place virtually anywhere inside your home.

The latest Ring Video Doorbell allows you to see, hear, and speak to anyone from the Ring app that you can simply download on your phone, computer, or tablet. It offers 2K resolution with wide-angle video and up to a 6x zoom when you need to close in on details. You'll receive notifications when anyone presses your doorbell or triggers your built-in motion sensors.

Meanwhile, the Stick Up Cam is a versatile camera that can go almost anywhere in your home. You can place it on a flat surface in your home or even mount it on your wall for a broader view. The device allows you to always be connected to your home and see what's going on or check up on pets, whether you're at work or on vacation.

With many people planning summer vacations, this Ring bundle will let you monitor your home while saving you a few bucks in the process.

Arlo has long been a major player in the world of smart security cameras and for good reason. Its cameras have always offered high-quality footage, sleek designs, and advanced features. But over the past few years, we’ve seen more and more low-cost models with similar advanced features — something that has led to the Arlo Essential line, including the Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K.

The new model is part of the third generation of Arlo Essential cameras, and offers pan/tilt functionality, a 2K resolution, AI descriptions, and more, at a pretty reasonable price. Is Arlo successfully taking on the budget players, or should you stick with something else?

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K Review: Price and availability

The regular price for the Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor 2K camera is $49, but it's frequently on sale. For example, at the time of this writing, it was discounted to $34.99 at Arlo.com. The camera can be widely found at most online retailers.

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K Review: Design and installation

The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera doesn’t break any boundaries when it comes to design, but it still looks nice enough. Like most of Arlo’s lineup, it has a white matte plastic body, with a black face. It’s not the most premium-looking camera, and it doesn’t feel as durable as Arlo’s higher-end models, but it still looks and feels perfectly fine.

Its design is kind of split into two parts. There’s a base, which can rotate around as needed for panning. Above that, there’s a bracket holding the camera itself in place – and on the bracket, the camera can tilt up or down. On the back of the base of the camera can be found a USB-C port, which is how the camera is powered. There’s no battery in the camera – you’ll have to keep it plugged in at all times.

The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera is designed to be easy to set up. You can place it on a table or another surface, but it also comes with a bracket to mount the camera to a ceiling. I opted to simply place the camera on a flat surface.

Once you’ve positioned the camera how you want, all you have to do is plug it in and it should turn on. Then, download the app and sign in to your account or create a new one. When you go to add the camera, it should detect it automatically and allow you to connect it to your Wi-Fi network. The setup process took around five minutes, including installing a firmware update that was available.

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K Review: Image and audio performance

Generally speaking, footage captured by the camera looks quite good. For starters, it’s decently crisp and detailed. The 2K resolution genuinely helps. I have tested plenty of 1080p cameras and could notice the difference between this camera and those models.

The wide field-of-view, which sits in at 130 degrees, allows the camera to capture most of a room. Theoretically, it can capture most of a backyard when pointed out of a window, however it’s not really built for this purpose (the company makes the Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Outdoor camera for that), and the infrared lights will reflect on the glass in low-light environments, making for footage that doesn’t really show anything beyond the window itself.

The camera has subject-tracking, and it seemed to work well during testing. Decent subject-tracking is one of the biggest advantages to cameras with pan/tilt functionality, as it means that you’ll still be able to track suspicious activity even when a subject would otherwise be out of view.

One of the trade-offs you get by buying this camera over some of the others is the lack of HDR, which can have an impact depending on how you use the camera. For example, it struggled to capture both darker indoor environments and brighter scenes through the window on a bright day, at the same time.

Another trade-off is the lack of a spotlight. This means that you’re stuck with infrared-based night recording, rather than color night footage of any kind. I did find that night footage was reasonably crisp, but without a spotlight to illuminate a scene you will miss out on some details that could be important. That said, depending on the power of a spotlight, infrared is often better at capturing far-away details.

The camera supports two-way audio, and it worked pretty well. Arlo says that the camera has “noise-canceling 2-way audio,” which supposedly lets it detect and play audio more cleanly. In a two-way audio setup, I was able to hear someone in front of the camera, through my phone, quite well, and while I did have to ask them to speak up, the camera’s microphones and audio processing made for a sightly better audio experience than the Wyze Cam Pan v4 that I tested at the same time.

That said, the speaker built into the camera wasn’t as good, and made my voice sound tinier. That’s not a huge deal though – my voice was still easy to hear through the camera’s speaker.

Overall, the Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K offers crisp and detailed video. Only one problem – the Wyze Cam Pan v4 exists, and it costs only $10 extra. I happened to be reviewing the two at the same time, and found that while there are areas in which Arlo does slightly better, like in picking up audio and having a wider lens, the Wyze Cam Pan v4 generally captured far better footage, both in resolution (it’s a 4K camera), and in color accuracy. That’s not to mention the fact that the Wyze camera has a spotlight for color night recording.

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K Review: App and smart home support

The Arlo app is generally well-designed and easy to use, and if you use multiple Arlo cameras, you’ll be able to manage them all easily. The app is split up into five different tabs. The main screen is the Dashboard tab, which shows thumbnails for all of your Arlo cameras and lets you arm and disarm your security system as a whole (or at least all the Arlo products in your system).

The other tabs include the Feed (which shows footage in chronological order), an Emergency tab (for getting in touch with emergency services and activating sirens), a Devices tab (to manage your devices), and a Routines tab (to set up automations).

From the Dashboard and Devices tabs, you can tap on a camera to access a live feed of what the camera sees and tweak its settings. This is where you can do things like enter two-way audio mode and control the pan/tilt settings of the camera.

Controlling the positioning of the camera is relatively easy, and you can set a “home” point, which is where the camera will return to after it either automatically tracks a subject, or you manually move its position. You can also set additional positions, which will allow you to set the camera’s position easily without having to manually move the camera.

AI features

Some of the smart features included in the subscription worked well too. You’ll get what are now common features, like person detection, animal detection, package detection, and so on. Obviously, you’re unlikely to use a camera like this for package detection, but the camera did a pretty good job at telling me that a person was detected instead of just that “motion” was detected.

The object-recognition tech goes a step further too – using generative AI to provide a short text summary of what was captured alongside events. I was pleasantly surprised with how well this worked. Here’s an example of the kinds of summaries it produced:

“A person is holding a camera and walking towards the camera. The person is wearing a blue shirt. The scene is a backyard with a wooden fence, a lawn, and some patio furniture. There are also some toys on a table in the foreground, including a pineapple-shaped container and a purple bottle.”

For reference, in the clip recorded I was carrying my camera in my backyard as I was taking photos of a speaker for a review. The other details were almost entirely correct – with the only incorrect detail being that the pineapple “container” (a small kids bubble machine) and purple bottle were actually on a Traeger smoker, instead of a table – but there was no way for the camera to possibly know this, as the smoker was directly in front of the window the camera was pointed out of, and only the top of it, with its cover on, was visible.

And, after all, objects were placed on top of it as if it were a table. When I moved the camera to the driveway instead of the backyard, the camera even identified my car make and model correctly in some descriptions.

The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K works with Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT, and Samsung SmartThings. The main smart home ecosystem it doesn’t support is HomeKit – so if you’re looking for a HomeKit camera, you’ll need to keep looking.

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K Review: Video storage and subscriptions

The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K doesn’t have local recording, and unfortunately, it doesn’t work with any of Arlo’s base stations or hubs, so you can’t record locally at all. Instead, you’ll need to subscribe to one of Arlo’s cloud storage plans, called Arlo Secure.

Arlo Secure gets you a 60-day video history, but it also offers other features. Notably, you can’t access features like the person recognition, or the audio recognition features, without it. If you go for the highest-tier subscription, you’ll also get 24/7 emergency response and professional monitoring.

Here’s a rundown of pricing for Arlo Secure. Arlo Secure Plus costs $9.99 per month or $95.88 per year for one camera, or $19.99 per month or $215.88 per year for unlimited cameras. Arlo Secure Premium (which includes professional monitoring) costs $29.99 per month or $299.88 per year, and supports unlimited cameras. There’s no single-camera Arlo Secure Premium option.

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K Review: Verdict

The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K is an excellent pan/tilt camera, with a solid app, at a great price. It represents a continuation by Arlo to offer affordable alternatives to its higher-end models – and if you’re in the Arlo ecosystem already, then it’s easily worth considering for those who want an indoor pan/tilt camera. That’s especially true for those who have an Arlo Secure subscription.

But if you’re not already in the ecosystem, then another option might be better for your needs. The Wyze Cam Pan v4 in particular is a better option than the Arlo model, at least when it comes to the basics. It costs only $10 extra, has a 4K camera instead of a 2K one, has similar AI-powered object recognition and tracking features, and even has a microSD card slot for local recording.

The higher resolution genuinely makes a difference, and in general, you’ll get more detailed and accurate images from the Wyze model. The only thing to consider is the fact that while the Wyze model has AI-generated descriptions, they’re locked behind Wyze’s most expensive subscription, which costs $19.99 per month, while Arlo offers it in its Plus plan for $9.99 per month.

Similarly, the Eufy Cam S350 is another pan-and-tilt camera that delivers 4K video, local storage, and even better, gives you AI summaries for free.

Ultimately, if you already have Arlo cameras, then the Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K is a good complement to your system. Otherwise, it's worth looking elsewhere.

Arlo has long been known for making some of the best home security cameras — albeit at a premium — but recently it has been expanding into budget territory. The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt is aimed at bringing that Arlo quality to a lower price point, with 360-degree pan capabilities and a 2K video resolution.

The company has both an indoor and an outdoor version of this camera; in this review, I'm taking the outdoor-compatible model for a spin. While the two share most features, the outdoor model is, of course, designed to be mounted and used in a variety of weather conditions, but still at a very reasonable price. It also faces tough competition from the likes of Wyze and other budget models. Is it worth buying over the others?

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt outdoor camera review: Price and availability

The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt camera came out in 2025, costs $59.99 — but can often be found for much less — and comes with an outdoor power adapter. It’s only available in white, and is can be purchased at Amazon, Arlo, and other online retailers.

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt outdoor camera review: Design and setup

The design of the Arlo Essential Pan Tilt is perfectly fine but not necessarily all that premium. It's noticeably lighter and less durable-feeling than Arlo's higher-end models, though it thankfully doesn’t stray into feeling cheap. The overall aesthetic follows typical Arlo design language, with a white body and black face that should blend reasonably well with most home exteriors. The weather-resistant build handles outdoor conditions without issue.

The camera was easy to set up, too. The package includes mounting hardware, and installation involves screwing the base plate to your desired location, then mounting the camera to that base plate.There's no battery option, so the camera has to be plugged in to work, and you’ll need to place it within reach of a power outlet. Arlo includes a long 16-foot power cable in the box.

The entire physical installation took under 10 minutes. The software setup through the Arlo Secure app was equally simple, with clear instructions for connecting to Wi-Fi and positioning the camera.

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt outdoor camera review: Video and audio quality

The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt camera is able to capture video at a 2K resolution, and it has a 130-degree field of view, which is wide enough to see a good amount of even a wide backyard, with the right positioning — plus, of course, it can pan for a full 360-degree view, though not all at once.

For night vision, the camera includes a spotlight for color video in darkness. The spotlight isn't particularly powerful and mainly illuminates the immediate area, but it's fine for identifying people and objects nearby. For far-away subjects, you’ll want to rely more on infrared night vision.

The lack of HDR causes some issues with mixed lighting conditions. In my setup, the camera faced direct sunlight in the afternoon, which could blow out portions of the image. This wasn't a major issue for me since my house blocked the sun as it got lower in the afternoon, but if that wasn't the case, it would have made it difficult to see activity in those areas. The same problem appeared in low light situations — if part of the scene was brightly illuminated by the spotlight at night while other areas remained dark, subjects could appear as dark shadows, lacking detail.

Motion detection performance was fine but not great. The camera started recording immediately when I walked away from just out of view. However, when testing from the opposite direction, I was halfway across my backyard walking toward the camera before recording kicked in and the spotlight turned on. This delay could mean missing the beginning of important events.

Two-way audio worked reasonably well. I could hear others clearly through my phone, though I sometimes had to ask them to speak up for better clarity. The microphones performed slightly better than those on the Wyze Cam Pan v4, picking up voices decently well. However, the speaker quality was worse — my voice sounded tiny and compressed, though it was still understandable enough for basic communication.

Overall video quality was good for the price point, though the Wyze Cam Pan v4 delivered better video with higher resolution, better color reproduction, and a more powerful spotlight.

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt outdoor camera review: App and smart home support

The camera is controlled using the Arlo Secure app, which feels polished, clean, and mostly easy to navigate. The pan and tilt controls are intuitive to use, and it was easy to set a "home" position along with other preset positions for quick repositioning.

As you would expect in 2025, the camera supports a range of AI-based features. For example, there’s a generative AI summary feature for those with paid plans, and they were detailed and accurate, like most competitors. This is perhaps one of the best AI features for security camera so far, and it can definitely help cut down on how many clips you actually look at, versus just read the description for.

The camera also supports "Custom Detection," which uses AI to detect user-defined events. I tested this by setting up detection for "toys left on the grass" that might interfere with my robotic lawn mower. Setup involved taking snapshots of what I wanted to detect versus what I didn't want detected, along with writing a short description. While the feature worked, it triggered incorrectly fairly often, though usually because something else was on the grass rather than complete false positives. It's largely designed for things like leaving a garage door open or a gate open.

Everything else about the app is pretty straightforward. You can set motion detection zones, spotlight settings, and so on. AI-powered alerts for people, animals, and packages require an Arlo Secure subscription -- and without it, you'll only receive generic motion notifications.

The camera can work with Alexa or Google Home, but it doesn't support HomeKit. Within Google Home and Alexa, you'll be able to see feeds from your cameras alongside your other devices, but you'll still need the Arlo app for things like setting the camera up and tweaking settings.

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt outdoor camera review: Storage and subscription plans

The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt doesn't have any form of local storage — there's no microSD card slot, and it can't use Arlo's SmartHub devices for local recording. This means cloud storage via an Arlo Secure subscription is mandatory for any video history beyond live viewing. A subscription is also required to unlock advanced features like smart object recognition, cloud video history, and person detection.

The subscription pricing isn't bad, but it's also not incredible. Arlo Secure Plus costs $9.99 per month for one camera or $19.99 per month for unlimited cameras, dropping to $7.99 and $17.99 respectively when billed annually. The Premium tier runs $29.99 monthly for unlimited cameras, or $24.99 when billed annually. You'll get AI features and cloud storage with the Plus tier, and you only really need to upgrade to Premium if you want things like professional monitoring.

Arlo Essential Pan Tilt outdoor camera review: Verdict

The Arlo Essential Pan Tilt delivers excellent coverage with its pan-tilt functionality and sharp 2K video at a very solid $59.99 price point. The camera does a good job at monitoring large areas that would typically require multiple cameras, and the motion tracking works quite well. It's not perfect — there's no local storage and you'll really have to get a subscription to get the most out of it. But, that's often expected these days anyway.

Or it is for the most part. The biggest competitor right now comes in the form of the Wyze Cam Pan v4, which offers a better video quality, a spotlight, local recording, and AI features, for the same price. For those new to home security, the Wyze Cam Pan v4 is a better option overall — but if you're in the Arlo ecosystem and want something to add to your setup, you're still getting a great product with the Arlo Essential Pan-Tilt.

The best smart locks have long been a useful tool, but one of the biggest issues hampering their adoption has been battery life. Unlike most other smart home devices, smart locks have to operate without being plugged in, which means you have to change or recharge their batteries on a regular basis.

Now it seems that issue is being solved. I recently tested two smart locks that have solar panels built right into them. That means you never have to worry about your lock running out of juice and having to find an external power bank or the physical keys in order to do something as simple as get inside your own home.

The Desloc V150 Plus and Lockin Veno Solar offer some similar features, but actually vary more than you might expect. Here's a look at both of them, and what makes one better than the other.

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: Price and availability

The first major difference between these two locks is their price, and it's a pretty dramatic difference. While the Desloc V150 Plus has a Kickstarter price starting at $169. Its retail price is as high as $399.99. It will be available through retail channels starting in August, so if you want one it may be worth seeing if it's still available at a discount through Kickstarter.

The Lockin Veno Solar, by contrast, is available now, and it's dramatically cheaper when it comes to the retail price. There are actually two models available: one which has a face scanner and the other a palm vein scanner. I tested the face scanner, which put it on a more level playing field with the Desloc V150 Plus. Both models, however, cost $199 or around half the retail price of the Desloc. There's also a bundle with a door handle for $259.99.

Winner: Lockin Veno Solar

Specs

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: Design and setup

While the two locks don't look exactly the same, I wouldn't necessarily say that one of them looks much better than the other. Both of them definitely look like smart home gadgets, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but is worth noting for those who might want something more that leans more towards luxury.

The exterior portion of both of these blocks is a relatively bulky black rectangle made of metal and plastic. The Desloc V150 Plus has a large rectangular solar panel which sits in between the face scanner and a fingerprint scanner. It does not have a PIN pad.

By contrast, the Lockin Veno Solar does have a PIN pad, but there is no fingerprint scanner. Both locks have an interior portion that houses the battery and has a thumb latch for manual locking and unlocking.

The build quality is pretty similar, but the Desloc does feel slightly more durable. It has an IP65 rating for weather resistance, which is better than the IP53 rating offered by the Lockin Veno Solar. I suspect both of them will be able to withstand most weather events, but if you're worried about damage, then the Desloc is probably the more durable option. They both have BHMA Grade 3 deadbolt certification.

Installation of the two locks is pretty similar. Both of them require that you completely remove your existing deadbolt and locking mechanism. Once that's done, you'll install the included deadbolt, then thread the exterior portion of the lock through the deadbolt and attach it to a base plate. Finally, you'll screw the interior portion of the lock into the base plate. Then you'll download the lock's respective apps, create an account, and add the lock to your account.

Winner: Desloc V150 Plus

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: App and smart home

Software support is another area in which the two locks diverge. The V150 Plus runs on Desloc's existing app and connects to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth without needing a hub. I found the app decently easy to use. Adding fingerprints and faces was straightforward, I could remotely lock and unlock the door, and I got real-time access logs and battery information, including a chart showing how much battery the device has gained through solar power. Hopefully, of course, you won't need to worry much about battery at all.

The Lockin Smart app, similarly, covers the basics well. You can generate one-time PINs, enroll new faces and codes, configure auto-lock, and so on. I would have liked an overview of how much battery the lock gains over time, the way Desloc offers, but its absence isn't a big deal. With the Desloc, I found that I checked the battery gain once or twice over the first few days, then mostly forgot about it.

The big area where the Lockin Veno Solar pulls ahead is in smart home support. The Desloc V150 Plus supports Google Home and Amazon Alexa, but Lockin goes much further with Matter support. That essentially means that you can add the Veno Solar to any modern smart home ecosystem, including Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and more.

Sure, for those who use Google Home or Alexa, that difference may not be a very big deal. But what if you want to change ecosystems down the line? Or what if your partner uses an iPhone while you use an Android device? Matter support solves all of these issues, and it's kind of becoming table stakes for smart home devices, at least when the Matter spec supports them like it does locks.

Winner: Lockin Veno Solar

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: Performance

When it comes to speed and reliability of unlocking, neither of these smart locks is incredibly impressive. However, each has one feature that the other doesn't. The Desloc V150 Plus doesn't have a PIN pad, which is kind of a major omission, and means that you can't easily assign guest codes. What it does have is a fingerprint sensor, and that can come in handy given the fact that the face scanner is pretty slow. Much of the time I found that it was faster to scan my fingerprint to unlock the door than wait the few seconds for the lock to scan my face.

The Lockin Veno Solar doesn't have a fingerprint scanner but does have a PIN pad. It was actually faster to just wait for the lock to scan my face, even though it did take a few seconds. I'm not sure either of these two locks was faster at face scanning than the other. That's not a good thing; they were both slow. If you're deciding between these two locks, you'll have to determine whether you prefer to have a PIN pad or a fingerprint scanner.

It's also worth quickly noting that the Lockin Veno Solar had much more reliable Wi-Fi connectivity. Both of these locks were installed on a garden shed in my backyard, which can sometimes have spotty reception. The Desloc V150 Plus struggled a fair bit to retain a Wi-Fi connection, but the Lockin Veno Solar had no such issue. That will really only be an issue for you if you plan on putting your smart lock in an area where Wi-Fi reception isn't all that good. For most people who install the lock on their front door, both locks will retain connectivity perfectly fine.

Winner: Lockin Veno Solar

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: Battery life and recharging

Given the fact that these are both solar-powered locks, perhaps one of the more important questions is whether or not you'll need to worry about battery and charging. Thankfully, they both charged perfectly fine, and while they don't charge very quickly, that doesn't really matter. Basically, you'll never have to worry about whether or not your lock is charged up.

Again, don't expect them to fully charge overnight. When I first installed the Desloc V150 Plus, it had around 12% battery. A week later, it had 34%. When I installed the Lockin Veno Solar, it arrived with around 83%, and a week later, it had 90%. The actual charging speed, of course, doesn't really matter all that much. What matters is that they're not losing power over time. And if you fully charge your lock when you first get it, I expect both of these locks will remain around 100% at all times.

Winner: Tie

Desloc V150 Plus vs. Lockin Veno Solar: Verdict

For now, if you're looking for a smart lock with a solar charger, it's probably worth buying the Lockin Veno Solar. It may not have a fingerprint reader, but it does have a pin pad, plus it's around half the price of the Desloc V150 Plus.

That said, if a fingerprint reader really is important to you and you find a solar panel important, then you'll still like what's offered by the Desloc V150 Plus. You'll just have to stomach the additional cost or try to snag one from the Kickstarter campaign.

The alternative, of course, is to wait a little for solar panels to become more common on smart locks. The first few smart locks with solar panels feel a bit more like proofs-of-concept rather than the complete package.

I would have liked to see a lock with both a fingerprint scanner and a pin pad. That's not to mention support for Matter and even tech like Apple's Home Key and Ultra Wideband. I expect eventually we'll get these features in solar-powered locks, but for now, we'll have to wait.

More from Tom's Guide

• Google vs. Ring vs. Arlo: We put 6 security cameras to the test to find the most accurate AI
• Apple Intelligence security camera features just seriously undercut Ring and Google
• Save yourself $100 or more a year: These security cameras and video doorbells don't require a subscription

When it comes to upgrading your front door, Amazon's ubiquitous Ring doorbell has really corned the market. They're not the only company in home security, though. The range of products that can be bought to transform your boring old door into a fully-featured and far more secure smart door is wide, with brands like Philips, Chamberlain and Arlo all offering terrific items that will make you feel safer and more in control.

For this list I've selected a range of security cameras, fingerprint locks, video doorbells, deadbolts and more. Adding these to your home will enable you to monitor who is approaching your house, turn on the lights, and keep your precious home safe and sound. Many of these products come in at well under $100, too, so they're not going to break the bank.

Unlocking your smart lock from your phone is cool, but the real challenge now is ironing out the practical issues that come with making your lock smart — like having to keep it powered when you never had to worry about that before. A few newer locks are trying to solve this, and the Desloc V150 Plus might be the most interesting attempt.

The V150 Plus has a solar panel built right into it, designed to charge the lock so you never have to think about whether it has enough juice to let you in. It doesn't skimp on other features either -- you get fingerprint and facial recognition unlocking, so it's easy to get through your door without pulling out your phone.

So how well does that solar panel actually perform, and is this one of the best smart locks outside of that? I've been using the Desloc V150 to find out.

Price and availability

The Desloc V150 Plus is now available through a Kickstarter campaign, and Desloc says that it will be available from retailers starting in August. The Kickstarter lists the lock as being around $169 though, so if you know you want it, it may be worth buying through the Kickstarter.

Design and setup

For the most part, the Desloc V150 Plus looks much like other smart locks — until you look a little closer. Like other smart locks, the exterior portion is rectangular and made of a combination of black metal and plastic. But unlike many other smart locks, when you approach it, a pin pad won't illuminate for you to punch in a code. That's because the surface on the front of the lock isn't a pin pad at all — it's a solar panel that charges the built-in battery.

Apart from the 4.8-inch solar panel, the lock also has a fingerprint sensor towards the bottom and two cameras towards the top that are used for facial recognition. In other words, while there's no pin pad, there are still multiple ways to unlock the door.

The interior portion looks even more like other smart locks. There's a thumb latch to manually lock and unlock the door, along with a cover for the main battery, which hopefully you'll never have to actually open.

The lock should be able to survive most weather with its IP65 rating. Plus, it has BHMA Grade 3 certification for deadbolt strength.

This is a full deadbolt replacement, not a retrofit overlay. You'll remove your door's original deadbolt, align the new tailpiece with the latch, and mount the exterior and interior assemblies. Once it's powered, the lock runs a calibration routine to learn the bolt travel and ensure smooth locking, after which you can test the interior thumb-turn. None of that is unusual, and Desloc's installation process on previous locks has been straightforward enough.

Once you've physically set up the lock, you'll download the Desloc app and create an account, or sign in if you don't already have one. From there, you'll be able to add your face for facial recognition and add your fingerprint for the fingerprint scanner.

App and smart home

The V150 Plus runs on Desloc's existing app, and it connects to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth without the need for additional hubs.

For the most part, I found the app easy to use. I was able to add fingerprints and faces without issue. Plus, I could remotely lock or unlock the door with it. You'll also get real-time access logs and battery information, which, again, hopefully you'll never really need to see.

Another thing that the app shows, which is only really interesting for a solar-powered model like this, is how much power it gets each day. The app also includes a "Landlord mode" for rental scheduling and access-profile management, built around a calendar-style interface for organizing tenant codes and monitoring usage.

Combined with the self-charging design, that could make the V150 Plus genuinely appealing to small landlords, since the solar system would cut down on site visits just to swap batteries — though of course that might introduce complications around accounts and unlocking methods; since there's no keypad, each new tenant would have to register either their fingerprints or face.

Auto-lock, meanwhile, ties into a door-closure sensor so the lock only engages once the door is fully latched -- a subtle detail, but an important one, because it prevents the false sense of security you get from a lock that fires before the door has actually closed.

On the smart-home side, the lock integrates with Amazon Alexa and Google Home for voice control, but that's it, which is pretty disappointing. Unlike cameras, locks have been supported in the Matter spec for some time now. And at this point, there's really no good excuse for smart locks not to support Matter. Without Matter support, you won't be able to use the Desloc V150 Plus with Apple HomeKit or other smart home standards beyond Alexa and Google Home.

Performance and battery life

Perhaps the most important aspect of this lock, of course, is how its battery and charging system works. I found it to work perfectly well. When I first set up the lock, I skipped the instructions to fully charge the battery, and the app reported that the battery had 12% left.

After around a week, it was at 34%. In other words, it doesn't charge all that quickly, but if I had fully charged the battery when I first set up the lock, I would never really need to worry about the lock running out of juice, and would expect that it would retain near 100% of its battery at all times. I had the lock set up in a location that doesn't get tons of direct sunlight, but it does get a few hours per day. It also has a USB-C port for emergency power if, for example, the battery stops working.

I did find, unfortunately, that the fingerprint scanner and face scanner were somewhat slow, but they did work the majority of the time. It usually took a few seconds for the face scanner to recognize me, and I actually found that it was faster to use the fingerprint scanner. What that means is that while the face scanner is a nice feature, it's perhaps likely to be treated as a backup for when you're carrying something, rather than as the primary way to unlock the door.

Verdict

The Desloc V150 Plus is a perfectly fine lock, but needs a bit of refinement before it can compete with the best smart locks. Obviously, the fact that you'll never have to manually replace the batteries or charge it is a nice feature. But without Matter support, it's limited in the smart home ecosystems that it works in.

Plus, it unlocks relatively slowly, especially compared to plenty of other smart locks out there. Again, it's not a bad product. For the right person, it might be the way to go, especially for those in the Google or Amazon ecosystems, or who don't mind using the dedicated app.

If you're looking for a lock with a built-in solar panel, the Lockin Veno Solar is Matter-compatible, comes with either face or palm unlocking, and has both a keypad and a physical key slot, making it feel like a more complete product.

One of the biggest drawbacks of smart locks is that, unlike traditional locks, they’ll eventually run out of power, which means replacing or recharging their batteries at least once a year.

The best smart locks try to lengthen this time as much as possible, but the Lockin Veno Solar could eliminate that inconvenience entirely. It has a solar panel on the exterior portion that very slowly charges up the lock's battery, so that you never have to worry about recharging it or replacing the batteries.

The Lockin Veno Solar is actually available in two variants -- one has a facial unlock feature, and the other has a palm vein unlocking feature. I’ve been testing the Face model to find out if it does enough beyond simply taking care of power for you to be worth buying.

Lockin Veno Solar review: Price and availability

The Veno Solar series went on sale in mid- 2026, with both the Palm and Face models starting at $199 (you can pay $259.99 for a model that bundles a door handle). I'm reviewing the Face variant.

You can get the Lockin Veno Solar series for yourself straight from the Lockin website or from Amazon.

Design and setup

Installing the Lockin Veno Solar is very similar to installing any other smart lock that replaces your deadbolt. This is not a retrofit lock, so you will need to replace the interior thumb latch, the deadbolt in the door, and the exterior portion of the lock.

Essentially, you'll unscrew your existing lock and deadbolt, then fit the included lock and deadbolt and thread the exterior portion of the lock through to the inside. Then screw the base plate into that exterior part of the lock and fit the thumb latch portion onto the base plate. The whole process should only take 15 to 20 minutes.

After you're done physically installing the lock, you'll need to add it to the Lockin app. I also found this process to be quite easy. You'll download the app, then either sign in to your account or create a new one if you don't have one already. Then simply follow the on-screen instructions to add a new lock. I found it was recognized immediately. In this process, you'll be walked through the face scan.

On the outside of your door, there's a keypad with either the palm vein scanner or the face scanner, depending on the model you go for. There's no fingerprint sensor on either of them, but there is a solar panel on the bottom third or so, and you might not be able to tell that's what it is if you didn't already know. The lock also has a physical key slot, which can come in handy if something stops working or a guest needs to enter.

On the inside, there's a thumb latch along with a button to mechanically lock or unlock the door. There's also a cover for the battery compartment which, hopefully, you'll never have to open after you install it.

The lock seems to be durable enough, but it's not quite as weather resistant as some other smart locks. It has an IP53 rating, which is fine for some water spray. It held up during my testing, but to be fair, the weather has been pretty nice where I live. The lock also has an ANSI Grade 3 certification.

Performance

The Face model that I reviewed captures depth-sensing 3D face recognition that Lockin rates at under one second. In practice it was generally fast enough, though I wouldn't call it instant -- and it didn't feel like it was under one second. It usually took a second or two for the lock to realize there was someone outside the door and start scanning in the first place. Once the scanning started, it took less than a second, but there was still that initial lag.

This isn't a dealbreaker, and to be clear, face scanning is still convenient — but it would be even more convenient if the lock supported a feature like Ultra Wide Band (UWB) or Aliro, which allows the lock to sense your phone or watch, and unlock based on that signal.

I did find that the lock's Wi-Fi connectivity was quite good. I placed the lock on the door to my garden shed, which has historically had limited reception -- plenty of other smart locks I've tested struggle to hold a connection out there. This one stayed reliably online throughout.

As for the solar charging, it's slow. The lock arrived at 83% out of the box, and a week later it had crept up to 90%. That sounds underwhelming, but it's worth remembering what the point isn't fast charging — it's that the battery doesn't drain over time. And it didn't. It slowly gained power instead of losing it, which is exactly the behavior you want from a solar lock.

App and smart home

The Lockin Smart app is how you'll control the lock's settings and features. You can create one-time PINs, enroll new faces and PIN codes, set up auto-lock settings, and so on. One thing I would have liked to see is an overview of how much battery the device gets over time, but not having it isn't a huge deal.

Unlike the Desloc V150 Plus, which is the other solar-powered smart lock that I've reviewed recently, the Lockin Veno Solar supports Matter, which means you can integrate it into a variety of smart home ecosystems. You have to set the lock up in the Lockin app, but you don't have to control it there. Instead, you can control it through apps like Google Home or Apple Home and integrate it into automations and other cross-product systems. Matter support is kind of table stakes for smart locks these days, so it's nice to see it here.

Verdict

The Lockin Veno Solar is a solid smart lock, and for what it offers, it's perhaps the best option. That's to say, the lock has solar charging, so you never have to worry about manually charging or replacing the batteries. But it goes beyond that with a decently convenient unlocking method and, perhaps even more importantly, Matter support, so it'll work with a wide array of modern smart home ecosystems.

There are some limitations. For example, if you routinely get torrential rain, you might be slightly concerned about the IP53 water resistance. And it's worth keeping in mind that it's going to take a second or two to unlock your door if you rely on the face scanner. But, if you like the idea of not having to worry about charging your lock, for now, this one is the way to go.

Prime Day 2026 is juuuuuust around the corner, starting next Tuesday, July 7 and running for a full week. There's going to be prices slashed on almost everything, including some of the best home security cameras, such as those from Amazon's budget brand, Blink.

However, Blink has already seen some impressive discounts in the lead-up to the big sale, with up to 85% on its Amazon storefront. Its deepest discount is exclusive to a bundle deal, which pairs the highly-rated Blink Outdoor 4 camera and Sync Module 2 with a free Blink Video Doorbell for just AU$35. The camera on its own is discounted to AU$31, which is an all-time low price for the camera itself, making the bundle deal with the freebie doorbell even more attractive!

If this bundle doesn't quite tickle your fancy, there's a full list of deals on Blink's Amazon storefront that will cover all your home security needs. Do keep in mind that Blink's cameras come with a 30-day free trial to its subscription plan, which includes features like cloud footage backup and person detection. After the trial period, Blink's plans start from AU$4.95p/m for a basic subscription.

You'll need to act fast to nab this discount, though — Blink's bundle deal will wrap up by the end of Prime Week on Monday, July 13.

Despite falling in the budget category, Blink's cameras offer some incredible features for a low cost, such as 1080p HD live view, infrared night vision and two-way audio, and come with an accompanying free Blink app so users can monitor their homes when they're away. If you're an Alexa fan, you can also sync up Blink cameras to the app, making it all the easier to control your smart home from your phone.

The biggest standout in our 4-star Blink Outdoor 4 review was that the camera's battery life can last for up to two years with just two AA batteries, so you don't have to worry about keeping them plugged in (or finding a spare power outlet).

Better yet, when combined with the Blink Video Doorbell, you'll have eyes (and ears) on your home when you're away. It is worth noting that Blink's doorbell is a no-frills option and offers pretty basic features, like head-to-toe live HD view, two-year battery life and real-time alerts.

Most of Blink's best features are locked behind a paywall in the form of a subscription. A Blink subscription plan allows customers to save, share and view live recordings from their Blink devices, all while being saved in unlimited cloud storage for up to 60 days. Additionally, features like person detection and "Blink Moments" — which streamline clips from multiple cameras into one video — are only accessible with a subscription, which starts at AU$5p/m for Basic and AU$15p/m for Plus.

It's the final hours of EOFY sales, and if you've been considering making a purchase, the time to act is now. There are discounts on almost every category — such as tech, activewear, beauty bits, NBN and mobile plans, just to name a few — including some of the best home security cameras.

One of our top-rated brands, TP-Link Tapo, has slashed prices across its inventory on its website and at retailers like JB Hi-Fi. However, there's only one home security kit that caught my eye, thanks to its hassle-free solar-powered set.

The TP-Link Tapo C460 kit is now discounted to just AU$189, from AU$279 at JB Hi-Fi. What makes this kit stand out above the rest is its solar panel, which eliminates the need to plug in the device or worry about recharging the 10,000mAh battery. Within just 45 minutes of direct sunlight, the panel can fully charge the battery to last one day, and if it's constantly connected to the panel, there's potentially very little to no maintenance required.

Better yet, the camera can record in 4K resolution, has subscription-free AI detection for people, packages and vehicles, and can save up to 512GB of footage locally with a microSD. You'll need to act fast to nab this home security deal, though, as it will expire in the wee hours of tomorrow, June 30, 2026.

We haven't reviewed this particular set just yet; however, I have spent some hands-on time with it in the past few weeks — and you can consider me impressed. Gone are the days of needing a subscription to maintain or operate your smart home products to their fullest potential, as TP-Link's kit doesn't need one to complete all of its included features.

This was one of my biggest gripes as a Ring camera user, as I needed a subscription to use package and person alerts, whereas with the TP-Link, I don't need to pay an additional fee to see if my package was delivered or my dog somehow made it out the front door. Now, I can simply rewind the footage on the app (or via my laptop with the microSD card), and hey, presto, I can locate the accurate time of my postie's delivery.

What's even more impressive is that this extends to most of TP-Link Tapo's camera lineup, so if the C460 kit doesn't quite tickle your fancy, there are plenty of other options to choose from. With multi-cam kits, indoor and pan-tilt devices, and outdoor floodlights, I've selected six of the best TP-Link Tapo camera deals for your perusal below.

More from Tom's Guide

• EOFY sales 2026: Australia's end of financial year sales are now on

Some of the most popular Prime Day deals are smart home devices, such as security cameras, video doorbells, and smart speakers. But while you'll often see deep discounts on a lot of these gadgets — upwards of 40% off — many come with a hidden fee: subscriptions.

You see, these companies realized that they can create a recurring revenue stream by charging you a monthly fee for something as simple as being able to record and save video from your security cameras.

Don't be lured into these cheap deals, only to realize later that it wasn't the bargain it seemed. To help you, I've put together a list of deals on the best security cameras and video doorbells from companies that don't charge a subscription. That way, your mind — and your wallet — can rest easy.

Quick links

• Blink Mini 2K+: was $39 now $17 @ Amazon
• Blink Outdoor 2K+: was $89 now $30 @ Amazon
• Tapo 4K 8MP Wired Pan/Tilt Outdoor Security Camera: was $99 now $79 @ Amazon
• Eufy SoloCam E42: was $179 now $113 @ Amazon
• Wyze Duo Cam Pan: was $69 now $53 @ Amazon
• Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+: was $69 now $34 @ Amazon
• Wyze Wireless Duo Cam Video Doorbell: was $119 now $94 @ Amazon
• Eufy E340 Video Doorbell: was $149 now $99 @ Amazon
• Tapo 2K Wireless Smart Video Doorbell: was $49 now $34 @ Amazon

Security cameras

Video doorbells

Prime Day is here, consisting of thousands of deals screaming for your attention at once. Every year it gets bigger, every year the discount percentages get bolder, and every year the challenge is finding the ones that are actually worth your time.

Right now, the Blink Video Doorbell is 60% off at Amazon, dropping from $59 to just $23. To put it in perspective, $23 these days will get you a nice lunch at a cafe, maybe a couple of cocktails at dinner. The fact that it also buys you a video doorbell with two years of battery life is the kind of deal you can't turn away from.

Here's exactly why I've removed it from my Wishlist and popped it straight in the cart.

I've recently become a homeowner, and a video doorbell has been at the top of my purchase list. I knew I wanted one, I just wanted to wait until the price was right. And thanks to Prime Day 2026, that time is now.

The Blink Video Doorbell comes with a Sync Module Core included in the box, which matters more than it sounds. Without it, you're limited in what the doorbell can do. With it, you get local storage, better connectivity, and a system that functions as advertised from day one.

So what do you get? Well, actually, quite a lot. The doorbell shoots HD video with a head-to-toe field of view, meaning you see the person at your door and the package they're holding, not just a face floating in the frame.

Night vision is handled by infrared, while two-way audio works through the Blink app, and setup takes minutes, whether you wire it into your existing doorbell or go completely wireless. Battery life runs up to two years on three AA lithium batteries, which are included. Nice.

It's not the most feature-packed video doorbell on the market. Person detection and clip storage require a subscription, and you'll need an Alexa-enabled device to get the most out of the voice controls. But at this price, it doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to show you who's at the door, and it does that very well.

We're tracking all the best Prime Day deals

Palm vein recognition technology has been around for a while, but it's typically been reserved for relatively expensive smart locks. Wyze is changing that with its Palm Lock, bringing biometric palm scanning to a price point that undercuts most alternatives. The lock promises to let you unlock your door with just your palm, along with traditional methods like PIN codes and physical keys.

At $129, the Wyze Palm Lock isn't the first palm vein model on the market, but it's certainly one of the most affordable. The question is whether Wyze has managed to deliver reliable palm recognition without cutting too many corners. I tested the Palm Lock for several weeks to see if this budget-friendly biometric lock is worth considering, and how it compares to the best smart locks.

Wyze Palm Lock review: Price and availability

The Wyze Palm Lock comes in at $129.98 and is available directly from Wyze's website, Amazon, and select other retailers. It comes in a single black finish, which should look fine on most doors – though I still would have liked more options.

Wyze Palm Lock review: Design and installation

The Wyze Palm Lock has a decent build quality that exceeds what you might expect from its budget price point. While it doesn't feel quite as premium as locks from August or Yale, it certainly doesn't feel cheap either. The lock comes with an ANSI/BHMA Grade 3 rating.

The lock is notably bulky, with the exterior portion measuring 6.1 × 2.9 × 1.3 inches and the interior portion measuring 7.2 × 2.9 × 1.2 inches. Both the interior and exterior portions are noticeable on your door, and while it doesn't look ugly, it's also not subtle. The interior section has the thumb latch for manual operation and a compartment for the batteries, while the exterior features the PIN pad and palm reader positioned above it. On the bottom of the exterior portion of the lock is a USB-C port, which is uncovered. A rubber cover would have been a good idea, but considering it's on the bottom, it seems unlikely much moisture will get trapped inside.

Installation is straightforward, though to be fair I've installed dozens at this point. Still, the included paper instructions are clear and comprehensive, and the app also provides a step-by-step installation guide, so most beginners should have no problem with it. The one minor issue is that you wouldn't necessarily know about the app-based installation guide unless you start the setup process in the app first, which the initial documentation doesn't explicitly direct you to do.

The lock includes a backlit keypad that's easy to see, along with a discrete manual key slot for emergency access. It also has a dual battery system, which is handy. There's a main battery pack that lasts approximately six months, and a backup battery that provides an additional two weeks of power when the main battery needs charging or if it runs out of juice. If both batteries die, there's a USB-C port that can provide temporary power from a power bank.

The IP53 weather resistance rating isn't particularly impressive on paper, but during my testing period, the lock survived several reasonable heavy rainstorms without any issues. I expect it will do just fine in the vast majority of weather conditions.

Wyze Palm Lock review: Locking features and performance

The headline feature is palm vein recognition, which unlocks the door in about one second and can store up to 50 different palm profiles. The technology reads the unique vein patterns in your palm, which are supposedly more secure than fingerprints since they're internal and harder to replicate.

In practice, I found the palm scanner worked reliably, and it almost never failed after I got the hang of proper positioning, which barely took a few tries. While some reviews have reported hit-or-miss performance with the palm reader, I didn't experience significant issues during my testing.

The palm scanner only unlocks the door – it doesn't lock it. This isn't really an issue though. There's a built-in gyroscope-based auto-lock feature, which worked exceptionally well, plus you can just press the lock button on the PIN pad if you prefer to disable auto-locking. You'll also get an alert if the door is left ajar.

The keypad supports up to 50 user codes and includes anti-peep technology, allowing you to enter random digits before and after your actual code to prevent onlookers from determining your PIN. Both the keypad and palm scanner performed accurately in my testing.

The lock also includes mmWave radar that detects human presence within 2 to 3 feet, supposedly distinguishing between humans and other moving objects to conserve battery life. While this is difficult to test thoroughly, it seemed to work perfectly well.

Security features include local encryption of palm data and passcodes stored on the device itself, not in the cloud. After five failed entry attempts, an alarm sounds and the lock enters a five-minute lockout period. The lock also has a traditional key slot for backup access or for giving temporary access to guests.

Wyze Palm Lock review: App and smart home

The Wyze app is well-designed and integrates seamlessly with other Wyze devices if you're already in that ecosystem. Navigation is generally intuitive, though I wish you could control the lock directly from the home screen. Instead, you need to tap on the device first, then tap a button to lock or unlock the door.

There are a few settings you can tweak relating to the lock. You'll be able to control auto-lock settings, one-time guest codes, and calibration options. There's also an event history, so you can see usage. All of this can be accessed remotely, as the lock has Wi-Fi built in.

Smart home integration is unfortunately limited to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, with no support for Apple HomeKit or Matter. This is disappointing, as wider smart home compatibility would make the lock more versatile. To unlock the door using voice commands, you need to speak your PIN code aloud, which is an obvious security concern. I understand the need for some form of authentication, though.

The lock is designed to work in tandem with Wyze video doorbells, allowing you to lock or unlock the door directly from the doorbell's interface in the app. It would be interesting if Wyze could leverage their doorbell's face recognition capabilities for automatic unlocking in the future, but that's not an option just yet, and perhaps wouldn't be secure enough anyway (various doorbells regularly confuse our local FedEx guy with me).

Wyze Palm Lock review: Verdict

The Wyze Palm Lock is a solid entry point for anyone interested in palm vein recognition technology without breaking the bank. It's not perfect – the lack of wider smart home support is frustrating, and the bulky design won't win any aesthetic awards. But, it delivers on its core promise of reliable biometric unlocking at an accessible price point.

For the right buyer, particularly someone already invested in the Wyze ecosystem or simply looking for an affordable smart lock with palm scanning capabilities, the Palm Lock represents good value at $129.98. The palm scanning technology works well once you get the hang of it, and features like the dual-battery system and gyroscope-based auto-lock add genuine convenience. Just don't expect the refinement or universal compatibility of locks that cost twice as much.

The security camera market is crowded, and most of the big companies want you to pay a monthly fee to actually get the most out of your hardware. There are some exceptions to that rule though. One of the latest of those is Baseus, which launched the new X1 Pro dual camera system.

The system offers two independent 3K cameras into a single unit, each capable of tracking its own subject or working together for panoramic coverage. It even has a built-in solar panel, which itself isn't all that unique -- but on this system, the solar panel is attached to a motor and designed to follow the position of the sun over the day, something we haven’t seen from the best home security cameras.

But, it's not necessarily the ultimate system that you might think it could be. To find out why, you’ll have to read the rest of our Baseus Security X1 Pro review.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Price and availability

The Baseus Security X1 Pro launched in early 2026. It comes in at $269.99, which gets you the dual-camera unit, the built-in solar panel, and the mounting hardware you'll need to install it. Baseus also runs promotional pricing that drops the cost to $179.99 and includes a microSD card.

What you won't pay is a monthly fee. All of the features are included out of the box, with no subscription required to unlock them later.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Design and setup

The X1 Pro isn't small, but it's not overly large given what it comes with either. It's IP65 rated for water resistance, so it should handle whatever weather you throw at it.

The build quality of the X1 Pro is fine, but not exactly premium. Some of the plastic parts feel a little cheap, though nothing broke during my testing and everything felt solid enough once mounted. Sure, the camera doesn't necessarily need to look like a piece of jewelry on the side of your house, and its overall look is pretty similar to other outdoor security systems.

The system combines a solar panel with a relatively large built-in battery. Baseus says the 7,800 mAh battery will last up to 150 days on a charge, and the 3W solar panel on top is self-adjusting, with a 120° coverage angle (60° left and 60° right).

The ability for the solar panel to rotate is a pretty smart idea, but I'm not sure it's really all that necessary. I've never had problems with static solar panels keeping a security camera powered. I have a EufyCam 2C Pro (which I use for its HomeKit Secure Video support) in my backyard that never dips below 90% battery with its static panel. The rotating design could be more useful in areas with spotty sun coverage, but even then, with a 150-day battery, your sun coverage would have to be pretty rough for it to make much of a difference.

Setup is straightforward. You physically install the mount to a wall, then attach the solar panel and camera assembly to the mount. From there, you open the Baseus app and follow the on-screen instructions to add the camera. It's no different than setting up any other security camera — the app walked me through the whole process without any major hiccups.

As a whole, the Baseus X1 Pro's design is...fine. It doesn't stand out all that much, and it could be built a little better, but most will be perfectly happy with it.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Video and audio quality

The X1 Pro captures video at 3K (3072 x 1536) per camera, with F2.0 lens apertures. In good lighting, the footage is solid. Details are crisp, colors are vibrant enough, and dynamic range is good enough that you'll get detail in both shadows and highlights, within reason.

The two cameras can work either independently or together. When independent, they can track up to two subjects at once — useful if you've got a large area with multiple potential points of interest. When stitched together, they provide a 300° horizontal field of view, which covered my entire backyard on its own. Baseus will "stitch" the two feeds into a single panoramic view, but it's not great at this — there's a noticeable seam between the two camera feeds where they join. It's not a huge deal, but it's not invisible either.

The camera supports up to 8x digital zoom, but there's no optical zoom. In other words, while the reasonable resolution means you can zoom a little when you need to, you'll lose detail the more you zoom in.

Night vision is handled by 12 IR LEDs plus two 100-lumen LED spotlights for full-color night vision. Infrared night vision worked pretty well in my testing, and the camera actually did a better job triggering on motion at night than the Eufy camera I have installed in the same backyard. It captured three kittens walking through my yard one night that I'd never seen before.

The spotlights are there for color night vision, but their reach doesn't match the use-case of the camera itself — the camera's designed to be able to see large areas, but the spotlights won't illuminate areas anywhere near as large. If you do use the cameras to cover more than a small area, you'll need to rely on external lighting or the infrared night vision.

Motion detection and audio

Motion detection is a mixed bag. Motion detection itself seemed to be fine -- even smaller movements, like the aforementioned kittens triggered recording. But, it took some time for recording to actually begin. The camera could see my entire backyard, including around 100 feet from my back door to a garden shed.

However, in recordings of me walking from the door to the shed, I was already mere steps from the shed before the beginning of the recording. That represents a good three or four seconds of movement before recording, which could be the difference between catching a significant event or missing it.

The camera supports two-way audio, but it's not great at actually picking up that audio. The microphone is sensitive enough to pick up audio near it, but not super consistently, and you can forget about audio that's further away -- again, representing a mismatch between the purpose of the camera and its actual tech.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: App

The Baseus app is available on both iOS and Android, and it covers the basics you'd expect. You get a live view of the camera, an Events tab for captured recordings (including being able to see a split view or a stitched view), and settings for the alarms and night recordings.

It's not the slickest security camera app I've used, but I could find what I needed without much hunting. There are also some handy features, like an automatic patrol mode that has the two cameras rotate out and back at a pre-set time interval -- though unfortunately you can't use this feature when you've set the footage to be stitched. I don't see why -- there's no reason the footage from patrol mode can't just be un-stitched, and have other footage stitched.

The object detection is where the app, and system as a whole, falls down. In theory, it differentiates between people, pets, and vehicles. In practice, it's not super accurate. Several times when motion was triggered by an animal, it just registered as generic "motion" with no classification. One time, it registered a cat as a person.

Facial recognition was also inconsistent, and a pain to use. Unlike other security cameras that automatically record faces and have you classify them as you go, you have to manually add familiar faces using either the camera itself or by uploading an image. Even after you do that, it often doesn't properly recognize the face you uploaded.

In other words, while the camera can record footage when it detects motion, it's not very good at actually classifying that motion or differentiating between people and other movement.

The camera is heavily marketed as a no-cloud option, but there's actually a 30-day cloud storage backup feature in the app, offered for free. It's disabled by default, and even after I enabled it, I couldn't access clips that were marked as being backed up in the cloud. I could only play back clips stored locally. I'm not sure why, and it's possible this is a bug or something that'll get ironed out in a firmware update — but as of now, cloud backup exists but doesn't really work, at least in my testing.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Smart home compatibility

Smart home support is limited to Google Home and Amazon Alexa. That's it. No Apple HomeKit, no Matter, no SmartThings. If you live in the Apple ecosystem, you'll be stuck using the Baseus app exclusively.

The other connectivity limitation is Wi-Fi. The X1 Pro only supports 2.4 GHz — no 5 GHz option. In practice, this means streaming can lag if your signal is weak or if you're in a congested area with lots of 2.4 GHz interference. I found that footage streamed through the Baseus app regularly needed a second to load, which isn't a dealbreaker but is noticeable.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Storage and subscription plans

The Baseus X1 Pro is designed to be completely subscription-free. In other words, even with a 30-day cloud backup (supposedly), you won't need to pay anything to use the system after actually buying it. That's a double-edged sword, of course -- what if you want a cloud system instead of local recording. If that's you, it's worth looking elsewhere.

Local storage supports up to a 512 GB microSD card, which is plenty of capacity for weeks or months of footage depending on your settings.

As mentioned, there's also a free 30-day cloud storage backup option — but it's meant to supplement local storage, not replace it. You'll still need a microSD card to get the most out of the camera. And in my testing, I couldn't actually access video events stored in the cloud even after enabling the feature, so I wouldn't factor cloud backup into your buying decision at this point. The X1 Pro also works with Baseus' own hub, if you happen to own one, though you don't need one to use the camera. I didn't test the hub integration.

Baseus Security X1 Pro review: Verdict

The Baseus Security X1 Pro is a solid camera overall, but it falls short in a few key areas. Image quality is good, the dual-camera design gives you genuinely wide field-of-view coverage from a single unit, and the no-subscription model is always helpful. For basic security monitoring, it does what you need it to.

Where it falls short is on the smart features. Don't expect to rely on the AI-powered classification — motion detection can be delayed, facial recognition is unreliable, and the app will sometimes misidentify what it's looking at. Zoom clarity isn't great past a few times magnification, and the 2.4 GHz-only Wi-Fi can cause occasional stream lag.

If you're looking for a wide-angle dual-camera setup without recurring fees and can live without elite AI smarts, the X1 Pro is a compelling option. But, it's worth considering subscription-free security cameras from the likes of Reolink and TP-Link. For example, the TP-Link Tapo C246D is another dual camera system with a slightly lower resolution, though it doesn’t have the ability to track two subjects at once. But, it can track one subject faster.

Amazon and its Ring doorbell cameras are back in the legal spotlight and given the company's expanding privacy rap sheet, this latest lawsuit could be its most damaging yet.

Virginia resident Charles Sigwalt has filed a federal class action suit in Seattle, alleging that Ring's AI-driven Familiar Faces feature secretly harvested and stored facial recognition data from unsuspecting passersby — all without their knowledge or consent.

The suit is seeking upwards of $5 million in damages on behalf of the class. It comes on the heels of a $5.8 million FTC settlement in 2023 stemming from employee surveillance allegations, and adds fresh fuel to longstanding concerns over Ring's law enforcement data-sharing practices.

What is the 'Familiar Faces' feature?

Ring's optional 'Familiar Faces' feature uses artificial intelligence to identify and remember individuals who appear on camera, sending notifications that include specific names when recognized people approach a property.

While the feature is opt-in for Ring device owners, the lawsuit argues that the people being identified and stored in the system: passers-by, neighbors, delivery workers, etc, never agreed to be part of it.

According to the suit, those captured "did not consent to have their privacy rights violated at the entrance way."

What happens next?

The case is currently before federal court in Seattle. No trial date has been set, and Amazon has not yet responded publicly to the allegations.

Given Ring's history of privacy settlements, the outcome of this lawsuit will be closely watched by both privacy advocates and the millions of households that use Ring devices across the U.S. We'll keep you updated as the case develops.

More from Tom's Guide

• Google settles Android class action lawsuit for $135 million with payouts to 100 million users — here's how to claim your share
• Roku and TCL accused of 'bricking' TVs with poor software updates in new class action lawsuit
• Ring's Search Party feature can help you find your lost dog — here's how it works

Ring, Amazon's premium home security brand, has announced two new outdoor cameras heading to its expansive line-up in Australia.

Available for pre-order on Amazon ahead of June shipping dates, the new Ring Spotlight Camera (2nd Gen) and Ring Floodlight Camera (2nd Gen) have been designed with Australian homes in mind, touting improved features over previous generations.

Notably, both cameras record sharper 2K video — an upgrade from the previous 1080p footage — making it easy to recognise and capture activity outside homes. This includes people, packages, and pet detection under both day and night conditions.

In terms of specific features, the Ring Spotlight Camera has a 550-lumen spotlight that provides enhanced brightness and is fully compatible with Ring's quick-release battery pack, so you don't need to worry about wiring it in.

The Ring Floodlight Camera has a much wider field of view, with a 2000-lumen spotlight that will illuminate everything around your home, including your driveway, backyard or garage.

When it comes to pricing, the Ring Spotlight Camera (2nd Gen) is available for AU$279 on Amazon and Ring, with shipping estimated for June 11, 2026. Meanwhile, the Ring Floodlight Camera (2nd Gen) is priced at AU$329 on Amazon and Ring and will begin shipping on June 4, 2026.

New battery-powered doorbells join Ring's 4K lineup

The two new outdoor cameras aren't the first Ring products with improved 2K retinal vision. Back in April, Ring released its latest Battery Video Doorbells in Australia: the Ring Battery Video Doorbell (2nd Gen), Battery Video Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen) and the Battery Video Doorbell Pro (2nd Gen). Each of the new doorbells sports a sleek new design, slimmer than the previous silhouettes on offer.

As for specs, the Doorbell and the Plus model offer 2K resolution, much like the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen). However, only the Plus will have a removable battery, which is similar to previous Plus models. The Pro, on the other hand, will have 4K retinal vision, and comes with a removable battery so you can charge it without removing the entire unit.

These new, higher-resolution additions prove that Ring will be able to better compete with the best video doorbells and security cameras. That said, anyone keen on a Ring ecosystem should note that, unlike options from TP-Link’s Tapo or most other home security brands, you'll likely need to sign up for a Ring subscription to save video. As with most new products, new customers will receive a 30-day free trial to Ring's subscription service upon setting up a new camera or doorbell.

Not long ago, I hardwired a Ring Wired Doorbell Plus to my front door and enjoyed all the benefits that come with it, most notably the ability to wire the Ring unit to my existing chime. The 2K video it delivered was quite impressive. Now, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro has landed on my doorstep, and it’s perfect for my garage, where I often operate my side photography business. And it’s got 4K video to wow me. That’s so many Ks!

There’s no existing chime or hard-wiring in my garage, so the battery-powered Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is ideal for the space, when paired with the Chime Plus ($60) that Ring included with my test unit.

From installation all the way through to using the app on a daily basis, the Battery Doorbell Pro couldn’t be easier to use. And the Retinal 4K footage is excellent in almost all conditions, though in the deep of night, footage does lose some detail unless you’re looking at objects close to the camera.

All told, the Battery Doorbell Pro is a great addition to any space that doesn’t already have a hardwired chime. Here’s how it compares to the best video doorbells.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Price and Availability

The Battery Doorbell Pro came out in early 2026, and is available for purchase on Ring’s website for $250, as well as Amazon and other online retailers. You can split the purchase up into payments using Affirm at checkout. While Ring does offer the option to have the doorbell professionally installed, you shouldn’t need to do that with simple-to-install unit.

You can also purchase the Ring Doorbell Pro at other retailers like Best Buy, Home Depot, Walmart, and many more. Pricing and availability may vary.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Design

The Battery Doorbell Pro keeps the aesthetics of the other doorbells in the Ring lineup, though the Battery Doorbell Pro does come in four different colors. It’s slightly taller than the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, at almost six inches tall. That’s to give enough room for the long-lasting battery within.

The faceplate pops off using the included tool. Keep that tool in a safe place, since you’ll need it to remove the faceplate whenever you want to remove the battery for charging. You can use any small pry tool, but the plastic one included with purchase is a great way to easily remove the faceplate without it getting scratched or otherwise damaged.

The quick-release battery comes out easily simply by pressing the release button. You can then charge the battery using the included USB-C cable.

The Battery Doorbell Pro also comes with a mounting plate and an angle mount. You’ll want to use the angle mount if you need to position the doorbell inward or outward to capture the widest view of your space. Otherwise, you can simply install the regular mount and have the camera face directly outward. Be sure to screw in the security screw once you’ve installed the doorbell; this will secure the doorbell to the mounting plate to prevent theft.

You’ll set such alerts in the Ring app. That’s also where you’ll set up your unit and change various settings based on your specific needs. More on the app in a moment.

Finally, the Battery Doorbell Pro supports LiveTalk with Audio+, allowing you to talk to visitors from the safety of your living room and hear what they have to say back to you, all with enhanced sound quality.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Video performance

I now have what you might call a doorbell ecosystem on my property. The front door, garage camera, front gate camera, and now the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro mounted on my garage all report straight to the Ring app, so I can see what’s going on around the house at any time, day or night.

Two of the doorbells — the Pro and the Plus mounted on my front gate — are paired to the Chime Plus in my garage. So when clients come to my house, I can have them ring either doorbell to activate the Chime in the garage. If I’m already with another client, I can use Live Talk to tell them not to come in just yet, or if I’m ready for them, tell them to come right in so we can get started. It’s super convenient; I don’t have to walk all the way to the front of my house to interact with clients.

But I can do a lot of that with other, less expensive doorbells in Ring’s lineup. What really sets the Battery Doorbell Pro apart from the others is the Retinal 4K video with 10x Enhanced Zoom. In bright sunlight, the footage is crystal clear, and I can zoom in quite far and read small text like license plates, provided they aren’t obscured by shadows and my internet speeds are sufficient.

That’s important to keep in mind: The best footage comes when your internet speeds are fast. Ring recommends speeds up to 15Mbps. My internet connection rarely, if ever, gets that fast, even on my 5g network; it tops out at 12Mbps, and is usually closer to the range of 7-9Mbps. So my video suffers slightly as a result. If you get consistently faster speeds, your images will be consistently sharper.

This is more apparent at night. In low light, I still get a fairly clear picture with true colors. But when the sun sets and there’s far less ambient light, it’s hard to get crystal clear footage. I can still make out people and objects close up to the camera, and even decently far away, but reading small text or license plates is probably out of the question.

The field of view is excellent and I love being able to see just about my entire yard in one image. It’s also great to get a head-to-toe image of anyone ringing my doorbell. Again, in broad daylight, this image is superlative. In low light, it’s still very good. At night, the image quality will suffer depending on your internet speeds. That said, it’s still pretty incredible that it’s possible to make out people and objects in complete darkness. The Doorbell Pro still allows me to make out faces clearly, especially if those faces are within a close range of the doorbell.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Battery

The battery is USB-C rechargeable. Simply pop it out of the Doorbell and throw it on the charger. Since there’s no hardwiring, you can mount the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro just about anywhere you find it useful.

In my testing, the battery life has been exceptional. After two straight weeks of use, the battery has lost less than a quarter of its full charge.

It’s important to note that the Battery Doorbell Plus comes with the Quick Release Ultra Battery Pack, and this particular battery is only compatible with the Battery Doorbell Pro and Battery Doorbell Plus. So users may experience some compatibility issues if they have older-style batteries already at home.

I read a few reviews online about this doorbell, and users noted frustration that the Doorbell Pro isn’t compatible with the Ring Solar Panel and Charger. But I checked in with Ring and this isn’t the case; the Doorbell Pro is indeed compatible with the solar panel and charger, and if you use these accessories, your battery gets charged as it sits mounted in place, no need for you to plug it in.

Differences between the Battery Doorbell Pro and Battery Doorbell Plus

The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus costs $150, saving you $100 compared to the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro.You still get Live View, Two-Way Talk (without Audio+), Motion Detection, and Color Night Vision. But the resolution drops to 1536p HD+ video.

And while the Doorbell Plus also works with the quick release battery, you get a smaller battery pack, which means you’ll have to charge the battery more often if you’re not using a solar panel or plug-in adapter. Also, the Doorbell Pro accommodates 5GHz internet for faster speeds, but the Doorbell Plus only works with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi.

Ultimately, the Battery Doorbell Pro is the more powerful, capable, and faster doorbell. But if you want to save some money and don’t mind losing a few features (among them the super-sharp 4K video), the Battery Doorbell Plus is a great unit, too.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): App and subscription fees

Much of what you’ll end up using the most when it comes to your Battery Doorbell Pro lives in the app. The Ring app is your headquarters, so to speak, and you’ll be able to see all your footage here, use the Live View and Two-Way talk features, set your 3D motion zones, and much more.

It’s a pretty streamlined app, and it’s easy to use. Downloading clips takes seconds. Navigating through the various menus is quick and intuitive too.

You can set various types of notifications here as well. This is particularly handy if you have a regular cast of characters coming to your door; with AI facial recognition, the app can tell you who’s at your door and even if they’re carrying something or visiting with someone else — even if it’s their dog. The notifications are quite thorough, and usually pretty accurate.

One thing you may want to do at setup is set your 3D Motion Detection settings. If, for example, you want to only see notifications about things happening on your front steps, or in your driveway, but not on the sidewalk, you can set this up in the app. It doesn’t take much time or effort to do so, and it will cut down on the clutter in your notifications.

Of course, many of the great features in the Ring app get taken away from you if you don’t sign up for the Pro subscription, which starts at $5/month for a single camera, and $10/month for unlimited cameras at one location.

Familiar Faces, for example, is not included in the free version of the app, nor is the ability to save video at all. It’s frustrating to have to subscribe to an app after paying for a device, but you’ll get far more out of the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro if you subscribe to the app.

AI features

With Ring's premium tier (which costs $19/month), you also get its advanced AI features, which will let you use natural-language search to look through all your footage, and will deliver more descriptive results. We tested Ring's AI against other security cameras, and found it was good, but not the most comprehensive.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Accessories

My test unit came with the Ring Chime Plus ($60), which plugs into any available wall outlet. It can sync with any and all of your ring devices, and you can even personalize your tones.

The Battery Doorbell Pro is compatible with the Ring Solar Panel ($60), which includes a 6-meter-long cable to help you position the panel wherever the sunlight comes through most clearly. There’s an adjustable mounting bracket to help with positioning too.

An extra Quick Release Ultra Battery Pack will cost you $50.

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): The competition

Ring is perhaps the best-known name in the camera doorbell game, but it’s an increasingly crowded market. The Battery Doorbell Plus features 4K video and accommodates 5G networks in a battery-powered package, however, which is a tall order to compete with.

There aren't many other companies that offer 4K video doorbells, let alone battery-powered ones. Most of the competition currently tops out at around 2K, such as the Nest Doorbell (3rd gen).

Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (Retinal 4k): Verdict

The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro isn’t perfect, but it packs a ton of features into a small and price-conscious package. If your internet speeds are up to snuff, you’ll get crystal-clear 4K video, even in low light. If your internet speeds aren’t top-notch the video quality will suffer, unfortunately. In that case, you'll want to check out some of the best Ring Doorbells which better suit your needs.

Still, for the size, functionality, and price, the Doorbell Pro gives me all the features I want in a smart doorbell system. I can zoom in quite far to see small objects and text; I can get smart notifications about my visitors and even talk to them in real time without going to the door; I can go back and view footage in the app and download clips I want; and I don’t have to worry about charging the battery frequently because it has a long, long run time.

Longtime Ring users may find it frustrating that the batteries they have on hand may not work with the Doorbell Pro. But otherwise, the Doorbell Pro is a top unit that does everything you want a smart doorbell to do, without any complexities or maintenance.

TP-Link’s latest home security camera, the Tapo C675D Kit, includes not one but two 4K cameras in a single housing. One lens is stationary while the other can rotate a full 360 degrees. There's also a spotlight, a microSD card slot for local storage, and local AI for basic object detection, all of which is powered by the included solar panel.

It's loaded with features, but how does the dual-lens approach actually perform when compared to the best home security cameras? I tested the Tapo C675D Kit for a few weeks, using it to keep an eye on my daughter's car and a portion of our backyard. Here's how it stacks up.

TP-Link Tapo C675D Kit: Price and availability

The Tapo C675D Kit went on sale in the spring of 2026, and is available directly from TP-Link for $229, and includes a solar panel. You can purchase a two-pack of cameras and solar panels for $449. Amazon also sells the C675D at the same price.

TP-Link Tapo C675D Kit: Design and installation

The Tapo C675D is two independent cameras stacked atop each other. On top is a fixed lens camera with a 169-degree field of view. Below that is a pan and tilt lens that rotates a full 360 degrees horizontally and 120 degrees vertically.

Both cameras have their own spotlights. Each camera boasts four white LEDs along with two alarm LEDs that broadcast red and blue light. The latter is designed to scare would be bad guys, who’ve grown accustomed to seeing spotlights come and nothing happening. Judging by the number of videos I see posted on random local Facebook groups of cars getting broken into, it’s not a bad idea.

On the backside of the top camera is where you can insert a microSD card for local storage. Here, there’s also a USB-C charging port you can use to manually charge the camera as its battery gets low, or connect the included solar panel cable to keep the camera’s 10,000 mAh battery topped off.

The included solar panel measures 8.31 x 6.83 x 0.67-inches, and has a built-in 0.48 meter cable, with an 11.8 foot extension cable.

After unboxing the C675D, I charged it for a couple of hours per the included instructions and completed the setup process before mounting the camera and solar panel on the side of my home. All told, it took maybe 20 minutes total from the camera being fully charged to mounted and in action.

TP-Link Tapo C675D Kit: Video quality

As far as video quality and features are concerned, the C675D is loaded. Both cameras are capable of capturing 4K video at 15 FPS day and night. Both cameras offer 18x digital zoom when watching live or a captured event in the app. Both cameras offer IR or color night vision.

Both cameras offer 24/7 continuous recording with snapshots taken in set intervals of 1-60 seconds. Both have extended motion detection, which I've seen go well beyond the advertised 60 foot range.

The Pan & Tilt camera can be put on patrol mode, where it'll spend a user-specified amount of time watching over various parts of your property, while the fixed lens watches over most of your yard.

On paper, at least, there's not much the C675D can't do. And in practice, it's mostly true.

The video clips I've watched, from both day and night, look sharp and clear as long as nothing is moving too fast in the shot. That's the downfall of being limited to 15 FPS. Which also means when the Pan & Tilt camera is moving, you're going to see some pixelation until it settles in on its target.

Even when you digitally zoom in on an object, be it a license plate or person, the quality is impressively clear, especially from the bottom Pan & Tilt camera. When viewing that camera's video, I'm able to zoom all the way in on a license plate at the end of my driveway and read it without any issue.

The Fixed camera, however, doesn't offer the same legibility. The difference is due to the Pan & Tilt’s default 5x telephoto zoom.

TP-Link Tapo C675D Kit: Features

The Tapo app is full of options and features you can tweak for the C675D as a unit, or each camera based on your preferences. For example, you can opt to have the fixed lens monitor for all detectable objects, while the Pan & Tilt camera only watches for pets and people (or any other combination).

My favorite feature, however, is Smart Dual Tracking. Whenever an object is detected by the fixed camera, the second camera will automatically rotate and keep the object in frame until it's out of view, extending the camera's overall field-of-view well beyond the 169-degrees of the stationary lens.

In my specific case, that means that if someone were to enter my backyard and continue towards my shed, the rotating camera is able to follow them without issue. With a single camera, I'd be at the mercy of its range and just hope that another camera would cover the blind spot.

There's a catch, though. When motion is detected at the end of the fixed camera's range, the pan & tilt camera isn't always fast enough to rotate over to follow it. I mostly noticed it when someone would throw something in our trash bin, which would trigger a motion event and cause the camera to rotate. However by the time the camera got there, the person was no longer present and there was nothing for it to follow.

I noticed a similar issue when testing Patrol Mode, which lets you set four distinct spots within the camera's path for it to monitor in set intervals. Which means, the Pan & Tilt camera can be looking in the complete opposite direction of the fixed lens for an extended amount of time. When a motion event is detected and the camera needs to rotate all the way around, oftentimes the object is no longer visible and the second camera missed it altogether.

TP-Link Tapo C675D Kit: AI functions

On-device AI features are just a fancy way of saying the cameras have object detection, which includes the ability to alert you of basic motion, people, pets and vehicles. Offloading AI features to Tapo's Aireal service in the cloud will get you event summaries, facial recognition, and more detailed alerts.

So, there's an option for privacy enthusiasts and for those who don't mind giving up some privacy (and cash, for the added subscription cost detailed below) for more in-depth video analysis.

I installed the camera in an area that oversees where my daughter parks her car, along with a portion of our backyard that people can drive into when a gate is open. As such, there's a car parked in its field of view most of the time, which I found confused Tapo's AI features. Whenever a car was detected, be it driving in the road behind the parked car, or a neighbor entering/leaving their driveway, I'd get an alert that a silver SUV had entered my driveway. Sometimes I received alerts that multiple cars had entered the driveway, when really it was a neighbor pulling into theirs, while my daughter's car remained stationary.

After a few days of leaving the activity zones set to the full field of view for both cameras, I restricted the fixed camera's activity zone to exclude my neighbors yard, the street, and beyond.

Annoying? You bet. But it's also a testament to the extended motion detection distance that the C675D is capable of.

TP-Link Tapo C675D Kit: Battery life

The C675D includes a 10,000 mAh battery that TP-Link says should last up to three months on a charge — this obviously depends on how active the camera is, and how often it uses its spotlights. With the solar panel, though, I have yet to see the camera’s battery drop significantly in the time I’ve had it installed.

One of my favorite features in the Tapo app is admittedly nerdy, but something I haven't seen before. When viewing the battery status in the camera's settings page, you get a day-by-day breakdown of several key stats. Data like charge level, battery usage, time of use, number of events detected, and solar energy output.

You can view the stats charted over the last 7 or 30 days, which makes it very easy to see when I removed the street and nearby driveways from the detection zone to prevent excessive alerts. I can also see that after the battery was fully charged, the charge level hasn't dropped below 98 percent over the last couple of weeks. More apps need this level of insight.

TP-Link Tapo C675D Kit: Video storage and plans

Tapo offers three different levels of subscription plans. There’s Cloud, Advanced and Advanced AI.

Cloud is $3.49 per month or $34.99 a year per device, and includes 30 days of cloud storage, snapshot notifications and smart filters.

Cloud Advanced is $11.99 or $119.99 per month or year, respectively, for unlimited devices. It ups cloud storage to 180 days, also includes snapshot notifications and smart filters, then adds 24/7 video storage.

Cloud Advanced AI, as the name implies, includes everything in the Cloud Advanced plan for $19.99 or $199.99 per month or year. However, you also gain access to AI Chat, facial recognition, intelligent notifications and intelligent summaries, all powered by Tapo’s Aireal artificial intelligence service.

The Cloud Advanced plan is slightly more expensive than Ring’s $99.99 multi camera service, but more affordable than Argo’s unlimited camera plan at $17.99 per month.

However, you don’t have to subscribe to Tapo’s cloud storage plans, thanks to built-in microSD support for cards up to 512GB. Or if you’re going all in on Tapo’s security camera lineup, you can get the $144 Tapo H500 Smart Home Central Hub to store all of your footage on a local device.

TP-Link Tapo C675D Kit: Verdict

The C675D Kit checks nearly every box of what I want in a modern outdoor security camera. It boasts 4K video, two independent cameras in a single housing, local AI combined with local storage, bright spotlights, night vision… the list goes on.

Suffice to say, the C675D is a big upgrade over the original Ring Spotlight Cam I had installed in this same location for several years now. The video quality is superior, the lights are brighter and the motion detection range dwarfs anything I've ever tested.

At $229, you're getting two 4K cameras for what's normally the price of one. Combined with the extended range of coverage and feature set, it's hard not to be tempted by the Tapo C675D Kit.

Every Prime Day, Black Friday, or other holiday, you’ll often see some of the biggest discounts on security cameras from the likes of Ring, Google, Blink, Arlo, and other well-known companies. You’ll often be able to pick up one of the best home security cameras or video doorbells for half off their original price, or get a great deal on a bundle.

But that’s how they get you. You see, these companies can afford to practically give away their devices because they know they’ll be able to hook you into a long-term subscription — because without it, their cameras are practically useless.

When Savannah Guthrie’s mother was abducted, the FBI was only able to get footage from her Nest Doorbell by combing through Google’s servers. That’s because she no longer had a subscription that automatically saved her footage.

Once upon a time, companies offered some amount of cloud storage for free. Now, some of the biggest names, such as Arlo and Ring, won’t let you store any video in the cloud unless you pay up every month.

Those costs can add up. Even some of the least expensive plans start at around $5 per month, but I would venture to guess that the most popular plans cost around $10 per month, or around $100 a year.

That might not seem like a lot, but when you’re already paying subscriptions for the best streaming services, why pay for something you don’t have to?

Fortunately, there are a few companies that offer alternatives.

Blink

This Amazon-owned company makes some very good, and very affordable indoor and outdoor cameras. While its feature set isn’t as strong as others, its battery-powered cameras have excellent battery life.

They communicate with a small central hub called the Sync Module, which, depending on the model you get, has either a USB port or microSD card slot; plug in your storage medium of choice, and it will save your video.

Eufy

Eufy’s cameras and video doorbells have either storage built in, or come with a microSD card slot so you can save footage locally. However, its devices can also be paired with Eufy’s Homebase 3, which has 16GB of onboard storage, but lets you save up to 16TB of video (you’ll have to buy the extra drive yourself, though).

The Homebase creates its own Wi-Fi network to connect directly to other Eufy devices, so that if your main Wi-Fi network goes down, it will still be able to save video. In addition, the Homebase has AI built in, so it can recognize people, pets, and vehicles, as well as familiar faces.

Google Nest

The first is Google, which offers either three or six hours of cloud storage for free depending on the product, which isn’t a lot, but it’s something. The catch is that you have to be aware so that you can download that footage before it disappears. For instance , if something happens in the middle of the night and you don’t wake up, the video will be gone by the morning.

So, while this is a good option, it's not the best if you want to save video longer-term without paying an extra fee.

TP-Link

Similar to Eufy, TP-Link also offers both on-device storage with its security cameras as well as a central hub that sits in your house and communicates directly with its devices.

Like Eufy’s hub, adding the Tapo hub to your system gives you the ability for it to recognize familiar faces, so you can more easily filter out people you know. It has 16GB of built-in storage, as well as a 2.5-inch slot should you choose to expand it further. And, it has an HDMI-out port, should you want to view a live feed from your cameras on a TV.

Wyze

Some of the least expensive cameras and doorbells that we’ve tested come from Wyze; while the quality of the video isn't quite up to par with higher-end cameras, they offer just about everything else you could want.

Most of Wyze's devices have built-in microSD card slots, so you can save video locally. Wyze also offers a cloud subscription service, should you want a belt-and-suspenders approach.

How to save video without a subscription

The companies that I highlighted allow you to record video locally on the cameras themselves, or to a hub somewhere in your home. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches.

SD card slots

If you have a camera with an SD card slot, it can continue to record video even if the power or the internet goes out. The downside is that a savvy intruder can simply remove the card (or the camera).

Home hub

I personally like the hub approach. In this setup, the camera or doorbell connects wirelessly to a hub in your home, where the footage is saved. In many cases, it’s a direct link, so it won’t be affected by an internet outage, though you’ll need to have the hub on a backup battery if the power goes out.

This way, you can hide the hub in a safe location in your home, so even if an intruder destroys the camera, you’ll still have the footage.

The biggest downside to this approach, though, is the higher upfront cost. You not only have to pay for the camera, but for the hub as well. But, depending on your needs, it could pay for itself in as little as two years.

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Security cameras only work if they’re positioned correctly. Even the best home security cameras are ineffective if they’re installed in poor locations, turning what should be protection into expensive decoration that misses critical activity.

A camera pointed at the sky or blocked by tree branches provides zero deterrent value because experienced criminals recognize these installation failures immediately. Common placement mistakes waste money and create the exact blind spots burglars look for. Here are seven blind spots to avoid when installing security cameras around your home.

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Like most security companies, Ecobee, which is best known for making one of the best smart thermostats (as well as a video doorbell and home security camera), charges a monthly subscription to use all the features of its products. For example, if you want to save footage from its video doorbell, it'll cost you $5 per month.

Also like many security companies, Ecobee is changing its subscriptions; while pricing remains the same, what you'll get for your money is changing. Here's a look at Ecobee's new pricing tiers and when they'll go into effect.

Similar to its current offerings, Ecobee is going to offer three tiers:

• Core: free, built‑in protection
• Plus: enhanced awareness and alerts for 1 camera
• Advanced: full‑home coverage for unlimited cameras

The biggest change is that professional monitoring will no longer be available as part of the company's $10/month package.

If you want 24/7 monitoring, which includes professional response to both break-ins and smoke/fire events, it will now cost an extra $10/month. If you want 24/7 monitoring for just smoke detection, it will cost an extra $5/month.

While the new plans will go into effect immediately, existing customers will be able to maintain their current plans until December 31, 2026, at which point they'll have to choose one of the new plans.

Obviously, it's a bit of a bummer to lose professional monitoring at such an affordable rate. Now, if you want professional monitoring, it will cost you $20/month total, which brings Ecobee's pricing in line with some of the other major players, such as Ring and Wyze, which also charge $20/month for professional monitoring.

While neither of those companies have a smart thermostat, they do offer more options when it comes to video doorbells and security cameras, which makes them a better option if you're outfitting your home.

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The Blink Video Doorbell (2nd gen) may not have some of the advanced features of the best video doorbells, but it offers the basics, plus some nice extras — such as head-to-toe video and person detection — for a good, low price.

The Blink Video doorbell operates on standard AA batteries, which the company says will last for up to two years — much longer than other battery-powered video doorbells. It's a helpful security aid, whether you want to quickly check who is at the door, or need a visual record of who is coming and going while you're out and about. At an ultra-affordable $70, the Blink video doorbell is designed for tight budgets. It offers all the necessary basic features a video doorbell should have, though it’s finicky about drop-in live feeds.

Blink Video Doorbell (2nd gen) review: Price and availability

The second-gen Blink Video Doorbell went on sale in 2025, and regularly costs $69. You can get it in either black or white, and it comes with three AA batteries, as well as the Blink Sync Module, which you’ll need to connect the doorbell to your Wi-Fi network.

Blink Video Doorbell (2nd gen) review: Design

The Blink video doorbell is a no-fuss, straightforward smart device, both in aesthetics and functionality. It appears more modern than the now-dated first-generation Nest Hello I've permanently installed out front. Blink sent over the white video doorbell, which contrasts nicely against a banana yellow stucco house exterior, though it's also available in black.

A key part of the Blink video doorbell is the Sync Module Core, which serves as an essential bridge between the doorbell and the Wi-Fi network. This differs from Blink's Sync Module 2 and Sync Module XR, both of which offer additional benefits for cameras in the ecosystem, such as USB and microSD storage for camera feeds. To store any video with the Blink Video Doorbell, you'll need an active subscription, which starts at $3.99/month or $39.99/year.

Alternatively, you can upgrade to the Sync Module XR for $70, which offers local storage via a microSD expansion slot.

Blink Video Doorbell (2nd gen) review: Installation

Blink's promise that you can set it up in minutes is largely accurate. I installed the app on my mobile device and created an account. Then I placed three lithium AA batteries inside, and the setup process began.

There was no charging required beforehand, which is typically the standard experience with other battery-powered doorbells, such as the Nest Doorbell (Battery), which retails for $180, more than twice the price of the Blink video doorbell. The Blink video doorbell is one of the only models on the market that run on alkaline batteries — though lithium-ion batteries will last you far longer.

Hardwiring a door chime to the Blink video doorbell is entirely optional, though if you decide to do so there’s an added benefit of extended battery life, up to two years if you opt for this route. Otherwise, it's about a year on a fresh pair of AAs.

A virtual door chime feature is available with the Blink Mini and select Alexa devices, but I did not have either installed for testing the video doorbell. I relied on silent push notifications on a Google Pixel 9 Pro, which is how I prefer to receive solicitation of any kind. There are some granular controls available in the Blink mobile app and you can create schedules for arming and disarming the doorbell camera.

The plastic plate that docks the video doorbell is relatively easy to install with just a power drill and two screws. There’s also a wedged mount included in the package for corner doorbell installations. Once the plate is mounted, the video doorbell snaps on and off with a release slot located at the bottom of the device. You can use the included "opening key" or the tip of a flathead screwdriver to pop-off the doorbell for battery replacement.

The Sync Module Core is the final component for installing the Blink video doorbell. It can be mounted or placed on a piece of furniture that is closest in distance to the door. I hide mine behind a vase in the living room.

Blink Video Doorbell (2nd gen) review: Video quality

Once the doorbell is set up, you’ll see pings pushing through. When someone presses the button or walks past the door, the Blink app sends a notification. You have the option to use two-way talk to chat or broadcast from the doorbell. You can not adjust the sensitivity of motion notifications though you can turn them off entirely.

The video resolution of the Blink video doorbell’s clips is 1440p. It's not as high resolution as the battery-powered Nest Doorbell, for example, which uses HDR to help produce clearer photos in harsh lighting. However, the field of view is wider at 150 degrees compared to the Nest's 145 degrees. You can see more of the area, though it gets a bit muddy toward the back. You can adjust things like custom motion zones, clip length, night vision, and doorbell ringer volume from the app. The Blink video doorbell works only within Amazon's smart home ecosystem and won't pair with your Apple HomeKit or Google Home setup.

Most video doorbells suffer from some latency between when the action happens and when a clip is recorded. I noticed no difference in performance between the affordable Blink video doorbell and my experiences with Google's Nest doorbell lineup, at least not with the button presses. If you want to stream live footage to check on your door, you can peek in at-will using the Blink apps’ Live View feature. What you won’t see is a thumbnail previewing the action, which results in a slight delay between what’s going on and when you log on to the stream. Nest cameras, especially since the Google Home app changeover, offer an immediate live preview.

At the very least, the video doorbell is quite sensitive to movement. Even the slightest movement of a tree in the wind prompts it to take a "sample shot." But unless you are actively paying for a Blink subscription or have a sold-separately external module installed, there is no clip to reference should something happen. Person Detection is not a free feature, either, and it cannot individually identify faces. Additionally, there’s no package detection, which is a feature available on just about every other video doorbell.

Blink Video Doorbell (2nd gen) review: Subscription

There are two subscription tiers for the Blink video doorbell. The Basic plan offers cloud video storage and Person Detection for one device for $4/month or $40/year. The $120/year Blink Plus plan unlocks the same perks, but for an unlimited number of Blink devices, ideal if you're outfitting other areas of your dwelling within the ecosystem. Each purchase of the Blink video doorbell includes a 30-day trial of the Blink Subscription Plus plan, though you can also purchase it in bulk by paying for a year upfront.

If you don't subscribe to a Blink subscription plan, the video doorbell is severely limited. It’s basically a glorified motion detector with a camera that you can pop into and two-way talk. It’ll still work as a doorbell chime, but any recording of the person pressing the button remains unsaved if there’s no active subscription (or sold separately module) tied to the device.

Blink Video Doorbell (2nd gen) review: Verdict

The Blink video doorbell is a relatively no-frills security solution that offers a reliable drop-in feed for the front door, especially considering its affordable price. However, unless you're paying for an active subscription, the lack of video storage may have you spending more than you bargained for on an accessory like the Sync Module 2 upgrade, which enables local video storage.

Overall, it's still cheaper than Nest and Amazon's other brand, Ring, both of which require an active subscription for storing and downloading video clips. Another closely priced alternative is TP-Link's Tapo D230S1 Smart Battery Video Doorbell, which retails for $100 and features local video storage built into the unit. Among the best video doorbells, the Blink is a solid option, but there are better alternatives, even at this price.

Last fall, Ring updated its wired video doorbells with a new, sleeker design and more powerful 2K and 4K retinal cameras; now, the company is refreshing its battery-powered doorbells with similar capabilities, so that homeowners who need the flexibility of a non-hardwired device (or merely want a battery backup) will be able to get higher-resolution feeds from their doorstep.

In total, Ring is launching three new battery-powered doorbells, the least expensive of which is just $99, and it's also refreshing its cheapest video doorbell, the Ring Wired Doorbell, which will cost just $79.

The naming conventions of the new models — Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd gen), Ring Battery Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) and Ring Battery Doorbell (2nd gen) follows that of the ones they're replacing, so there shouldn't be much confusion over an upgrade path if you're ready for a change.

Here's the lowdown on each model.

Pricing and availability

All four Ring doorbells go on sale today (March 25), and will be priced as follows:

• Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd Gen): $249.99
• Ring Battery Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen): $179.99
• Ring Battery Doorbell (2nd Gen): $99.99
• Ring Wired Doorbell (2nd Gen): $79.99

The biggest differences

Like the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd gen), the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro (2nd gen) will have a 4K Retinal camera, so you'll be able to get the sharpest picture out of the three models. It will also have a removable battery, so you can recharge it without having to remove the entire unit from your front door.

The Ring Battery Doorbell Plus and Ring Battery Doorbell will both have 2K cameras, similar to the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen). However, only the Battery Doorbell Plus will have a removable battery. This is similar to the previous generation models, where only the Plus version had a battery that could be removed from the unit.

A new budget wired doorbell, too

Ring is also updating its least expensive video doorbell. The Ring Wired Doorbell is being replaced with the — you guessed it — Ring Wired Doorbell (2nd gen). This model will have 2K resolution and sell for just $79, making it the most affordable doorbell in the company's lineup.

In the past, we've been hesitant to recommend this product, because the first-gen Wired Doorbell did not work with a home's existing doorbell chime. Unfortunately, the second-gen model also does not work with built-in chimes, so you'll need to purchase a separate plug-in chime. Ring sells a combo of the doorbell and chime for $99.

Outlook

Ever since Ring released the 4K and 2K video doorbells in the fall, it was only a matter of time until it refreshed the rest of its lineup. The new, sleeker design of the video doorbells will be welcome, considering the company has had the same look since nearly its inception.

The addition of higher resolution cameras to its entire lineup means that Ring will be able to better compete with the best video doorbells, though it should be noted that unlike options from Nest, Wyze, and Eufy, you'll need to sign up for a Ring subscription in order to save video.

For those already in the Ring ecosystem whose video doorbells are showing their age, this upgrade should have you set for another five years at least.

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• Best video doorbells
• I just upgraded to a smart lock with built-in video doorbell camera — and it’s a game changer

Having installed the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus for a review, it only made sense to expand the Ring ecosystem in and around my home. In that vein, I installed Ring’s Indoor Cam Plus in my garage so I can keep an eye on comings and goings where I store some of my favorite toys, like my motorcycle and bikes.

It’s an awesome versatility option for the Ring ecosystem and opens up viewing in other areas besides my front yard, which is scoped out by the Ring doorbell. The Indoor Cam Plus offers the same exceptional 2K video as the doorbell — when it works. I had issues with artifacts and cut-outs while using the Indoor Cam Plus, which put a damper on an otherwise convenient device — and lessened its appeal among the best home security cameras.

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Price and availability

The Ring Indoor Cam Plus costs $59.99 and is available for purchase now on Ring’s website. You can choose a single camera, or up to a 4-pack of cameras at check-out, and you can also finance the purchase using Affirm. The camera comes with a 1-year warranty.

Ring also offers various packages, like the Indoor Cam Plus and a Battery Doorbell for $159.98, or a Spotlight Cam Pro and Indoor Cam Plus combo for $309.98.

The Indoor Cam Plus is also available at major retailers like Amazon. Combo options will vary depending on which retailer you choose.

Design

There’s a lot of cool stuff packed into this very small package. The biggest advantage is Ring’s Retinal Vision 2K video, which boasts lots of clarity and bright color in almost all conditions except full dark.

When the lights get dim, Ring’s Low Light Sight maintains color and clarity. Then, when the lights are out, you still get a super-clear picture in black and white, somewhat akin to night-vision goggles (minus the green tinge). Regardless of lighting conditions, you can also zoom in up to 4X to pinpoint your view on specific parts of the scene.

You can set up privacy zones within the scene to prevent the camera from recording specific locations. The swivel mount also helps with this, allowing you to move the camera to a location that works best for you. If all else fails, you can use the included removable lens cover to completely block the lens when you need to.

Automatic motion detection triggers the camera to record when it senses people or moving objects. This gets saved in your video history (which can vary based on whether you’re using the free app features or the paid subscription). The longest the videos get saved is 180 days.

Within the app, you can set up real-time notifications, motion-activated notifications, person and vehicle alerts, video preview alerts, and safety alerts. It’s easy to respond to events as they happen with Live View and Two-Way Talk, the latter of which allows you to speak to anyone in view of the camera right from your phone. If you’re not available, you can even pre-record responses for quick-replies.

The Indoor Cam Plus has 2.4GHz connectivity, and it works with iOS and Android. It also works with Alexa, though it is not compatible with other smart home ecosystems like Google.

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Using the Ring Indoor Cam Plus

Setting up the Indoor Cam Plus is super easy. I set my camera up in my garage, since this is a highly-trafficked area in my home and I wanted to be able to see the comings and goings. (Usually that’s just video of me puttering around.) I wanted to wall-mount my camera, but the included power cable is very short, which made it impossible to mount the camera high enough for my preferences. Instead, I put it up on a shelf.

I often do photo shoots in my garage as well. In this case, I prefer to use the included lens cover to ensure visitor privacy. It’s a nice feature that’s easy to use, though if you mount the camera high up on a wall or shelf, you’ll have to get up there frequently to manually turn the lens cover.

Once I had my camera installed, I opened the Live Video feed to check out colors and clarity. Like the Ring doorbell camera, the 2K Retinal video is excellent. It’s clear, the colors come through vibrantly, and even in low light conditions the image quality is excellent. Zooming in all the way (4x) produces some grain and pixelation, which is to be expected, but it’s still remarkably clear for what essentially amounts to security footage.

My garage lights are off when I’m not in there. So being able to view the space clearly in no light is especially important to me. In the dark, the video image quality is still excellent, though you don’t get a color image. It’s like night vision. That said, it’s still very easy to see even smaller objects in the field of view.

Speaking of the field of view, it’s very generous. I can see just about my entire garage, though there are blind spots just below the camera and in extreme angles. I’ve positioned it in such a way that those particular blind spots aren’t relevant.

I also love being able to set up privacy areas. In a dream world, my garage would be my photography studio, which means I’d have a changing area for clients. This would be an ideal use for the privacy settings, and they’re easy to use and set up in the app. On your video image, the privacy zone presents as a blacked-out shape over the area you wish to hide.

You can also set up motion detection zones. These zones will trigger recordings when someone or something enters a specific part of the video’s frame. It’s as easy as setting up a virtual shape on your screen with your finger.

It integrates nicely into the app and it’s easy to pick and choose which clips are relevant to you. But, like all Ring products, you’ll have to subscribe to get the most out of the camera. You get a free trial, but it’s a pretty big bummer that you have to pay for an app after buying the product.

My only big complaint with the Indoor Cam Plus is the reliability of the video footage. While the video quality has been excellent, occasionally I’ll get artifacts, or complete cut-outs. This might be due to the quality of my Wi-Fi, so be sure you set up your camera where your Wi-Fi signal is strong. That said, I’ve never had Wi-Fi difficulties with any other smart devices, or my computer, in my garage space. So the artifacts and cut-outs were particularly frustrating.

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Accessories

You can increase the usability of your Indoor Cam Plus with a few key accessories. The one I intend to purchase is the 10ft USB-A to USB-C power cable ($14.99) so I can run my camera in a higher position on the wall. It seems odd that the included power cable is so short to begin with, so it’s a bit of an annoyance that I have to buy an additional accessory for this.

Other accessories are less directly relevant to the Indoor Cam Plus and more relevant if you have other Ring accessories. You can get the Pet Tag ($9.99) and Reflective Security Stickers ($5.99), for example, or a Chime. The latter usually comes with the Ring Doorbell, but you can always add another for a different part of the house.

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Subscription fees

Like all of Ring’s other products, you need to pay for a subscription if you want to use most of the Ring Indoor Cam Plus’ features — most notably, saving video. Among the best home security cameras, it’s one of the only companies that doesn’t offer any sort of video history for free.

Ring’s plans start at $5/month, which gets you 180 days of video history, as well as person, Package, and Vehicle Alerts. However, this plan only covers one device. If you want to cover an unlimited number of devices, you’ll need the $10/month plan. And, if you want to access Ring’s AI features — which include such things as more descriptive alerts, and the ability to use natural-language searches — it’ll cost $20/month.

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Competition

The indoor camera market is increasingly large. Ring has perhaps the best name recognition in the market, and the video quality really is exceptional. But if you want integration with other smart home ecosystems beyond Alexa, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Eufy, Arlo, Simlisafe, and Wyze all offer camera alternatives.

One of the strongest alternatives is the TP-Link Tapo, which works with Alexa and Google Assistant. It’s also less expensive than the Ring; you can get a single camera for around $30 or a two-pack for around $60. It offers 2K video, and the option for both local and cloud storage. (You have to pay extra for Ring’s cloud storage.)

Ring Indoor Cam Plus review: Verdict

The Ring Indoor Cam Plus is a good complement to the Ring ecosystem if you’ve already invested in a Ring doorbell or are willing to shell out the cash for the features behind the app’s paywall. The camera itself pumps out beautiful, sharp video and it’s super easy to zoom in to see what you want to see, even in low light.

But, I was a bit frustrated with its inconsistent performance, which means you might miss certain important events or visitors in your video history. And like other Ring products, the experience would be much improved without having to shell out extra cash for an app. If you’re in the Ring ecosystem already, the Indoor Cam Plus is worth a look, but otherwise, there are better options among the best home security cameras.

There are smart security cameras, and then there’s the new TP-Link Tapo C665G. I just checked out the latest home security solution from TP-Link at Mobile World Congress, Europe’s largest tech show, and it pretty much has every peace-of-mind feature I could dream of… and then some.

Offered in two variations, one with a bundled solar panel and one without, this weatherproof security camera can pan, tilt, track subjects, and much more. Here’s everything you need to know about the new TP-Link Tapo C665G smart security camera.

TP-Link Tapo C665G: Price and availability

There’s no word yet on what the new TP-Link Tapo C665G will cost. However, based on the price of prior solar-powered, outdoor camera bundles from the brand, I would expect it to be on the affordable side (under $200), though you’ll need to shell out a little more for cloud storage (~$35 a year) or rely on a MicroSD for storage. TP-Link reps say the camera should begin shipping in the next few months.

TP-Link Tapo C665G: Key features

While nearly all modern security cameras allow you to check the feed via WiFi, the C665G also supports 4G connectivity. Simply pop in a 4G SIM card (not included) and unlock peace of mind that you’ll be able to check in on your home turf, even when the WiFi is out.

Video quality is 4K, which should provide more than enough detail for most users. The camera also offers a black-and-white night mode, as well as built-in flood lights for enhanced nighttime viewing.

Capture is continuous 24 hours a day and seven days a week. To save battery, the camera records at 1 fps unless a subject is detected, at which point the frame rate jumps to a standard 30 fps capture.

Speaking of subject recognition, the TP-Link Tapo C665G handles all of its AI-powered processing within the device itself, rather than sending it to the cloud. This ensures maximum privacy for your footage.

According to TP-Link, the subject recognition algorithm is smart enough to discern between people, pets, vehicles, and more. It’s also tuned to avoid false motion alarms, like tree branches swaying in the wind.

Battery life is good for up to half a year (assuming ten motion activations a day), but for those wanting to ‘set it and forget it,’ the solar panel bundle is probably the move. Once hooked up, the TP-Link Tapo C665G needs just 45 minutes of sunlight a day for 24 hours of recording power.

While this might be an issue during the winter months in Seattle, Washington, where I live, and the sun doesn’t shine for weeks upon weeks, I imagine that in most other outdoor locations, it’ll be able to garner enough UV to keep on humming all year long.

Meanwhile, an IP65 rating ensures ample protection from the elements, while pan, tilting, and zooming functionality all add to the security camera’s versatility.

Lightweight and mountable with two standard screws, the new TP-Link Tapo C665G is ultimately nothing short of a no-brainer, feature-wise, when it comes to an outdoor smart camera security solution.

TP-Link Tapo C665G: Outlook

TP-Link has been churning out high-performance, well-priced outdoor (and indoor) security cameras for a long time now — the TP-Link Tapo C246D is our current pick for the best outdoor dual camera solution in 2026 — and the TP-Link Tapo C665G is a welcome addition to the brand’s portfolio.

Stay tuned for a full review of the TP-Link Tapo C665G outdoor smart security camera bundle as soon as samples become available. In the meantime, what do you think? Is this a product you’d buy to protect your home, office, or business? Let me know in the comments below.

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Solar-powered security cameras are becoming much more common as a way to get home security without having to worry about power or charging. The TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit is the latest in a series of solar-powered options from the company, but unlike alternatives from the likes of Arlo, it’s also pretty cheap.

Even better: The Tapo C615F has pan/tilt motion-tracking, a sharp 2K resolution, and doesn’t require a subscription for things such as saving video. However, there are some compromises to be made when compared with some of the premium options among the best outdoor security cameras. Does TP-Link cut too many corners to hit the lower price point? You’ll just have to read the rest of the review to find out.

TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit review: Price and availability

The TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit comes at $99.99, and is available through major retailers including Best Buy and Amazon, as well as directly from the official TP-Link Tapo Store. Currently, it's only available in white, which should blend well with most home exteriors.

TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit review: Design and setup

The C615F's design follows TP-Link's aesthetic for their Tapo camera line, which isn't particularly unique but still looks fine. All of the components have an all-white body, helping make sure they look good together. There are no alternatives to the all-white look, so you'll have to be fine with it -- but it should look fine outside most homes.

The unit is made up of two parts, and the camera itself kind of looks like two modules. There's the larger floodlight module at the top, under which hangs the camera, which can pan and tilt as needed. Both the camera and solar panel feature IP65 weather resistance, ensuring they can withstand rain and dust without issue.

The camera and solar panel both connect to a main base plate that serves as the mounting point for the entire system. Installation of all of the pieces was pretty simple, and there are instructions both in the box and in the app. Everything you need to mount the camera and solar panel is in the box.

Setting up the camera in the app is equally painless. After mounting, you simply hold down the power button on the bottom of the camera and follow the instructions in the Tapo app. The app immediately recognized the camera and walked me through the connection process without any hiccups.

TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit review: Video & audio quality

The C615F captures video at a 2K resolution using a 3-megapixel sensor, and I found that video was relatively crisp and detailed, both in good lighting during the day and at night. While some competitors offer higher resolutions, the 2K footage here looks quite good, with clear details that make it easy to identify faces.

The camera offers a 100-degree diagonal field of view, which is only fine — but combined with its pan and tilt feature, it can cover a 360-degree horizontal area and tilt to cover a 130-degree vertical area. Of course if motion occurs outside of the camera sensor’s field-of-view, it won’t know to pan or tilt to track it, so there’s still benefit to a wider view from the camera sensor itself.

Night vision comes in two forms: color and infrared. The infrared mode can provide visibility up to 32.8 feet. Of course the main reason to buy this camera over some others, though, is the large 800-lumen floodlight. While 800 lumens is somewhat modest compared to competitors that can reach 2,000 lumens or more, I found that it was easily enough to illuminate my backyard effectively. If you find that the floodlight is too bright, you can adjust the brightness in the app.

To be clear, footage captured in infrared mode is going to be slightly more crisp — but the benefits of color night vision, at least in this case, easily outweigh the downsides. Footage generally looked great. The light can be set to activate automatically when motion is detected, on a schedule, or manually through the app.

Motion detection performed well during testing too, quickly picking up movement and beginning recording without a noticeable delay. The camera can track all activity or be configured to auto-track specific subjects like people, vehicles, and pets, and you can choose settings for each separately. When tracking begins, the camera smoothly follows the subject to keep them centered in frame, then returns to its original position once the subject leaves the area. It did trigger quicker when motion was closer to the camera though – particularly in low light. It kicked in immediately when I exited my back door and walked towards a garden shed in the opposite corner of the backyard to the camera, but didn’t trigger until I was halfway back when I walked the other direction. Some of this can be fixed by tweaking the motion sensitivity settings, so I recommend playing with them a little when you first set up the camera.

The camera supports "24/7 Capture," but this isn't actually continuous recording. Rather, it's a feature in which the camera takes photos at a pre-set interval, on top of recording whenever an event is detected.

Two-way audio also worked just fine. My voice came through clearly on the other end when I was using my phone, but understanding responses the other way around, when someone else was talking through my phone, sometimes proved challenging. This could vary a little depending on how far away the person is from the camera.

TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit review: App

The camera works with the TP-Link Tapo app, which is generally well-organized and easy to navigate. There’s a home that shows you a list of your connected devices, though it’s really just a tile view that shows basic information like battery life, and you can’t see a live view straight from that screen.

From there you can tap on the camera and access its live feed, plus wider settings for panning and tilting manually, activating an alarm, or turning on the floodlight. You can also jump between pre-set positions, which is handy.

One of the C615F's better selling points is its subscription-free detection capabilities. The camera can identify and differentiate between people, pets, and vehicles without requiring any monthly fees. You can also configure different motion-tracking settings for different detection zones, allowing the camera to detect vehicles in one area while ignoring them in another.

There are other features that make it easier to ensure any activity is detected. The Patrol Mode has the camera move between positions on a schedule, somewhat getting around the limitations of the camera’s field of view. You can also schedule timed panoramic videos, and they can be set as many times per day as you want, including different schedules for different days.

The app doesn't offer generative AI features like some competitors offer. I've found some of these features, like Google's Home Brief and AI-based descriptions, kind of handy -- and I hope TP-Link adds this functionality someday soon. In terms of direct competition, Wyze does offer generative AI features -- but you'll have to pay a subscription fee to access them.

TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit: Smart home compatibility

The C615F supports both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, allowing for voice control and integration with existing smart home setups. You’ll still need to use the Tapo app for setup and to access most of the basic settings though.

Unfortunately, there's no HomeKit support, which will disappoint Apple users looking for native integration with their ecosystem. This limitation means iPhone users will need to rely on the Tapo app rather than the Home app for camera access and control. Maybe Matter will allow for more cameras in Apple Home at some point, but that’s likely to be a few years away even though Matter 1.5 finally adds cameras to the Matter spec.

TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit review: Battery power and solar charging

One of the main advantages to this particular kit, of course, is its power system. The solar panel adds extra bulk, but means that it'll constantly charge up the camera unit, so you'll never really have to worry about power.

TP-Link claims that just 45 minutes of direct sunlight can power the camera for a full day of use. It also claims the battery can last up to 140 days on a single charge, though real-world usage with regular floodlight activation will likely be considerably less.

I was unable to test the 140-day battery claim in my shorter testing time, but over the course of use the camera always stayed above 90% or so. In fact, out of the box the camera had around 45% charge, but was fully charged by the end of one day. Even during extended cloudy periods, the combination of solar charging and battery capacity means you're unlikely to ever run out of power.

TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit review: Storage and subscription plans

One of the things that TP-Link has been good at is offering local storage in its Tapo cameras. This camera has a microSD card slot that supports up to 512GB of storage, which is more than enough for continuous recording without any ongoing costs.

If you do prefer cloud storage, TP-Link offers the optional Tapo Care subscription service. Pricing runs at $3.49 per month or $34.99 per year for a single device, or $11.99 per month and $119.99 per year for up to 10 devices. At the time of this writing, TP-Link was running discounts on the service for some subscriptions, and I suspect those kinds of discounts aren't uncommon.

Importantly, the subscription only adds cloud storage and extended video history — all the detection features, motion tracking, and smart alerts work without any subscription. That's not very common these days, and nice to see.

TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit review: Verdict

The TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit delivers great value in the crowded security camera market. The combination of solar power, 360-degree coverage, built-in floodlight, and subscription-free features creates a solid package that rivals the likes of the $250 Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight (which also has a 2K resolution), at a lower price. Perhaps the closest competitor in terms of price is the Wyze Floodlight v2, which has a brighter floodlight, but doesn't have the pan-tilt features on offer by the Tapo C615F Kit.

If you're looking for a self-sufficient security camera with advanced features and the option to avoid ongoing subscription costs, the TP-Link Tapo C615F Kit is an excellent option -- especially for those in the Google or Alexa ecosystems, or who don't mind sticking to the Tapo app.

There’s finally been a breakthrough in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie after the FBI managed to recover footage from the video doorbell outside her home. However, without an active Nest Aware subscription, questions have been raised as to how this footage was recovered in the first place and what this means for the privacy of other Nest users.

The mother of "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie was reported missing on Sunday, February 1 after being dropped off at her home the evening before. Normally, footage from her video doorbell’s security camera would have been used to look for possible leads. In this case, not only was the power cut to her home before the kidnapping but she also didn’t have a paid plan that would have uploaded any recorded clips to the cloud.

Yesterday, 10 days after Nancy Guthrie was reported missing, the FBI has released new images from the camera outside her house. Here’s everything you need to know about how this lost footage was recovered and why cloud-based security cameras could be putting your own privacy at risk.

Stored but not saved

Before we get into how the security camera footage was recovered, a bit of background on Nancy Guthrie’s home surveillance system. Instead of having a few of the best outdoor security cameras positioned at key points around her property, the 84-year-old mother relied on a single video doorbell, not for surveillance but as a way for her kids to check that she got home safely and to see when packages and people arrived at her door.

With only a single camera though, there was no cross-coverage video for law enforcement to use in their investigation. Likewise, as Nancy is a widow that lives in a secluded neighborhood, there weren’t other security cameras nearby to help shine light on what happened. Law enforcement did unsuccessfully try to use Ring’s Neighbors app for additional insights into her disappearance.

According to the investigation, Nancy had a Google Nest Doorbell (2nd Gen) that was wireless. Due to this, it didn’t lose power when the suspect disconnected it. Unlike with older wired models that only upload to the cloud, this one has a small amount of on-device flash memory. The Nest Doorbell (2nd Gen) is designed to fall back to local storage when its Wi-Fi connection goes out, which is why it was possible to recover any video at all.

In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that while the agency and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department had been working closely with private sector partners to recover images or videos from the video doorbell for the past eight days. On Monday, a video of the suspect was recovered from residual data located in Google’s backend systems.

Even without a Nest Aware subscription, the video doorbell in question saves around three hours of event-based video history for free before it’s deleted. Just like on your computer’s hard drive, when you delete something, it isn’t actually deleted right away. Instead, that data remains there until it’s overwritten. So while the clips from Nancy Guthrie’s video doorbell weren’t saved in the traditional sense, they were stored on Google’s servers pending permanently deletion by being overwritten.

Tom’s Guide has reached out to both Google and Nest for more information and we’ll update this story if and when we hear back. However, this whole situation raises serious privacy concerns regarding what is stored and accessible by both law enforcement and the companies themselves.

A bird’s eye view but at the cost of your privacy

Whether you live in a house or an apartment, a few of the best home security cameras are a worthwhile investment. Not only do they let you keep track of packages while deterring porch pirates but they also let you keep an eye on your home and can really come in handy in the event of an emergency or an incident like this one.

The problem, though, is that once security footage from your home is uploaded to the cloud, law enforcement can request and get access to it. This is the reason why companies like Eufy — which prioritize local over cloud storage — have become more popular in recent years. There are also closed, hard-wired home security camera systems like those from Reolink which are much harder for others to access.

Besides the convenience of being able to view your cameras and their footage from anywhere over the cloud, there’s another big reason someone might go with Nest, Ring or similar camera makers with subscription plans: the initial cost.

You will end up paying more over the long run for security cameras that require a monthly subscription to get access to all their best features, but when you’re shopping for your first security camera after moving into a new house or a break-in, their lower prices can be very enticing.

For instance, with Amazon’s Ring cameras, they often get heavily discounted during Prime Day or other sales events. They’re also more popular and come with extras like integrations with your existing smart home devices.

Eufy’s security cameras are priced similarly to those from Nest or Ring. However, you will need a local storage device like the company’s HomeBase 3 to store and access footage from your cameras.

As for closed, hardwired security camera systems like Reolink’s, instead of spending $50-$100 per camera, you often buy them in a full set for anywhere from $500 to $1,000 depending on the quality and how many cameras you get. On top of that upfront cost, you will have to hardwire your home to use them which adds to the expense and complexity of a system like this.

The choice is yours but both approaches have their benefits and downsides. If privacy is your main concern, then a closed, hardwired system might be best. However, if you want the convenience of wireless cameras from a more well-known brand and don’t mind adding another subscription to your list, then a cloud-based system might be a better fit.

Either way, investing in a few outdoor security cameras is absolutely worth it for the added peace of mind and to deter would-be burglars. But once you start recording video, just know that law enforcement could come knocking on your door asking for video clips if the need arises.

More from Tom's Guide

• The 3 best places to put a home security camera — and the 3 worst
• Security camera subscription plan prices keep rising — these 5 cameras don't need them
• 5 things to think about when buying and installing an outdoor security camera

The Wyze Battery Video Doorbell is the company's third doorbell that doesn't need always-on power, and this latest generation boasts a higher resolution camera, head-to-toe video and a microSD card slot for continuous recording, all for less than $100. And, it features AI-powered person and package detection.

But how does it compare to the best video doorbells? I tested the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell over nearly two weeks, using it to keep an eye on my back porch, and subsequently my dogs, while looking for the return of a gray fox we spotted roaming our yard a few weeks ago.

Wyze Battery Video Doorbell: Price & availability

Wyze announced the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell in October 2025 and is currently available directly from Wyze, Amazon and Best Buy.

The Wyze Battery Video Doorbell is the same price and color -- $65.98 and black -- no matter where you buy it. If you plan on using the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell as a wired doorbell with constant power, you'll want to pick up one of Wyze's microSD cards to take advantage of its continuous recording capabilities.

Wyze Battery Video Doorbell review: Design

There's nothing groundbreaking about the design of the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell. It reminds me a lot of any generation Nest Doorbell, only less refined. The front of the case is black, silver along the sides.

The front face has two circles stacked atop the 5.71-inch tall housing. The top circle is the camera, while the bottom circle is the doorbell button that's surrounded by a small light-up ring.

On the backside of the doorbell is where you'll find two screws to connect wired power from an existing doorbell, along with a USB-C port for recharging, and a microSD card slot. There are two small rubber coverings that go over the charge port and microSD card slot to keep the doorbell's IP65 weatherproof rating.

The USB-C port is a welcome addition to any gadget, but even more so a video doorbell that you (hopefully) won't have to charge all that often. By ditching the microUSB port, you no longer have to keep tabs on a charging cable you don't need but every once in a while.

Included in the box is everything you'll need to install the doorbell, which includes a flat mount, a corner mount if you need to angle the doorbell, along with screws, wire nuts, extension wires and a USB-C charging cable.

Inside the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell is a 6,400 milliamp-hour battery that's partially charged out of the box. Wyze states it takes up to 6 hours to fully charge the battery using a standard 10W USB-C wall adapter.

Wyze Battery Video Doorbell review: Installation

After charging the doorbell and connecting it to your Wyze account, the real work begins depending on how you plan on powering the doorbell. The setup process for the doorbell in the Wyze app will walk you through connecting it to your Wi-Fi network, updating the firmware and then the rest of the install.

The installation process itself is simple so long as you're somewhat comfortable with DIY projects and using the doorbell in a wireless fashion. However, if you're going to replace your existing hardwired doorbell with the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell, you'll want to be comfortable with limited electrical work.

In short, you'll want to have enough confidence to turn off the breaker to your doorbell's power, connect two wires to the back of the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell, and then turn it back on. (The Wyze Battery Video Doorbell is compatible with 12-24V doorbell transformers).

If that doesn't make sense to you or you find it intimidating, call a handyman.

Once you've figured out how you're going to power the doorbell, the rest of the process consists of drilling a couple of holes into the mounting surface and using the included screws (along with anchors if appropriate) to secure the doorbell to its mount.

Again, the app walks you through the entire process. For me, it took about 10 minutes from unboxing to having the doorbell installed and sending me alerts.

One more note about a wired installation if you're connecting the doorbell to your existing chime -- you'll need to purchase and install the $18 Wyze Chime Controller in order for the doorbell to control the chime.

Wyze Battery Video Doorbell review: Video quality and features

One of the upgrades the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell has over its predecessors is that it now captures video at a resolution of 1536p. That's a slight step up from the Wyze Video Doorbell Pro's 1440p resolution.

Better yet, it captures footage with a 150-degree field of view that's big enough to nearly see what's directly under the doorbell and what's high above it, leaving little room for anyone or anything to hide.

It doesn't see all the way to the floor directly underneath the doorbell. There's a small step underneath where I have it installed on my back porch that's not seen in any pictures or videos until it gets out to the edge of the frame, so if someone were to leave a package there it wouldn't be visible.

That said, I'm impressed by the wide field of view and overall video quality. There's some pixelation when objects are moving, especially the closer they are to the camera, but it's not a deal breaker. I'm still able to see who or what is being recorded. The video clarity really shines when someone is standing still while they wait for you to answer the door; it looks fantastic.

If anything the color quality could be a touch better, with colors often looking washed out or muted, especially during the early part of the day when the sun is shining directly at the doorbell.

There are two different views available from the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell in the app. There's a standard view that's perfect for seeing who is at your door, and there's also a wide-angle feed that shows the full 150-degree viewing area. I prefer the latter option, but I'm certain others will prefer the more zoomed in view; options are good.

When someone presses the doorbell's button, instead of getting yet another push notification that's far too easy to ignore, your phone starts ringing as if you're getting a phone call. It's a surefire way to know when someone is at the door. I can't tell you how many times I've heard or seen a Ring alert on my phone and just assumed it was errant motion or a package being delivered, only to later realize that someone actually rang the doorbell. (To be fair, Ring has a similar feature).

The Wyze Battery Video Doorbell can capture color video at night, or use its IR lights to capture black and white video. I originally set the camera's Night Vision Mode to Auto, assuming it'd switch between the two modes depending on how much light was available, but for nearly two weeks it only captured black and white video. Only after setting the Night Vision Mode to Off did I start to see color video captured at night. Both types of video captured at night look good.

Wyze Battery Video Doorbell review: AI has entered your doorbell

A few days into testing, Wyze activated its Cam Unlimited Pro plan on my account, which enables the company's Descriptive Alerts feature.

When enabled, instead of getting an alert that there was motion on your back porch, or that a person was detected, Descriptive Alerts gives you so many more details. For example, it was common to get an alert that there were two dogs playing on my porch or in the grass.

And so, one sunny afternoon when my wife hung a dress to dry on our back porch, I received a few alerts letting me know that a dress hanging from the roof was blowing in the wind. On another occasion I got an alert that the shadow of the dress was moving. Crazy, right?!

As a longtime Ring user who hadn't paid attention to features the company rolled out in the last few months, I was quite impressed. So impressed, my camera roll is currently full of screenshots of alerts and their eerily accurate and amusing descriptions. I subsequently enabled Ring's AI features on my account and have to say, Ring's alerts are helpful, but not nearly as descriptive or informative. They're a lot more generic, with alerts saying stuff like "A person is walking on your driveway" without any type of detail.

Descriptive Alerts aren't perfect, with the most common mistake I experienced being the alert identifying the wrong color of shirt or jacket I was wearing, sometimes just minutes apart. For example, one day I wore a green hoodie, and the first time I walked by the camera I got an alert saying a person wearing a green jacket walked by. Not five minutes later when I walked by the doorbell again, it said a person wearing a gray jacket walked by.

If I wasn't home and I saw those alerts without looking at the videos, I would assume more than one person was in my backyard.

As is the case with all things AI, it's always a good idea to treat descriptive alerts with some skepticism.

One more AI related gripe: After getting access to Wyze's Friendly Faces feature, I enrolled my own face through a process that's similar to turning on Face ID or Face Unlock and expected to start receiving alerts letting me know I had been seen in the backyard.

However, only once have I received an alert that indicated the doorbell recognized me while I was standing directly in front of it for an extended amount of time, despite walking past the doorbell a few dozen times.

Wyze Battery Video Doorbell review: Video storage and plans

In order to take full advantage of all the features Wyze has to offer, including Descriptive Alerts, AI video search, 60 day cloud storage and emergency dispatch, you'll need to sign up for its Cam Unlimited Pro subscription at $19.99 a month or $199 a year, covering all of your Wyze cameras. That’s comparable to both Ring and Nest, which also charge the same amount to use their AI features.

Alternatively, Wyze's Cam Plus subscription service is $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year for a single camera, and includes 14 day cloud history along with smart alerts for people, pets, packages and vehicles.

For those with more than one Wyze camera, the Cam Unlimited plan will set you back $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. It includes everything in the Plus plan, with the addition of unlimited cameras and the Friendly Faces feature.

Wyze Battery Video Doorbell review: Battery life

Wyze estimates the battery will last up to 6 months, in ideal conditions. After two weeks, I can confidently say that 6 months isn't going to happen, even in what I'd consider a medium traffic environment. In two weeks, the battery has gone from 100% to 73%. At that rate, it's going to last close to 5 weeks.

Admittedly, I'm sure part of the issue is just how cold it was outside here in Colorado for that first week of testing, but the second week we've seen unseasonably warm days.

Wyze Battery Video Doorbell review: Verdict

At $66, it's hard to find many faults in Wyze Battery Video Doorbell, especially when you look at it in the silo of Wyze's own lineup. The $100 Wyze Video Doorbell Pro includes a wireless chime, but lacks local storage and has a lower video resolution.

Outside of Wyze's lineup, the $99 Ring Battery Doorbell and $69 Blink Video Doorbell are close competitors when it comes to cost, although both have a lower 1440p resolution.

Blink's solution uses two AA batteries for an estimated 2 years of battery life, while the Ring Battery Doorbell is nearly a 1:1 match in terms of features (save video quality and local storage) with a higher $4.99 monthly subscription fee for a single camera.

For someone who isn't already heavily invested in a home security camera platform, the Wyze Battery Video Doorbell's features and performance make a compelling and attractive argument, especially for the price.

Last Fall Ring introduced a new AI-powered feature dubbed "Search Party" that uses the company's network of doorbell and security cameras to help worried pet owners find their lost dogs. However, you needed to have a Ring camera to access the feature.

Ring just announced that the feature will be made available to all Ring customers, even those who don't own a Ring camera. According to Ring, the company has helped "bring home more than a dog a day" since it launched.

Search Party uses AI to find potential matches for lost dogs using footage from your neighbors' cameras. You can report a lost dog in the Ring app, and nearby outdoor cameras will use AI to scan for dogs. If a match is found, the camera owner receives an alert and can choose to share related clips with the missing pet owner. There's also an option to call the neighbor or send a message without sharing their phone number.

Compatible Ring devices

• Doorbells: All Ring doorbell models are compatible with Search Party and can participate in lost dog alerts.
• Floodlight Cams: All models work with the feature to help locate missing pets in your area.
• Spotlight Cams: All models support Search Party functionality for finding lost dogs.
• Stick Up Cam: All models are eligible only if explicitly set to "Outdoor" Install Type in Device Settings.
• Outdoor Cam: All models are eligible only if explicitly set to "Outdoor" Install Type in Device Settings.

More to come

Now you just have to have the Ring Neighbors app to use the feature.

“Now, pet owners can mobilize the whole community—and communities are empowered to help—to find lost pets more effectively than ever before,” Ring founder Jamie Siminoff said in the announcement. “That’s why we believe it’s so important to make this feature available to anyone who shares a lost dog post in Neighbors."

The Amazon-owned Ring also announced that it will be committing more than $1 million to equip animal shelters across the U.S. with Ring camera systems and to aid shelters in reuniting lost dogs with owners. Adding shelters to the network is one way the company hopes to help dogs find their people.

When Search Party was first announced, it was promised that other animals, including cats, would be added at a later date, though that wasn't updated with today's announcement.

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Smart locks have gotten progressively more convenient, adding features like fingerprint sensors, palm vein readers, and more app-based controls. These are all well and good, but there's one problem with them -- they all still require you to actively do something. The Aqara Smart Lock U400 changes that equation with ultra-wideband (UWB) support for Apple Home Key, allowing the lock to detect your approach and unlock automatically just by knowing it's you.

Aqara has carved out a solid reputation among smart home enthusiasts, especially those deep in the Apple ecosystem. The company has been steadily broadening its device compatibility through Matter support, which means its products now play nicely with Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, and Home Assistant. The U400 is Aqara's most feature-packed lock to date. But does UWB live up to its promises as one of the best smart locks?

Aqara U400 review: Price and availability

The Aqara U400 is now available from the Aqara website, as well as other participating retailers, like Amazon. It comes at $269.99, and is only available in Black.

Aqara U400 review: Design and setup

The U400 is relatively sleek and stylish from an aesthetic standpoint, though there's no mistaking it for a traditional deadbolt -- it clearly looks like a smart gadget. That's not necessarily a bad thing, of course. The footprint is larger than a conventional lock, but it should fit in reasonably well with most door designs. The exterior panel keeps the keypad hidden when you're not using it, which helps maintain a cleaner look. A fingerprint sensor sits below the keypad, and a small UWB indicator in the bottom left corner lights up when the lock senses you approaching.

Unlike smart locks that retrofit onto your existing deadbolt, the U400 replaces the entire assembly, which means installation takes a bit more effort. The lock works with standard doors, and the exterior keypad has an IP65 water-resistance rating, so it can handle being on a door that faces the elements.

On the inside, you'll find a removable rechargeable battery, a thumb latch for manual control, and buttons for initial setup, hidden under a cover. Aqara says the battery should last around six months, which isn't terrible, but nothing to write home about either. When the battery eventually dies, you can remove it and charge it via a built-in USB-C port, and if you're gone when it loses power, you can use the USB-C port connected to an external power bank or even your phone to get inside.

Setting up the U400 is straightforward. The Aqara app guides you through the process step by step, and printed instructions come in the box. After you've got the physical hardware installed, you'll need to configure it on your phone. Since the U400 is a Matter device, you're free to set it up in whatever smart home platform you prefer rather than being stuck with Aqara's software -- though you will need a Thread border router for most features. The lock technically functions over Bluetooth alone, but buying this particular lock for Bluetooth-only use kind of defeats the purpose.

The lock offers a range of locking and unlocking features, which is nice. It can store up to 50 fingerprints and 75 PIN codes ranging from 6 to 10 digits. It also supports NFC cards if you want to use them -- though you'll need to buy those separately since none come in the box. And, it works with a good ol' fashioned key.

Unlike other smart locks, which might have a PIN pad as a backup to a fingerprint sensor, it's the fingerprint sensor that's the backup -- and the PIN pad is the backup to the backup. Of course, the PIN pad also comes in handy for things like guest codes, however you can also share Home Key access in Apple Home.

Aqara U400 review: App

While you don't have to use the lock with Aqara's app, you'll probably want to download the app to set up things like fingerprints. You can set up codes and guest codes in other smart home apps, but the fingerprint sensor will need to be set up through Aqara.

For the most part, the app has a clean, easy-to-navigate interface. Managing the lock through the app is simple enough, though if you're already set up in another ecosystem like Apple Home, you'll probably do most of your day-to-day interaction there instead, especially since it also supports features like auto-locking. There is an auto-lock feature in the Aqara app that's supposed to be able to detect when you close your door and lock immediately, which worked most of the time, but sometimes took more than a few seconds when I tested it.

It's a neat idea, but it's worth having the time-based auto-lock feature enabled too, as a backup, even if it means you might occasionally find the door locks on its own when you haven't closed the door yet.

User management works differently depending on whether you're using Aqara's system or Matter. Through Aqara, you can set up to 100 users with detailed control over admin, standard, and temporary roles. Matter caps you at 20 users with up to 35 passwords of 4 to 8 digits, 35 NFC devices, and 20 UWB devices. For most households, either limit should be plenty.

Aqara U400 review: Connectivity and performance

The U400 supports Thread with Matter 1.4, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and ultra-wideband. That means that it'll work with all major smart home platforms -- however you will need a Thread border router to be able to control most functions of the lock.

Connectivity held up well in my testing. I installed the lock on my garden shed at the back of my backyard -- an area that usually has pretty weak wireless coverage. Despite the challenging location, the lock performed solidly. It's also worth pointing out that fingerprint and UWB unlocking don't need network connectivity to work. They operate locally regardless of what's happening with your home network.

The UWB hands-free unlocking worked quite well — honestly better than I expected. The lock detected my approach and unlocked consistently almost every time. There were occasional moments where it took an extra second to register when I only had my Apple Watch and not my phone, but this rarely became an actual problem. Even when that happened, the delay was about the same as the time it would take to use the fingerprint sensor anyway.

That reliability is kind of a big deal. Up until now, smart locks have given you more ways to unlock your door without a physical key, but they've still needed you to do something, or provided clunky workarounds, like geo-fencing that often unlocks the door when you're within a relatively large area. With UWB support, as long as you've got a compatible phone or smartwatch on you, the U400 unlocks without any action on your part whatsoever.

The other unlock methods worked well too. The fingerprint sensor was quick and accurate. The PIN pad, by comparison, sometimes took a few taps to turn on, but then worked fine. To be fair, I only really used it during initial testing and setup. In actual daily use, I never touched it. Even if UWB completely failed for some reason, the fingerprint sensor would have been my go-to backup, not the keypad.

Last but not least, there’s NFC. While you won’t get NFC cards in the box, you can still use your phone or watch with Apple Home Key through NFC, which worked well.

Aqara U400 review: Verdict

The whole promise of smart home technology has always been that your home can work without requiring your active involvement. UWB makes that promise real for smart locks in a way that fingerprint sensors and PIN codes never could, and in a way that's yet to come to other kinds of smart devices in any real way.

For the time being, while the Aqara U400 works well with any major smart home ecosystem thanks to Matter support, it's best suited for Apple users who can fully leverage the UWB Home Key functionality. If you're not in the Apple ecosystem or don't have a compatible device for hands-free unlocking, there are plenty of fingerprint-enabled smart locks that will serve you nearly as well. But for those who can use it the way it's meant to be used, the U400 makes a serious case for itself as the smart lock to beat for those who don't want to have to manually lock and unlock their door. Sure, it’s a little pricey – but for now, it’s the price you’ll have to pay if you want a lock that supports UWB.

I’ve been testing the best smart locks for years, and while there’s been a lot of advancements when it comes to entry methods and design, one thing has stubbornly remained more or less the same: battery life. Every four to six months, I always had to change the batteries in the locks, which isn’t time consuming, but it is annoying, and it generates e-waste.

That could all be changing. At CES 2026, companies are introducing smart locks that might never need to be recharged, while others are launching models with long-lasting rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. On top of that, we’re also seeing the Matter standard take over, and newer and smarter facial recognition added, so you may never need to remember a passcode again.

Here are the smart locks of CES 2026 that really caught our attention.

Lockin V7 Max

Lockin’s newest lock uses what it calls AuraCharge, an optical charging technology that harvests light (natural or artificial), converts it to electricity, and sends it to the lock.

The lock comes with a separate unit that gets plugged in inside your home. It then beams power to a panel on the lock, which can be as far as 12 feet away.

In addition, the V7 Max also has vein recognition (palm and finger), 3D facial recognition, and uses cloud-based AI to help identify family members, delivery drivers and others, and send you customized notifications and actions based on their behaviors.

The lock has two high-definition outer cameras with a wide-angle view and dual 5-inch touchscreens. This Matter-compatible lock works with Google, Apple, Amazon, and Samsung SmartThings.

Unfortunately for most U.S. consumers, the V7 Max is a mortise-style lock. However, Lockin says that the remote-charging capability is also coming to one of its other deadbolt locks.

Desloc V150 Plus

Desloc’s device has a perovskite solar panel, which the company says can help recharge the lock’s 10,000 mAh battery even in shaded entryways and overcast skies — which means you may never have to remove the battery to recharge it.

In addition, the lock has 3D facial recognition with “liveliness detection,” to help prevent it from being spoofed with a picture. It also has a fingerprint sensor, but the large solar panel on the front of the lock prevents it from having a keypad.

The lock is BHMA Grade 3 certified and IP65 water resistant, has built-in Wi-Fi, and will work with Alexa and Google Home. (Surprisingly, it’s one of the only locks that isn’t Matter-compatible. The lock will be available for preorder in the second quarter of 2026; the company says it will cost less than $300, which we’re taking to mean $299.

ULTRALOQ Bolt Sense

Like Lockin’s V7 Max, the Ultraloq Bolt Sense also uses 3D facial recognition with palm vein authentication to unlock your front door. This dual-method authentication should help prevent false identification, so that you — and only you — can unlock your door. The lock has infrared cameras and low-light technology, so that it will work both day and night.

If you don’t want to use your face, the lock also has a keypad as well as a traditional keyed lock. The Bolt Sense will pack a 10,000 mAh battery, which should last for several months on a charge. It also has Wi-Fi and is expected to support Matter when it’s released in April of this year.

Aqara U400

Yes, you can use your face or your palm or your fingerprint to unlock your door, but what if you could unlock it simply by walking up to it? The Aqara U400 uses Ultra Wide Band technology to detect when you — or more specifically, your phone or Apple Watch — is next to your door, and then unlocks it automatically. We reviewed the Aqara U400 before its launch, and found it worked great — we barely even touched the lock after getting it installed. At $269, it’s on the expensive side, but could be worth the price if you often arrive home with your hands full.

SwitchBot Lock Vision Pro

Switchbot’s smart locks are also incorporating facial recognition, but the company says that its technology — 3D structured-light facial recognition — means that it can reliably recognize your face even if you’re wearing a hat and glasses. Switchbot says the technology creates 3D maps of your face with other 2,000 infrared projection points, and uses “3D liveness detection” to help prevent spoofing.

The Vision Pro will also have contactless palm-vein recognition that uses near-infrared sensing, so that it can unlock your door if your hands are slightly wet or dirty. The locks will have built-in Wi-Fi and will be compatible with Matter. They will feature not one, but two batteries — a 10,000mAh rechargeable battery that will last for up to six months, and a backup CR123A battery that will work for up to five years and give you 500 emergency unlocks.

Lockly Affirm

Compared to some of the other smart locks being introduced at CES, Lockly’s Affirm series — a deadbolt and a latch smart lock — aren’t the most groundbreaking, but are the company’s first to have built-in Wi-Fi with Matter. The locks will have a numeric keypad and will also support NFC, allowing you to use either a physical or digital key card to unlock your door. Both models will be available in the second quarter of this year, and are priced at $179.

Eufy Smart Lock E40

The Eufy Smart Lock E40 has a 2K camera with head-to-toe video, and uses 3D facial recognition to unlock your door. This ANSI/BHMA Grade 2 lock will also use AI to detect if people are loitering in front of your door, and can detect such things as packages, too. Like Switchbot’s lock, Eufy’s also has two batteries — a main 15,000 mAh unit, as well as an 800 mAh backup battery. The lock is IP65 water resistant, has Wi-Fi built in, and supports Matter, Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home Assistant, and Samsung Smart Things. The lock is slated to launch in the first quarter of this year at Home Depot (online and in stores) for $299.

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The holidays are nearly here and if you're getting ready to travel you may have quite a lot left on your to-do list. In addition to gifts, wrapping and food, you also have packing, planning and home preparations to get sorted.

If you already have any of the best smart home devices set up, they can help you get prepared. Likewise, if you're ready to add a few extra gadgets to the line up, they can help round out those few scenarios or blind spots you probably haven't even considered.

Here are seven ways smart home devices can easily assist you in keeping your home safe and secure when you're traveling for the holidays.

1. Update your smart lock code

There are a lot of great reasons to have one of the best smart locks as part of your home security setup – unlike a standard lock, a smart lock can let visitors or service people temporarily access your home, give you access to your front door from your smartphone and help you keep track of who has entered and exited your household.

During the holidays, you may have a neighbor, friend or family member you ask to check in on your house. You may even have hired someone to come feed your pets. In this case, it's a great time to update your smart lock codes and add new temporaries for people you expect to drop by.

I always like to give temporary access to a nearby neighbor as well, in case something catastrophic happens (fire or flood). That way, they can ensure first responders are able to get in without having to break down my door.

2. Motion detectors for windows and doors

If you already have a home security system that features a hub, now is the perfect time to add a few smart motion detectors on those windows or doors that could provide easy to access if no one is home. Think windows hidden from view, garage doors, doors in alleyways, or storm doors.

Motion detectors are often inexpensive and they're also easy to install using their included adhesive strips on the back. When the two parts are separated, you get an alert sent right to your phone. It's easy enough to add them right before you leave town to make sure that access points that could become break-in points aren't being taken advantage of.

3. Set smart thermostats to away

If you're heading out for a period of time, don't forget to update the settings on your smart thermostat – after all, there's no reason to heat a house when no one is home. Smart thermostats can be controlled with smart assistants or an app, so many of them can be spoken to, or adjusted, from miles away.

However, many smart thermostats also offer settings like "Vacation" that tell the device you won't be at home, which will not only save energy but start reheating your home a few hours before you arrive back.

4. Get smart lights or smart plugs

There's no better way to tell when someone is home than if the lights are on – which is exactly why the best smart lights are so popular. There's a wide variety of options for smart indoor light bulbs that can be used in lamps and overhead lights to ones that will work in wreaths and Christmas trees to exterior lighting that works all year round.

We recently reviewed Govee's Permanent Outdoor Prism Lights which can be securely installed thanks to their new design that features screw holes. The lights themselves don't look strictly seasonal but can be changed to match whatever the theme may be, and can work with over 100 preset scenes. They also work with smart assistants.

At the same time, smart bulbs can be programmed to turn on and off at a scheduled time through their respective apps or turned on with a digital assistant, So no matter where you are, it looks like you've just gotten home. Bonus if you get a smart plug for the Christmas tree or a few of the best outdoor smart plugs for your exterior decorations as well.

5. Automate your curtains

Admittedly, this one might be a little more advanced but if you've already automated the rest of your home it might be time to tackle the curtains. After all, how cool is the idea of being able to open and close your curtains from an app? If your lights come on, and your blinds open and close, your home really gives off the appearance of having people inside.

Smart blinds aren't as widely available as some other options, but one of the more popular companies is SwitchBot because their devices allow you to swap in whatever fabric you want. They also integrate with smart assistants and operate quietly.

6. Set up smart pet feeders

Smart pet feeders have come a long way from just automatically feeding your pet. Sure, they'll still do that but now you can also watch your cats using a 1080p video feed and speak to them over a microphone. If you already regularly use a smart pet feeder there may not be much more to do then just to make sure that it's filled up and connected to your phone. And if you don't, it's fairly easy to plug one in and pair it to the app on your smartphone so that you can make sure your pets are appropriately fed while you're away from home.

Our editor who tested the Petlibro found it not only useful for keeping each of their cats fed the appropriate food, but also really enjoyed keeping an eye on them throughout the day. Likewise, he appreciated the data in the app that helped keep track of successful feedings and low food dishes. Because it can sense motion and record activity it also acts as a secondary home security device.

7. Add a leak detector

Whenever the temperatures drop, homeowners look sideways at their pipes. And when you travel, you never want to come home to a problem – particularly one that involves water leakage. A smart water detector can alert you to issues faster by sensing moisture and sending you an alert over your smartphone so you know there's a problem even if you're thousands of miles away.

There are a lot of options available among the best smart water detectors, but what you're looking for is something that will fit into your space and is loud enough to alert you when you're home. You also want to consider whether you need something that runs on batteries or can be plugged in and if you need additional features like a device that also can shut off the water leak or monitor your water usage.

More from Tom's Guide

• Stop porch pirates before they strike with these essential tips and devices
• 5 common mistakes when buying a security camera
• Your security cameras are in the wrong spots — here's how to fix it

We all knew it was coming, but Google is finally giving its smart home devices the AI treatment. One of the first is the 3rd-gen Google Nest Doorbell that Google says has been designed for the new AI-based Gemini for Home platform. These new smarts allow it to better recognize who or what is at the door, and make it easier for you to find the footage you’re looking for.

On top of the AI features, however, the new Nest Doorbell offers a range of other improvements, including a higher 2K resolution camera with a wider field of view. Does it solidify its status as the best video doorbell out there right now, or should you go for one of the increasing number of competitors that also offer AI-enhanced capabilities?

Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen): Price & availability

As mentioned, only the wired model of the Google Nest Doorbell has been refreshed. The Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) costs $179.99. It's available right now from Google directly or from participating third-party retailers. It comes in three colors, including Snow, Hazel, and Linen.

Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) review: Design & setup

The newest Nest Doorbell may not look all that different from its predecessors, but that’s not a bad thing. The design of the device is modern and premium, without being over the top.

The device features a large camera module at the top of the front, and a large button below. I've been testing the Linen colorway which, despite its bland name, actually looks quite sophisticated against most home exteriors.

The construction of the device feels mostly solid too, despite the fact that it's largely made from plastic. And, it has an IP65 rating that ensures it should be able to withstand most weather conditions, including heavy rain.

As the name suggests, this is a wired model (Google hasn't updated its wireless model with the new sensor and features), and installation requires a 16-24VAC, 10-40VA transformer. If you're comfortable with wiring low-voltage doorbell wires the process is simple, but if not you should probably get an electrician to help you. The entire installation process took me about 10 minutes, which included screwing the baseplate to the exterior wall and connecting the wires. Google includes an angled mounting wedge in the box for situations where you need to adjust the viewing angle.

After physically installing the device, you'll add it to the Google Home app, which was also simple and quick. All you'll really need to do is scan the QR code on the device itself or on the quick start guide in the box, then follow the on-screen instructions to connect the device to your Wi-Fi network and wider Google Home setup. This will include setting up a subscription, if you want one, though you don't have to set one up.

The doorbell doesn't include a separate chime unit, instead relying on your existing mechanical doorbell chime or Google smart speakers throughout your home. This keeps the package simple but means you'll need alternative solutions if you don't have existing chimes or smart speakers.

Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen): Video & audio quality

Overall, the video and audio quality from the Google Nest Doorbell is very good. Sure, there are competitors that offer a higher resolution than 2K (such as the 4K Ring Wired Doorbell Pro), but as a whole, I found the video to look detailed and sharp.

In the Google Home app you can pinch to zoom to up to 6x digital zoom, and while footage zoomed at 6x is obviously less detailed, it could come in handy for getting a better look at far-away objects. You can set your preferred zoom level as the default video view too, which is a handy feature for when you want to cut out, for example, a wall near your door that you don't need to monitor.

The doorbell has a 166-degree diagonal field of view, and with its square sensor, it's wide enough to see things like packages, even if they're directly below it. It's not without a trade-off though -- there's a noticeable fisheye look to footage. I don't mind this -- and I find it easily worth it for the ability to get package detection and have a better view of your entryway.

HDR performance was quite good, even in more challenging lighting conditions. With bright driveway lights at night, the camera managed to maintain detail in both the illuminated areas and shadows without excessive blow-out, and without switching over to infrared. When lighting is low enough, it will leverage its infrared LEDs to capture footage (there's no built-in light for color night vision), and this can provide black and white visibility up to 10 feet. Despite the lack of color night vision, the black-and-white footage generally looked crisp.

The full-duplex two-way audio with noise cancellation works reliably well too. The microphone picked up visitor voices clearly, and the speaker projected my voice loud enough for easy conversation. Wind noise is effectively minimized, which isn't always the case on outdoor cameras.

Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen): App & AI features

The Google Home app, which recently underwent a significant redesign, serves as the control center for the doorbell and generally works well. The interface is clean and intuitive, making it easy to view live footage, review recorded events, and adjust settings.

The headline new features, however, come through the new AI integration, which is powered by Gemini. I've found these features to be genuinely quite helpful. Gemini will create natural language descriptions of captured events, and you can then use it to search through videos more easily, without having to scroll endlessly through footage. It can also create a daily "Home Brief," which gives you an overview of happenings from the day before, using data from all your connected devices that can work with Gemini. These briefs may not be all that useful unless something happens that you weren't aware of, but they were still kind of cool to look at. Maybe the novelty will wear off over time.

Gemini wasn't always accurate. It sometimes failed to recognize me or other people in my home, despite having been told who I or they were earlier. This isn't a huge issue — you can always simply look at footage to see who was at the door.

Notifications for both motion detection and doorbell presses arrived almost instantly during testing. When someone rings the doorbell, you can enter two-way audio or you can respond with one of three pre-recorded messages: "You can just leave it," "We'll be right there," or "No one can come to the door." Unfortunately, you can't create custom messages — which seems like an obvious feature with Gemini's text-to-speech capabilities. The ability to message text-to-speech to someone seems like it would be handy too. Maybe I'm just too socially anxious, but I'd prefer to message someone rather than speak if I'm in a quiet waiting room.

Other more traditional smart camera features are present too. You can set motion zones, detection sensitivity, and notification preferences. You can fine-tune exactly what triggers alerts and when you receive them, including when the doorbell sees people, packages, animals, vehicles, or all motion.

Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen): Smart home compatibility

The doorbell integrates seamlessly with Google Home, and to take advantage of all of the main features, you'll need to use Google's platform. This is to be expected. Even when camera support rolls out to the Matter spec, you won't suddenly be able to access Gemini-powered features in Apple Home.

It does support Alexa for basic use though. Through Alexa, you can do things like view a live feed from the doorbell and get notifications when the button is pressed. You can't do too much more, and frankly, if you're in the Alexa ecosystem you should probably stick with something from someone like Ring. There's no other smart home support, so if you use Apple HomeKit or another platform you'll need to look elsewhere.

Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen): Storage & subscription plans

Unlike some competitors, the Nest Doorbell offers no local storage option. However, the free tier of cloud storage is more generous than most, offering six hours of event video history stored as 10-second clips. You also get person and package detection for free, too. This is actually probably enough for many basic users, though you'll lose out on access to other features.

To unlock the doorbell's full potential, including many AI features, you'll need a Google Home Premium subscription. The Premium Standard plan, which costs $10/month or $100/year, includes an unlimited number of cameras at a single location, and provides 30 days of event video history, and alerts for familiar faces, garage door detection, and smoke & CO alarms, and glass breaking.

The Premium Advanced plan ($20/month or $200/year) extends this to 60 days of event history plus 10 days of continuous 24/7 recording, as well as the ability to ask Gemini to search your videos, get detailed summaries of events, and daily summaries.

If you subscribe to the Google AI Pro plan ($20/month), you’ll get the Google Home Premium Standard subscription included as part of the deal. If you have the Google AI Ultra Plan ($249/month), the Google Home Premium Advanced plan is included at no extra charge.

These subscription costs aren't cheap, especially considering many of the doorbell's most compelling features are locked behind them. That said, if you're buying this doorbell, you might be doing so for the AI-powered features in the first place, so you might feel like you need to pony up.

Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen): Verdict

The Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) is an excellent, complete package of a smart doorbell. It's well-designed, offers good video quality, and has a range of helpful, unique features. I suspect Google is likely to continue to rely on its investment in Gemini to give its products an edge over the competition.

The main drawback is the subscription dependency for accessing the doorbell's best features. While the free tier is more generous than many competitors, you'll miss out on facial recognition and extended video history without paying monthly fees.

The most comparable competitor is the 2nd-gen Ring Wired Doorbell Plus, which also has a 2K camera resolution. However, it does not offer person or package detection for free, nor do you get any sort of video storage without a subscription. Similar to Google, you’ll need to subscribe to a Ring Home Premium plan ($20/month) if you want to use all of its camera’s AI capabilities, such as detailed video descriptions and history. However, Ring does provide up to 180 days of video history.

For users already invested in the Google ecosystem or those who value the AI features enough to justify the ongoing costs, the Google Nest Doorbell represents an excellent choice that combines reliable hardware with intelligent software.

I’m not entirely sure why, but we get a lot of door-to-door solicitors in our neighborhood, far more than I’ve ever experienced anywhere else I’ve lived. Since I work from home, you can imagine it gets tedious telling these solicitors that I’m busy or just don’t want to talk. The Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) and its Alexa+ AI features seemed like a great solution to my solicitor problem, not to mention the peace of mind that comes with it when I’m traveling for work.

And it comes with even more benefits: It has a resolution of 2K, can track your packages in the age of porch pirates, and lets me see who’s coming and going while I’m far away from the front door (I spend a lot of time in my detached garage).

The Ring Wired Doorbell is a convenient option for anyone looking to monitor the front of their house from the couch. It’s got a massive field of view and even records well in the dark. But how does it compare to the Ring Video Doorbell Pro, which has an even higher 4K resolution, as well as the best video doorbells?

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Price and availability

The Wired Doorbell Plus costs $179.99 and is available for purchase now. You can buy the unit on Ring’s website, or from other retailers like Lowe’s.

Ring sent me the Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen) + Indoor Cam Plus bundle, which costs $239.98. I will review the Indoor Cam Plus separately. You can also purchase a Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen) + Chime (3rd Gen) bundle for $214.98, or a Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd Gen) + Floodlight Cam Plus bundle for $359.98.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Design and setup

The Ring Wired Doorbell plus comes packaged with the doorbell unit, which mounts to your home next to your front door; installation hardware; a corner kit for angling the doorbell if necessary; and a chime that can be installed into the existing wiring for your current doorbell chime unit. Ring also includes a small tool for removing the faceplate of the doorbell unit.

Installing the Wired Doorbell Plus took about twenty minutes total. Simply remove your old doorbell and wire in the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus to the existing wiring. Ring also includes a wiring harness and wire nuts to simplify the process. The chime installs similarly on the other end of the doorbell system; use the existing chime wires and use the included wire nuts to tie into that system. It’s a pretty easy setup, even if you’re not a very handy person. Just remember to turn off the circuit breaker to the doorbell wiring before you get started.

Once installed, the app takes a few more minutes to download and sign in. Once I downloaded and created my account, and connected the Ring camera to WiFi (it is compatible with 2.4GHZ or 5GHZ signals) , the doorbell needed a firmware update, which took about five minutes to complete. From there, you’ll set up your camera preferences, or simply choose the defaults to speed through the rest of the setup.

The drawback of the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus is the wired install. At first, I wanted to install this system on my detached garage, since I operate my business out it. But there wasn’t any existing wiring in the garage, which meant this version of the Ring doorbell wouldn’t work. Ring does offer wireless video doorbells that operate on rechargeable batteries, but none that have 2K resolution.

The mini chime that came with my doorbell was easy to install and sounds out loud and clear within my house. I like that I can also shut off the chime if I want to. The Ring chime has become ubiquitous these days, and it’s more pleasant than my normal doorbell chime. But when I’m in meetings (I work from home), it sure is nice to shut off the chime and prevent my dog from reacting the way he always does: by barking his head off.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Performance

The Ring Wired Doorbell Plus 2K video is very, very good. In broad daylight, it’s easy to pick out even small objects in the frame, and you can pinch to zoom in to see even more details. The image quality doesn’t suffer much in low light, either.

Within the first week of using the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus, it came in quite handy. For starters, I was able to avoid awkward conversations with various solicitors — already the Ring camera justified its price.

On another occasion, a man came to our door asking for someone we’d never heard of. No big deal really, but it felt good to have the person on camera (both video and audio) should it have been something more nefarious, or if anyone returned later with bad intentions. As it was, nothing came of it, and all is well.

I very much like having the audio along with the video feed. And the audio is startlingly clear, as is the video image — in just about all conditions. I haven’t yet come across any video or audio clips that were indecipherable, or even close to it. The Ring doorbell’s recording is absolutely stellar.

The field of view is very wide, too. I like being able to see my entire front yard, as well as my driveway. My neighborhood recently experienced some car break-ins, and while our cars weren’t affected, someone did kindly scratch up the hood of my truck. This happened before I installed the Ring camera, and I sure do wish I had it back then.

At night, you’ll lose the color from the image, but the detail and clarity still remains. Even zooming in, while not as sharp as in daylight conditions, allows you to pick out objects and people. My only complaint here is up close, subjects get a bit blown out, so it’s hard to see someone’s features when they’re positioned close to the doorbell.

The Ring Doorbell features Low Light Sight, which looks a bit like those scenes in movies where a character is wearing night-vision goggles, minus the green tinge. It was easy to pick out objects and people close to the camera, and I was able to see with clarity objects on the street, like my trash cans at the curb.

The front of my house faces east, which means in the morning, the sun blasts right at the camera mounted by my front door. The camera handles this well; the sun doesn’t wash out the image, though some flare is of course present. Throughout the day, as the sun works its way toward my backyard, the image only improves. By late afternoon, shadows wash over the front yard, and the 2K image avoids pixelation common in low light conditions. It’s a very clear image in all conditions throughout the day.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: App and smart home compatibility

I found the Ring App easy to set up and use. There is a lot to explore within the app, and tons of various settings to either broaden the Ring’s applicability or limit it. It’s kind of easy to get lost in it all, and you’re bombarded with setup options during the initial setup process.

The Live View setting shows you what the camera sees in real time, through Retinal Vision 2K video. It’s triggered by 3D motion detection, which records segments should anyone come within range of the doorbell. You can adjust this setting in the app to exclude moving vehicles and other things that aren’t humans approaching your door if you choose.

The Live View setting also features two-way talk, which is exactly what it sounds like: you can talk to someone at your door and they can talk to you. It’s a convenient way to speak with visitors that perhaps you don’t want to meet face to face.

Video History is handy should you need to reference events that happened in the past. That’s possible with the Ring subscription. You’ll get a 30-day free trial at purchase. More on that in a moment.

Keep in mind that this doorbell works with the Alexa ecosystem only, which is limiting. If your house is already on a different system, that might be a dealbreaker for you. As it is, I already use other Alexa devices, so the doorbell integrated easily.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: AI features

While not exclusive to the Wired Doorbell Plus, Ring has added a number of AI-powered features to its doorbells that make it easier to search through your video history and identify particular events.

Video Descriptions gives more detailed descriptions of what the doorbell records, so you might get a caption that reads "a person walked through the yard carrying a package."

AI Single Event Alerts will summarize a series of alerts from the same camera within a certain time period. So, if there are kids playing on your lawn and they go in and out of the camera frame, it will group all of these events into a single notification.

Last, Smart Video Search can let you search using natural language for particular events in your video history, like "dog catching a frisbee in my yard."

However, all of these features come at a cost.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Subscription costs

You get a Home Plan 30-day trial when you install the video doorbell. After that, you’ll have to upgrade. Strangely, you can’t manage your plan in the Ring app. That seems counterintuitive.

You’ll need to go to the Ring website instead and choose between the three offered plans: Basic for $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year; Standard for $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year; or Premium, for $19.99 a month of $199.99 a year. While the Basic plan gives you 180 days of video history as well as Person, Package, and Vehicle Alerts, you’ll need to spring for the Premium plan if you want AI-enabled features like Video Descriptions, AI Single Event Alerts, and Smart Video Search. I find it a bit irksome that I need to subscribe at all, after purchasing the unit for what I would consider to be a high dollar amount.

You can avoid the subscription altogether, but you will lose out on a lot of features, such as the ability to save video or look at past events, as well as any AI functionality. You’ll still get Live-View, Real-Time Notifications, and Keypad Arming and Disarming, among other features.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Accessories

Ring offers a ton of products and accessories to work within the Ring ecosystem. Outdoor and indoor cameras, alarms, Alexa products, and many more options are available for purchase. Ring offers a lot of bundles too, so you can buy several products at once and save a few bucks.

Some of the more useful accessories include hardwired kits for cameras, various wall mounts, and different chime options. The Ring Beacon ($49.99) warns passers-by that your home is protected by Ring, day or night. It captures solar energy to charge during the day, and glows at night not only to show people your home has a Ring camera, but also to light your front steps or path to get you safely to your door.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Competition

Ring is perhaps the most well-known doorbell camera on the market. But several competitors have entered the space in recent years. Google Nest Doorbell is among the most prominent. This works best with the Google smart home environment, something Ring does not offer.

Other competitors in the space include Arlo Video Doorbell Camera and Chime 2 Bundle, Eufy Dual+ Security Video Doorbell, and brands like Simplisafe, Lorex, and Wyze Cam. While many of these offerings come in at a lower price than Ring, the Ring Doorbell Plus beats them all in features, video quality, and reliability.

Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) review: Verdict

I didn’t expect to like the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus as much as I do. I’m not generally the type who feels the need for constant surveillance. But it has simplified my life quite a bit, largely because I no longer have to get up from my desk to go deal with the surprisingly high number of solicitors we get in our neighborhood. I also love that I can see much of my driveway in the wide field of view, so should we get another spate of break-ins or someone scratching up my truck again, I’ll have some potential for recourse.

Google released the Nest Doorbell battery (3rd) gen around the same time as Ring released the Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen), and the two share a lot of similarities, such as 2K video and AI integration for smarter alerts. Both also require a subscription to use all their features, but Google does give you six hours of video history without charging you a monthly fee.

I do wish the app subscriptions were included with the sale price. And the device is limited to Alexa ecosystems, which can be limiting for certain consumers. But if you’re looking for exceptional video and audio quality, as well as a super wide field of view, it’s hard to beat the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus — unless you want to go with the 4K Ring Wired Doorbell Pro.

Basic security cameras are a dime a dozen. The result? Manufacturers are starting to have to build more features into their cameras to stand out. But instead of putting just one camera in a device, how about two? The TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo has dual cameras to better monitor motion while keeping an eye on everything else.

But is the concept a little more of a gimmick than anything else, and how does it compare to the best home security cameras? To find out, I installed the TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo in my yard.

TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo review: Price and Availability

The TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo is available right now from TP-Link and from other retailers. It comes in white, and is actually pretty affordable — it came at $69.99 from TP-Link and Amazon, and you can get a discount if you buy a two-pack, for $129.99.

TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo review: Design and installation

The design of the TP-Link Tapo Hybrid Cam Duo is a little different than most traditional security cameras. That, of course, is because of the dual camera system that's designed to give you more flexibility in tracking motion. The camera itself consists of two halves: The top half connects to the mount, while the bottom half connects to the top half through a small arm that can rotate for motion tracking.

The rest of the camera's design is fairly standard. It has a white body with a black front, along with sensors and lights on its face. There's a small USB-C port on the back of the top half of the camera. It's possible to plug in with the camera mounted, but a little tricky, so you might find it easier to plug the camera in before you mount it.

Mounting it is relatively easy. There's a white mount that attaches to the wall or ceiling where you intend to install the camera. Then the camera itself simply pops into place on that mount. You will need to keep in mind that this is a wired camera and not a battery-powered one, which might inform where you intend to place it.

After you physically install the camera, download the Tapo app and follow the instructions on screen to add the device. Note that TP-Link confusingly gives its cameras two names, with the HybridCam Duo actually being called the Tapo C246D. That's what you'll have to look for in the app when you go to add your camera to your account.

The whole installation process took me around 10 minutes — and that included downloading and installing a firmware update. Assuming you have a screwdriver, a power outlet, and a decent Wi-Fi connection, I suspect most will have a similar experience.

TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo review: Image and audio performance

Of course, the unique thing about this system is that it has two 2K cameras built into it. One of them is a fixed wide-angle camera with a 125-degree field-of-view, while the other is a 6mm telephoto camera that delivers around 3x zoom compared to the main camera. You can also zoom to 10.8x with digital zoom. And, the camera supports smart tracking, so if there’s motion that’s spotted, it can be tracked with the telephoto camera. This feature works with people, pets, and vehicles, and you can choose to enable or disable it for those individual types of motion.

The camera can detect people, pets and vehicles separately, but it also has sound detection, and that works with crying (for babies), glass breaking, dogs barking, and even cats meowing. I didn’t test all of these, but the barking detection seemed to work fine for our neighbors’ dogs.

I do wish the wide camera had a slightly wider field-of-view. It’s not bad, but given the fact that it has to be mounted on a flat surface, I wasn’t able to place it in a way that it could see one side of my backyard. Again, it’s not a huge issue — and the telephoto camera was still able to pan to view areas that the wide-angle camera couldn’t see.

In good lighting, the camera performed quite well. Images were crisp, and it did a good job at automatically tracking movement, even if it wasn’t necessarily super smooth when it moved the telephoto camera to track my walking across my backyard. The image was also pretty natural, and the camera did a good job at capturing details in both shadows and highlights. That means that even on a bright sunny day, it’ll capture motion in darker parts of the image, unlike cheaper cameras that might have a lower dynamic range. Once it has finished tracking motion, it will return back to its set position, ready for more tracking.

The HybridCam Duo supports both infrared and full-color night vision, and you can set the mode individually for each of the two cameras, which is a nice touch. Of course, if you enable the spotlight on one of them, it’ll undoubtedly illuminate the scene for both of them, but it’s still nice to be able to toggle settings to your preferences.

In low lighting both cameras continued to perform well, but I did find the image to be a little less crisp, both when using infrared and color night vision. I actually found the details to be similar in both modes (often, the trade-off to color night vision is detail, depending on the distance of the subject). The wide camera certainly looked a little better with color night vision, though the lights built into it aren’t the strongest, so if you want to record subjects at a distance you may be better off with the infrared night vision.

The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to decide whether you want to use infrared or color on one or both cameras. Instead, you can simply use the “smart” mode. Smart mode basically just keeps both cameras in infrared mode until motion is detected, at which point the telephoto camera turns on color night vision, while the wide camera sticks to infrared. It’s a good option for those who don’t want to spend the time experimenting on modes to find the perfect fit for their area.

Regardless of the night modes you go for, the camera records excellent video for the price point. It’s quick to detect motion, and video quality is mostly pretty good. The camera also supports continuous recording with a microSD card inserted, which is a handy feature — but even without continuous recording, I found that it usually had enough buffer to include right before motion was detected in recordings for larger objects, like people, and recorded quick enough for smaller objects, like animals.

TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo review: App and smart home support

The TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo works with the Tapo app, which I found to be perfectly fine. It has a main screen that basically shows you your different Tapo devices at a glance, but it also has a “Cameras” tab that lets you see a snapshot of all of your Tapo cameras.

Tapping on your camera from the home screen or the cameras tab will bring you to its settings, and thankfully they're relatively easy to manage. Here you can see a live feed of both cameras, but you can switch to a feed from the wide camera if you prefer. I found that even with the feed from both cameras, I was able to access all of the settings without having to scroll — only pre-recorded clips would require you scroll down a little. There are also buttons to record or take a photo or enter two-way audio. You can also pan and tilt the bottom telephoto camera, turn the built-in spotlight on and off, and initiate an alarm.

The app also offers some handy features related to the pan/tilt telephoto camera. For starters, you can manually pan and tilt it as needed, but even better is the fact that you can put it into a patrol mode that has it sweep between pre-set points, allowing you to get a closer view of what’s happening. And, you can create a panoramic view which gives you an overview of the entire visible area, and lets you select on that image where you want the camera to be pointed. You can set a 360-degree, 270-degree, or 180-degree panoramic view. It’s a neat feature, but it only accounts for horizontal panning. I wish it could account for tilting too.

My main issue with these pan/tilt features is that they work very slowly. If you’re manually panning or tilting, you’ll want to do so one tap at a time — you’ll overshoot if you hold down on the controls. I routinely had to wait a few seconds for changes to be made. To be fair, the camera was placed outside, where the Wi-Fi connectivity isn’t as good as it is inside — but you would assume that if the internet is fast enough to stream video, it should be fast enough to deliver basic controls without latency too.

The TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo works with Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT, and Samsung SmartThings. It notably does not support Apple’s HomeKit, so if you’re a HomeKit user you’ll need to keep looking.

TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo review: Video storage and subscription fees

The HybridCam Duo offers some versatility when it comes to video storage, which is always handy. Notably, it has a microSD card slot, which you can use to store footage locally. It supports cards up to 512GB, which should be enough to store a few weeks of recording, at least. You can even password-protect the microSD card in the Tapo app.

Of course, you can go with cloud storage instead, if you prefer. TP-Link has what it calls the Tapo Care plan, which can store 30 days of video history, plus supports activity notifications, video summaries, smart sorting features, and more. Tapo Care costs $3.49 per month or $34.99 per year, but you will get a 30-day free trial with the camera, and you don’t have to enter your payment details to get it – so you’ll be able to get an idea of whether it’s worth the money or not, without having to worry about automatic payments.

TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo review: Verdict

For around $70, you can’t really get a more versatile smart security camera than the TP-Link Tapo HybridCam Duo. It gets around perhaps the biggest issue with pan/tilt cameras — they can’t see everything, all of the time. This camera can, though. The pairing of a wide camera and a telephoto camera makes for a comprehensive security system that supports helpful features like local recording. While night vision could be better and the camera could be more responsive when manually panning and tilting, it performs well for the price.

Google is bringing its Nest smart home devices into the AI era. Along with the Gemini for Home platform, Google has revamped many of its Nest smart home products, including its beloved cameras, although only the wired model has been given a revamp so far. The Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen), however, is about more than just AI. It also has a number of other improvements, including a new sensor that supports a 2K resolution and a wider field of view. Plus, it's available in a pretty Berry color.

Does the new Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) do enough given the increased competition in the smart home camera space?

Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) review: Price and availability

As mentioned, only the wired version of the Google Nest Cam has been given an update. It's available for $99.99 and can be purchased straight from Google or from participating retailers. It comes in three colors, including Snow, Hazel, and Berry — however, the Hazel and Berry colors are only available in the US.

Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) review: Design and setup

The Google Nest Cam Indoor looks largely the same as previous models, with a compact body that’s attached to a small base. The camera itself can swivel and rotate a little to help with positioning, though it’s not the most flexible security camera out there when it comes to angling. That said, it should be fine for most users, both placed on a surface or mounted to a wall.

Keep in mind that unlike plenty of other options, the Nest Cam doesn't support any pan/tilt functionality. You'll want to ensure it's able to see what you want it to when you place it.

I’m reviewing the camera in the “Berry” color, which is a vibrant red that I really like. Most security cameras come in boring colors like white, black, or gray, so it’s refreshing to see Google offer something a little more interesting. The camera is also available in Snow and Hazel if you prefer something more subdued. It’s made largely with plastic but it feels high-quality and durable.

The camera has a permanently attached 10-foot USB-C cable, which is long enough for most installations. The fact that it’s permanently attached means you can’t replace it if it gets damaged, which is unfortunate. While I could see the reasoning for having a permanently attached cable on an outdoor camera for weatherproofing, this is specifically the indoor model and it should have simply had a USB-C port instead. The cable ends in a USB-C connector, which plugs into the included 7.5W power adapter.

Installation is incredibly easy. You can either place the camera on a surface like a shelf or table, or mount it to a wall using the included mounting hardware. I didn’t mount mine during testing, opting instead to simply place it on a shelf. Getting it set up in the Google Home app was simple too. You’ll do so by opening the app and tapping on the button to add an accessory, scanning the QR code on the camera, and following the on-screen instructions. The whole process took about five minutes from unboxing to having a live feed on my phone.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) review: Video and audio quality

The Google Nest Cam Indoor captures video at a 2K resolution, which is probably the biggest upgrade over previous models apart from the addition of Gemini AI features. The camera has a 152-degree diagonal field of view, which is wide enough to capture a large room or a long hallway without missing much. It’s a significant improvement over older Nest cameras, and it means you’ll be able to see more of what’s happening in a given space.

Video quality is excellent across the board. The camera captures crisp, detailed footage in both well-lit and poorly-lit environments, making it versatile for use in just about any room. Colors look natural and accurate, and there’s plenty of detail in the footage, even when zooming in on specific areas.

Night vision performance is impressive too. The camera relies on infrared night vision rather than a spotlight, so there’s no color night vision here — it’s all black and white in low light. That said, the IR performance is very good, with lots of detail visible even in complete darkness. I would have liked to see color night vision as an option, especially considering that some (cheaper) competitors offer it, but the black-and-white IR footage is still more than good enough for most use cases, especially indoors. If you do want color night vision at a competitive price, it's worth looking at the likes of the Wyze Cam Pan v4.

The camera’s HDR performance is very good too. I found it easy to see details in both shadows and highlights, which is important for security cameras that need to capture footage in rooms with varying light conditions, or with windows. Windows and bright lights don’t get blown out, and darker areas of the frame still retain plenty of detail. It’s a big improvement over older cameras that would often struggle with high-contrast scenes.

The camera was quick to detect motion during my testing, and notifications arrived on my phone reasonably fast — though there was still a 2-3 second delay between when motion was detected and when I received the alert. That’s pretty standard for security cameras, and while it would be nice to see instant notifications, the delay is short enough that it shouldn’t be a major issue for most users.

Audio quality is excellent too. The built-in microphone picked up everything clearly, from voices to ambient sounds, and the speaker played my voice back perfectly during two-way audio tests. It’s loud enough to have a conversation with someone through the camera, and the audio quality is clear and easy to understand. Some security cameras have mediocre audio, but that’s not the case here.

All of this said, the video quality of cheaper cameras has been getting better and better — so while the quality of the footage on the camera is very good, if video quality is your top or only priority, you might save some cash by buying something from a company like Wyze. Still, video quality is only part of the equation here, and it’s easily good enough for most, even without a 4K resolution.

Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) review: App

The Google Home app is well-designed and relatively easy to navigate, which is important considering it’s the only way to control the Nest Cam Indoor. The app has received a new design recently, but most things are generally in the same place, so if you’ve used it before, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding what you need. The interface is clean and intuitive, with a live view of your camera readily accessible from the home screen.

The biggest change for this model, however, is the addition of AI features powered by Gemini. These features include things like the ability to ask Gemini questions about your Google Home, and AI-generated descriptions — for example, instead of just “motion detected,” you might get “person with a package entered the room” or “package delivered.” With Gemini, you can ask questions and essentially use it as a searchable video history. You can ask things like “What time did my package get delivered?” and Gemini will search through your video history to find the answer.

These features work quite well for the most part, though they’re not completely accurate. For example, the camera sometimes said that an “unknown person” was seen even after I went through the face recognition onboarding process, where I named people that it should have been able to recognize going forward. It was mostly accurate, but there were definitely some misses that could be frustrating if you’re relying on the camera to tell you specifically who’s at home.

Things like face recognition and AI descriptions aren’t necessarily unique anymore — plenty of other cameras these days offer similar features. But the Gemini integration helps take it to the next level. It helps make features conversational, rather than one-way, which is a nice touch. Instead of just receiving notifications or scrolling through footage, you can interact with your camera’s video history in a more natural way. Gemini will also create a summary of events for each day, which it calls the “Home Brief.” This could be handy if you miss something. Here’s an example of a Home Brief I got.

“On Tuesday morning, Christian entered the office, followed by a cat, and settled down. Christian then briefly left the room, returning shortly with a mug before exiting again. Soon after, Christian came back to the office, settled into a chair, and began working on a laptop, wearing earbuds. A cat later joined Christian, resting on their lap. At one point, Christian stood to check the door before returning to the chair. Later, Christian removed their headphones, stood up, and exited the room. In the late afternoon, another person briefly entered and then exited the office.”

There are some minor errors in this brief — like the fact that I wasn’t working on a laptop (it was a desktop computer, out of sight of the camera), and that the “other person” that entered then exited was actually me. These are the kinds of very minor issues that Gemini surfaced often — and that probably won’t have much of an impact on daily security. And, remember, if you’re suspicious of anything the camera picks up, you can still simply look at the footage.

That said, I still can’t necessarily imagine using these camera-specific features much in day-to-day life, unless something happens that I need to investigate. However, the conversational aspect of the wider smart home could come in handy, especially if you have multiple devices.

It’s also worth noting that many of these AI features are still improving in terms of accuracy. I often used the “Ask Home” search bar to query my video history, and I was sometimes told that “something went wrong.” When it works, it’s impressive, but the inconsistency can be frustrating. Google is clearly still fine-tuning these features, and I expect they’ll get better over time with software updates.

Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) review: Smart home compatibility

The Google Nest Cam Indoor obviously works with Google Home, but it also works with Alexa. You won't get anywhere near the same features in the Alexa app as you will in Google Home, and you'll still need to use Google Home to set the camera up. But, if you use Alexa devices like an Echo Show in your home, you'll at least be able to view a live feed of the camera and control some aspects of it using Alexa. There's no other integration — so you won't be able to use the camera with HomeKit or any other platform.

To get the most out of the camera, you'll probably want to be a Google Home user. That's no surprise — more smart home interoperability is coming with Matter, but the Matter spec still doesn't support cameras, and even if it did, you wouldn't get things like the AI descriptions outside of the Google Home app. Basically, if you’re already invested in Google Home, that’s great — you’ll be able to control the camera with voice commands, set up automations, and integrate it with other Google Home devices. If you’re not using Google Home, however, you’ll want to look elsewhere.

Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) review: Storage and subscription plans

Unlike some other security cameras, the Nest Cam Indoor doesn’t offer any local storage options — there’s no microSD card slot, no USB storage, and no built-in internal storage. That means you’ll need one of Google’s subscription plans to get the most from the camera.

Google has recently killed off Nest Aware in favor of Google Home Premium. Google Home Premium costs $10 per month (or $100 per year) for the Standard plan, and $20 per month (or $200 per year) for the Advanced plan. The annual plans save you a bit of money compared to paying monthly, so if you’re planning to stick with the service long-term, it’s worth opting for the yearly subscription.

The Standard plan gets you 30 days of event-based video history, intelligent alerts for familiar faces, package detection, and more. The Advanced plan bumps that up to 60 days of event-based video history and adds 10 days of 24/7 continuous video recording, along with more detailed event descriptions and the ability to search your video history using Gemini. The Advanced plan is where the real value lies if you want to take full advantage of Gemini’s AI features, but the Standard plan should be sufficient for most users who just want to review recent events.

It’s worth noting that you can also get the Standard plan included with Google One AI Pro, and the Advanced plan with Google One AI Ultra. If you’re already subscribed to one of those plans, you’ll get Google Home Premium as part of the package. Alternatively, you can mix and match — pay $10 per month on top of your AI Pro plan for Google Home Advanced. Without a subscription, you’ll only get 6 hours of event video previews with 10-second clips, which is pretty limited and probably won’t be enough for most users who actually want to use the camera for security purposes.

Google Nest Cam Indoor (wired, 3rd gen) review: Verdict

The Google Nest Cam Indoor is an excellent camera overall, and is easy to recommend for those already invested in Google’s ecosystem. The design is sleek, the video quality is good, and the Google Home app works well. The Google Home Premium subscriptions are useful, particularly if you want to take advantage of the AI-powered features, however for most users who only have a few devices, the Standard plan should be more than enough. The Advanced plan may come in handy for those with a lot of smart home products.

As a whole the Nest Cam Indoor is a great camera for Google fans who want a reliable, high-quality indoor security camera. As the AI features continue to improve over time, the camera will only get better, making it a solid choice for anyone looking to build out their Google Home setup.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

More than a third of Americans have been victims of porch pirates at least once according to ADT, but why? It’s an ideal crime of opportunity and if the item on your porch happens to be expensive or very popular, then it also has high resale value.

Over the past few years, there's been a tremendous increase in online shopping and that's made package theft a high value crime. For instance, in a recent report, Security.org revealed that package thieves stole over $8 billion dollars worth of online orders last year and each package was worth an average of $222.

While some may consider package theft a more minor crime, it's becoming such a large scale issue that some lawmakers are moving to make it a federal crime akin to tampering with postal mail. Though most online retailers have a system in place for when packages go missing, you still have to spend your time going through the process and waiting for a replacement or refund.

A replacement or refund also won't work in certain situations like having your kids present in time for Christmas. The point is, you ordered something online to have it arrive at your house because you needed it, so let's make sure all your packages arrive safely. Here are some recommended steps you can take to stop porch pirates for good ahead of the holidays

Banish porch pirates: Actions you can take

There are a few ways to keep your house from looking attractive to porch pirates: keep bushes and foliage cut back from the porch to keep shadows and dark areas to a minimum, and make sure that you're not letting bulbs burn out in porch lights or in the lights in your yard.

Next, if you have a regular delivery driver get to know them. You can ask them to leave packages in a spot that's out of sight from passerby's and they may notice if someone is keeping watch on your house, too. Also, get to know your neighbors, if possible, either in person or online so you can watch out for each other, especially when it gets closer to major shopping holidays when you're expecting more deliveries.

If you know you'll be expecting a lot of packages, or a particularly important package, consider having it shipped to the store location. UPS or FedEx will often allow customers to pick up at store locations. Likewise, many offices may allow you to have a package delivered at your workplace if there's a mailroom that can keep your parcel, and information, secure. But you'll need to ask the appropriate people about those policies first.

When making an order, you can request that a signature be required upon delivery. That means that unless someone is home to sign for the package, it won't be delivered — and it certainly won't be left unattended on your stoop. However, that obviously means someone will have to be home to receive it which may be a different issue.

The last option is a package receiving service. You can sign up with a major delivery company for a rental locker; USPS deliveries can often be held at a local post office as well. They will typically charge a monthly fee for a secure locker located near you where you can have packages delivered. This could be a convenient option if it's close enough to where you live or work but would still require you to pick the package up and get it home.

Banish porch pirates: Products you can buy

There are dozens of products available to solve the porch pirate problem, some that may work better for your household than others. And some that may work together to help make your porch a less attractive target. Here are some things to start outfitting your porch to make it more secure.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best Ring doorbell: Which Ring Video Doorbell should you buy?
• Best outdoor security cameras in 2025
• 5 things to think about when buying and installing an outdoor security camera

During the holiday shopping season, there are often a load of Black Friday deals on video doorbells, making it an excellent time to upgrade your home security for less. But, with many products at deep discounts, it can be tough to decide which video doorbell you should get.

I've been overseeing our guide to the best video doorbells for more than five years, and have come up with five simple things you should consider before buying one for your door.

Camera resolution

At this point, you should not get a video doorbell that doesn't have at least a resolution of 1080p, or something similarly high, such as 1536 x 1536. Some of the best video doorbells have even higher resolutions — for example, the newest Ring Wired Doorbell Pro has a 4K camera which, when coupled with HDR, allows for not just sharp video, but also lets you better see further into your yard.

Field of view

When video doorbells first arrived on the scene, the cameras that they used were largely off-the-shelf components, which meant that they gave you a wide field of view, but not one that was well-suited for the front of your door.

Now, most video doorbells have either a square or vertically oriented field of view, which means that the camera can better capture what's at the foot of your door, which helps you better see if someone has left a package.

Some video doorbells, like the Eufy Video Doorbell Dual, even have two cameras — one that points straight ahead, and one that looks at the foot of your door — so that you can see things even better.

Package and person detection

Package detection has become a near-ubiquitous feature for most video doorbells, so you should not get one that lacks this feature. Especially around the holiday season, it's important to see when something has been delivered — and if someone tries to swipe it from your stoop.

Most video doorbells also support person detection, which helps filter out unwanted notifications such as cars passing by. Certain Eufy, Google, and Ring video doorbells even have a Familiar Faces feature, where they can recognize family and friends that you've added to the system, to deliver even more customized notifications.

Local storage and battery backup

What happens to your video doorbell if your power or internet goes out? If you want a little extra peace of mind, you'll want to choose a model that can run on battery power, and is capable of storing video footage locally - whether that's on the doorbell itself, or on a hub inside your house.

Google's Nest Doorbell (battery) can store up to three hours of footage locally. The Eufy Video Doorbell E340 also has battery backup and local storage. Ring's battery-powered video doorbells can also store local footage, but only if you have a Ring Alarm Pro security system. Blink's video doorbell also has battery backup, and can save video locally to the Blink Sync module — but you've got to make sure that device can also get power in case of a blackout.

Subscription costs

Unfortunately, there's more to a video doorbell than just the cost of the device itself. Most of the best video doorbells require you to sign up for a subscription in order to use many of their features, like the ability to save video footage, or get package alerts. Some companies that have subscription-free doorbells will charge more upfront for their products, but you'll end up saving more over the long term.

Before you purchase a video doorbell, take a look to see how much it will cost you per year to use the device. For most companies that require a subscription, it's often more cost-effective to get a multiple-device subscription, so that you can outfit your house with not just a video doorbell, but security cameras as well.

Everyone wants one of the best home security cameras to help secure their homes, but not everyone wants to sign up for yet another subscription fee in order to do so. And many smart security cameras have features, like person and package detection, that are locked behind subscriptions.

However, that isn't the case for the models on this list. Brands like Eufy, Wyze and Reolink offer local storage, usually courtesy of a microSD card slot, which allow you to store your footage without requiring you to pay a monthly fee.

That means you can purchase multiple cameras and secure your home without worrying about tacking on any additional costs, and these brands have excellent features and multiple models available – so you can choose from small indoor cameras to watch out for pets and kids, a budget outdoor camera that can keep an eye on an alleyway or even purchase a solar model that requires no power supply at all.

Either way, you'll wanted to take advantage of these deals before Cyber Monday ends on home security cameras that I can personally recommend based on our extensive real-world testing and reviews. You'll have to hurry as many of these sales are over at the end of the day.

Quick Links

• Reolink 4MP Indoor Security Camera E1: was $40 now $25 @ Amazon
• Reolink First 4K Solar Security Camera: was $150 now $97 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security Indoor Cam C210: was $30 now $25 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security Indoor Cam S350: was $140 now $79 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security S330: was $220 now $129 @ Amazon
• Wyze Cam OG Indoor/Outdoor: was $30 now $14 @ Amazon
• Wyze Cam Pan v4: was $60 now $49 @ Amazon

Home Security Camera Deals

For more great discounts be sure to check out our Cyber Monday deals live blog right now.

If you haven't already invested in a video doorbell, the holiday season is the perfect reason to do so, from preventing porch pirates stealing holiday packages to having an easy way to allow guests inside when you’re still stuck in traffic. Now that Black Friday is here, tech deals are popping up left and right – including some great deals on the best video doorbells.

After reviewing dozens of video doorbells, we know which features and brands make are worth buying and what price points make for a great deal. You actually don’t have to spend a lot to protect your home and your packages with a dependable and functional video doorbell; these are all $140 or less, and some are on sale for only $50.

Be sure to keep an eye out for even bigger deals as on everything you need to upgrade your home - but a new video doorbell is a great place to start.

Quick links

• Ring Battery Doorbell: was $99 now $49 @ Amazon
• Arlo Video Doorbell 2K: was $59 now $49 @ Amazon
• Arlo Video Doorbell HD: was $79 now $51 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security Wireless Video Doorbell E340: was $149 now $89 @ Amazon
• ecobee Smart Video Doorbell (Wired): was $159 now $119 @ Amazon
• Ring Wired Doorbell Pro: was $229 now $129 @ Amazon
• Eufy Video Doorbell E340 with Rechargeable Battery: was $199 now $119 @ Amazon
• Google Nest Doorbell, Wired (3rd Gen): was $179 now $139 @ Amazon
• Eufy Video Doorbell E340 with Chime: was $219 now $129 @ Amazon

Best Black Friday video doorbell deals

What to look for in a video doorbell deal

As with any home technology purchase, you’ll want to sort out which features are important to you – and which ones are requirements to your home – before you hit that buy button. Here’s what you need to know as we ramp up to those Black Friday deals.

Battery vs wired

If you’re already well versed in the world of video doorbells, and have installed a few in an easy-to-access location, then a wired video doorbell isn’t an issue for you. However, if you need to put your video doorbell someplace where there isn’t any power, you’ll want to look into battery-operated models. Just keep in mind, those batteries will need to be changed or recharged at some point.

Field of view

It’s important to consider what area you’re looking to capture with your video doorbell’s camera. Newer models have a more vertical or squarer field of view, meaning you won’t see as much side-to-side, though you will see things closer to the foot of your door–which is ideal for viewing package deliveries.

Package detection

While more and more models feature package detection, some of them have it as a subscription feature, so if that’s something that’s important to you, make sure it’s specifically mentioned as an included feature, like with the Eufy and ecobee models.

For more discounts, check out our Amazon Black Friday deals live blog.

Shop today's best Black Friday deals

• Amazon: 50% off Ring, Ninja, AirPods and more
• Walmart Plus: 50% off @ Walmart
• REI: half-off Arc'teryx, Patagonia, more
• Dell: monitors from $69, laptops from $299
• Nectar: 50% off mattresses + bundles
• Best Buy: laptops from $149
• Lenovo: doorbuster deals from $319
• Wayfair: up to 80% off home decor
• Lululemon: top picks from $9
• Newegg: Doorbuster deals from $6
• Walmart: holiday gifts from $15
• Birkenstock: deals from $20 @ Nordstrom
• Saatva: luxury mattresses from $1,099

I'm an anxious traveller, especially when my travels involve flying and sitting in a plane for nearly 10 hours. Though I live in the U.K., I make a trip back home to India once or twice a year, and when I'm away for weeks on end, a nagging worry about the safety of my apartment is always at the back of my head. But having one of the best home security cameras can help ease that anxiety.

While I was away for three weeks this month, I opted for a cute, tiny home security robot that let me monitor my apartment even when I was 4,000 miles away. I'm talking about the Enabot Ebo Air, a robot companion that recently went viral on TikTok — and for good reason. And now that we're making our way towards this year's Black Friday sales, the Ebo Air is cheaper than ever, currently available for just $139 at Amazon!

There's a lot to love about the Ebo Air. Firstly, it's extremely easy to set up. You don't need a paid subscription to access its features. All you need to do is plug the charging dock into the mains, place the robot on the dock, and download the free Rola app on iOS or Android. Pairing the Ebo Air to the app takes just under five minutes. You'll need to insert the included microSD card into the robot so that it can save videos and photos, as there's no cloud storage.

Once that's all done, you can use the app to access the Ebo Air's camera and monitor your apartment, regardless of where in the world you are — as long as the Ebo Air is connected to Wi-Fi, and your smartphone is connected to either Wi-Fi or mobile data. What's even better is that the 1080P HD camera features fantastic low-light performance too, so you can view the robot's surroundings even when the lights in your apartment are turned off.

And that's not all. The Ebo Air is fitted with wheels so you can use the app to move, at varying speeds, around your apartment. Having this feature meant that I could move the robot around my apartment and take a look at my plants to see if they were doing alright. The Ebo Air can then return to the charging dock with the simple press of a button.

There are a few home security modes available. For instance, you can program the Ebo Air to go around your apartment or house at a set time and record everything, or you can enable fixed-position monitoring, during which the Ebo Air will stay in the charging dock. I opted for the latter with human recognition enabled, so instead of recording consistently, the Ebo Air records only when movement is detected, and it sends a notification to your phone.

Luckily, no movement was detected while I was away, but I know it works very well as I tested it out both my partner and I being home and entering and exiting the room where the Ebo Air was stationed. Movement notifications were instantaneous, and it gave me peace of mind knowing that even though I was 4,000 miles away, I knew what was going on at my apartment.

I also have to give credit to the Ebo Air's build quality. It's built robustly and it's extremely sturdy. It survived a tumble down my kitchen counter when I accidentally steered it off. To my surprise, nothing happened to it! So you can rest assured that you're getting bang for your buck.

If you're looking for a home security camera and robot and don't want to spend too much money on one, you're in luck. The Enabot Ebo Air is currently 30% off at Amazon for Black Friday, and who knows how long this deal will last? I'd grab it right now if I were you! For more killer deals, don't forget to tune into our Black Friday deals live blog.

Shop today's best Black Friday deals

• Amazon: 50% off Ring, Ninja, Under Armour and more
• REI: half-off Arc'teryx, Patagonia and more
• Walmart: holiday gifts from $15
• Dell: monitors from $69, laptops from $249
• Nectar: 50% off mattresses + 66% off bundles
• Best Buy: laptops from $149
• Lenovo: doorbuster laptop deals from $319
• Wayfair: up to 80% off home decor
• Nike: apparel/sneakers from $7
• Lululemon: top picks from $9
• Birkenstock: deals from $20 @ Nordstrom
• Saatva: luxury mattresses from $1,099

Installing security cameras inside your house is a great way to keep an eye on your kids, pets and everything else going on inside your home. However, for complete coverage of your entire property, you’re going to need a few of the best outdoor security cameras too and thanks to Black Friday deals, you can save big on our favorite models from Ring, Google Nest, Eufy, Wyze and more.

With the holidays coming up, there’s never been a better time to pick up a few outdoor security cameras to keep an eye on places like your driveway, garage, backyard and the rest of those high-traffic areas around your home. These deals let you do just that for less and right now, you can pick up the Ring Outdoor Cam in a two-pack for just $90. Don’t want another monthly subscription to monitor your home? The solar-powered Eufy SoloCam S220 is half off and has 8GB of built-in storage which lets you save clips directly to the camera.

There are plenty of other outdoor security camera deals I personally recommend based on our extensive real-world testing and reviews down below. And if you don’t see something you like right now, keep checking back as I’ll be updating this guide through Black Friday and beyond.

Quick Links

• Ring Outdoor Cam, 2 Pack: was $150 now $89 @ Amazon
• Nest Cam Outdoor, Wired (2nd Gen): was $150 now $119 @ Amazon
• Arlo Essential Pan Tilt 2K, 2 Pack: was $120 now $59 @ Amazon
• Blink Outdoor 2K+, 2 Pack: was $160 now $79 @ Amazon
• Wyze Wireless Outdoor Camera: was $90 now $69 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security SoloCam S220: was $100 now $49 @ Amazon
• Reolink 4K Outdoor Security Camera: was $85 now $67 @ Amazon

Black Friday Outdoor Security Camera Deals

Shop today's best Black Friday deals

• Amazon: 50% off Ring, Ninja, AirPods and more
• Walmart Plus: 50% off @ Walmart
• REI: half-off Arc'teryx, Patagonia, more
• Dell: monitors from $69, laptops from $299
• Nectar: 50% off mattresses + bundles
• Best Buy: laptops from $149
• Lenovo: doorbuster deals from $319
• Wayfair: up to 80% off home decor
• Lululemon: top picks from $9
• Newegg: Doorbuster deals from $6
• Walmart: holiday gifts from $15
• Birkenstock: deals from $20 @ Nordstrom
• Saatva: luxury mattresses from $1,099

When you start shopping for an outdoor security camera you may be thinking that price should be your most important consideration – but honestly, that's not on our list here. You might be thinking brand of camera, or specs, reviews or features. But those aren't on this list either. And it's true that you should consider those things as well, they can and should matter to you depending on your needs and requirements.

However, of all the things you should take into consideration when you shop for one of the best outdoor security cameras for the exterior of your property, there are five things that are top of the list when it comes to importance. We discuss them all below, and explain why, but when it comes to brand, price and features, that'll be up to your personal needs and preferences which can really vary from household to household and from person to person.

1. The outdoor elements it will be exposed to

Just because something says "outdoors" on the label, doesn't necessarily mean it will survive the extremities of your climate. Make sure that the outdoor security camera you buy is ready for your climate by checking the IP rating: it should be IP65 or higher. IP65 indicates that the camera is protected against dust and slightly water exposure like rain.

Higher IP ratings, like IP66 will be good for more water exposure. IP66 will work for increased water resistance and a rating of IP67 means the camera can even be submerged for short periods of time. Ideally, the camera should still be positioned somewhere that it has some protection from constant water exposure like under an overhang or eave because this will extend the lifespan of the hardware by preventing water buildup.

You should also check the listed operating temperature range for the camera, especially if you live somewhere where the temperatures climb into the higher, or lower, ranges.

2. Your video quality and night vision requirements

If the video quality from your outdoor security camera is too blurry to pick up details like a face or license plate, then it's not as useful to you as one that does. You're looking for a minimum of 1080p Full HD resolution – and that should be relatively easy as many outdoor security cameras these days will offer that or even higher, at 2K or 4K resolution.

You'll also have options for night vision: infrared (IR) or color night vision. The difference here is that infrared provides clear, black and white footage down to totally dark situations, and is considered reliable, while color night vision uses a built-in spotlight or sensor that can provide more detail to a feed by showing colors at night. This means a sensor or spotlight will also have to stay operational for your night vision feed to be visible. Something else to keep in mind is if your camera will be facing any large windows or reflective surfaces which may cause glare or ruin your image.

3. Power and connectivity sources

Here, we're looking at wired vs. wireless cameras. The options to consider are how is the camera going to receive power and how will it be transmitting data. Both answers are going to determine how you can set up your outdoor security camera and how reliable it will be. Check options for power sources, and check Wi-Fi signal strength before you choose a camera model or begin an installation.

A wired outdoor security camera will have continuous power, provided by a cable, and some can use a single cable for both power and internet (Power over Ethernet). Wireless options use batteries, and often will require a Wi-Fi connection. That will make them easier to install, as there are no cables, but does mean they'll need to be periodically recharged so they'll need to be placed somewhere they can be accessed. Also, battery powered models often only start recording when they sense motion in order to conserve power.

4. How it stores footage

You'll need a way to access and store the footage you capture from the camera; some outdoor security cameras will come with local storage, usually via an onboard microSD card slot, sometimes a base station. This comes as a one time cost, but if you lose the microSD card or the base station is stolen or damaged, you also lose your footage.

Most people opt for secure cloud storage, which is hosted by the company that provides the outdoor security camera. This means that footage is immediately uploaded and available online, which keeps it secure, but does require a monthly or annual subscription fee. Things to keep in mind when deciding between the two is how many days of video history you'll want. Subscriptions often keep between 30-90 at a time, but if you're comfortable managing your own hard drive, you can hold as much as you want.

5. Potential installation locations

We've written about this before, but when it comes to places where you can put an outdoor security camera there are good places (and just plain bad places). Essentially, you're looking to minimize any blind spots and maximize the angles of the video capture.

Make sure to mount the camera high enough so it’s out of easy reach (and cannot be stolen) but low enough so it can still capture a clear image of a person’s face. Focus on key entry points like the front door and the garage, and make sure the camera is positioned so its looking across the area of interest rather than straight down at the ground. A slight downward angle is ideal for capturing faces and motion over a wide area. Avoid pointing the lens at angles that will get direct sunlight, as this will cause flare and overexposure.

More from Tom's Guide

• TP-Link Tapo C660 Kit review: Crisp video and everlasting power
• Wyze Cam Pan v4 review: The best budget 4K security camera
• Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro Review: This security camera doubles as a smart home hub - and does both well

If there's one smart home device everyone seems eager to add to their house hold it's a home security camera – and that makes sense. There are a lot of benefits to having one (or more) of the best home security cameras watching over the inside or outside of your property. It can give families a great peace of mind to know they're protected, it can lower your insurance rates and it can be fun seeing what kind of wildlife are visiting your backyard when you're not around.

However, it can also seem intimidating if you've never had a home security system, had a lot of experience with smart cameras, or are nervous about adding new technology to your home. There are a lot of options and choices, and no one wants to wind up with something that doesn't work well for their home. Below are five pitfalls to avoid when purchasing a security camera for your home – simple steps to keep in mind when shopping, setting up and installing a quality home security camera.

1. Forgetting about data security and passwords

Never forget, your home security camera is still an internet connected device which means it still requires the proper attention to set up and security. Otherwise, it's jut another easy gateway for cybercriminals and hackers to gain access to your network or your camera feed.

Avoid this by changing the default passwords on your home security cameras immediately upon set up to strong, unique passphrases and use two-factor or multi-factor authentication on the companion app on your smartphone. Also, check to see how often the firmware updates are released by the manufacturer, these are important as they'll often patch critical security flaws.

2. Miscalculating power needs and/or Wi-Fi strength

How reliable, and useful, your home security camera is will all depend on its power source and connectivity strength so where you install it is going to matter in a pretty serious way. If you're opting for a wireless model that uses battery power, it might be easier to install but those batteries will be affected by colder temperatures and frequent activity (like a busy driveway or side street). That means they'll need to be recharged more often.

On the other hand, if you're going with a wired model, you'll need to check your power options and your Wi-Fi signal strength before you start drilling and mounting to make sure that it's worth selecting that spot for your installation. Otherwise, you'll get a choppy feed that may stutter or drop out entirely which does you little good.

3. Buying a camera without considering the environment

Last year, we had snow at my house for four months straight so any technology that goes outside has to be able to withstand sub-zero temperatures for days on end. If you live in climates that get very cold, or alternatively, very hot, you need to make sure that the home security camera you're purchasing can handle those swings – and indoor cameras will not be rated for that. Check IP ratings for the device and look for a minimum of IP65 for outdoor security cameras.

Similarly, consider the night vision quality for both interior and exterior cameras: If you expect detail in the dark, you're going to want to see either IR or color night vision as one of the features. For field of view, at least 130 degrees is considered acceptable for general coverage, and most indoor cameras are considered too narrow of an angle to cover outdoor spaces.

4. Not checking for subscription fees

While some cameras have an excellent brand reputation, specs, features and reviews – and a low price – they may also come with add-on costs that may not be apparently until you read about the features. Many companies will offer hardware at a range of prices, with some indoor home security cameras going for less than $50, however a lot of the features are only available if you purchase a monthly or annual subscription plan as well.

That means a lot of the benefits of the device that you may want, like cloud storage or person and package detection, may only be unlocked if you sign up for a monthly fee. Before you buy a security camera, make sure you understand which features are included and which are only unlocked with a subscription as well as how the camera stores the feed: Is it onboard the device with a microSD card? Or only through the cloud?

5. Ignoring ecosystems and compatibility

If this is your first home security camera, and you don't own any other smart home devices or you don't care if your home security camera pairs with your other devices, then it's probably not important to you what you buy. However, many people would like to simplify what they buy into one ecosystem or brand so their devices can all "talk" and they can use them together.

If that's the case for you, then you should make sure that the home security cameras you buy are compatible with – or the same brand as – your other smart home products so they will integrate into whatever your existing hardware is. That way, your new cameras can work alongside your smart doorbell or smart assistants. Many home security cameras will clearly state if they work with Amazon Alexa, Google Home or Apple Homekit so buyers will know how to best scale together their systems.

More from Tom's Guide

• Win! Get $280 off our favorite no-subscription security camera
• Best Black Friday Ring video doorbell deals — 5 early sales to shop now
• Wyze Cam Pan v4 review: The best budget 4K security camera

Black Friday sales are the perfect time to shop for anything on the top of your wishlist — and often even items at the bottom. If you've been considering adding some smarts to your home security, or even just worrying about that package delivery while on your much-deserved holiday, you're not alone.

According to new research commissioned by Amazon, 57% of Aussies worry about things back home when on holiday, such as parcel deliveries, pets, or car security, and 63% say they’d relax more if they could check on their home virtually. Thankfully, Amazon’s currently offering some very affordable ways to join the security-cam bandwagon.

During Amazon's Black Friday sale, the retailer's own budget home security brand Blink has been on the receiving end of some mighty impressive discounts, with indoor cameras starting at just AU$17. Grabbing a bargain on your home security system will pay off in peace of mind, especially if you’ve got a post-Christmas escape planned.

We've rounded up our favourite picks below, ranging from indoor cameras and video doorbells. If these don't quite tickle your fancy, there's a full list of deals on Blink's Amazon storefront that are sure to cover all your home security needs. Do keep in mind that Blink's cameras come with a 30-day free trial to its subscription plan, which includes features like cloud footage backup and person detection. After the trial period, Blink's plans start from AU$4.95p/m for a basic subscription.

You'll need to act fast to nab these discounts, though — Blink's deals finish on Cyber Monday — December 1, 2025.

Best Blink Home Security deals

Now that we're in the thick of Black Friday, Amazon is offering deals on Ring video doorbells and security cameras, so you can pick up some extra security for your home for less.

We've tested nearly every Ring doorbell and camera the company has made, so we have a strong sense as to what makes for the best Ring doorbells — and which Ring doorbell deals are truly the best.

Ring recently launched two new doorbells, the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd gen) and the Ring Wired Doorbell Plus, which have 4K and 2K cameras respectively and a new design. It's unlikely that you'll see them on sale, though they will be bundled with other items. However, all of Ring's previous generation devices are getting a deep discount this holiday season. Here are the best Black Friday Ring Video Doorbell deals we've found so far.

Quick Links

• Ring Battery Doorbell: was $99 now $49 @ Amazon
• Ring Battery Doorbell Plus: was $149 now $79 @ Amazon
• Ring Battery Doorbell with Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam (White): was $139 now $79 @ Amazon
• Ring Battery Doorbell Pro: was $199 now $129 @ Amazon
• Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (2nd gen): was $229 now $129 @ Amazon
• Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (3rd gen) with Chime: was $284 now $269 @ Amazon
• Ring Ring Wired Doorbell Plus (2nd gen) with Floodlight Cam Plus: was $359 now $279 @ Amazon

Ring Video Doorbell deals

Ring Video Doorbell deals: What to look for

As I mentioned in the intro, most of the Ring doorbell deals so far have been for its previous generation of devices, which aren't bad, but don't have as high a resolution as the models it introduced this year.

While Amazon has labeled a lot of Ring's products as "newest model," the ones that are truly new will have the word "Retinal" in their titles.

The good news is that all of the last-gen models (as well as the newest ones) all support person and package detection, so you'll know when someone leaves something at your door. However, you will need to sign up for a Ring subscription, which starts at $4.99/month.

As we get closer to Black Friday itself, Amazon is most likely going to bundle Ring video doorbells with other devices, such as an indoor or outdoor security camera, or an Alexa-enabled smart display, like the Amazon Echo Show 5. It's a good way to get both items on sale, and you can use the Echo Show 5 (as well as any other Amazon smart display) to view live video from the Ring doorbell, and talk with the person at your door.

• Best video doorbells: Who takes the top spot?
• Best Ring Video Doorbells

• Amazon: 50% off Ring, Ninja, AirPods and more
• Walmart Plus: 50% off @ Walmart
• REI: half-off Arc'teryx, Patagonia, more
• Dell: monitors from $69, laptops from $299
• Nectar: 50% off mattresses + bundles
• Best Buy: laptops from $149
• Lenovo: doorbuster deals from $319
• Wayfair: up to 80% off home decor
• Lululemon: top picks from $9
• Newegg: Doorbuster deals from $6
• Walmart: holiday gifts from $15
• Birkenstock: deals from $20 @ Nordstrom
• Saatva: luxury mattresses from $1,099

Shop today's best Black Friday deals

For more discounts, check out our Amazon Black Friday deals live blog.

It's been almost a month since the brazen robbery at the Louvre where $101 million worth of jewelry was stolen in broad daylight. And while four suspects have since been arrested, the focus has now fallen on the weakness of the museum's security systems which had apparently gone unaddressed for long periods of time.

Multiple publications including Cybernews and Tom's Hardware cite the French publication Libération as a source, via machine translation, regarding the details of a 2017 security audit from the ANSSI (French National Agency for the Security of Information Systems). The audit stated that the threat of an attack with "potentially dramatic consequences could no longer be ignored."

Additionally, a museum curator was quoted as saying “What I can testify to is that the Louvre’s management was fully aware of the … not of the weakness, but of the need to have a fresh look at the security system of the entire museum.”

The longstanding weaknesses of the system include using an outdated version of operating systems on the museums computers, not having enough video surveillance coverage of the massive museum itself, and perhaps most often noted by news stories, having "LOUVRE" as the password to the video surveillance system.

The last example is perhaps least surprising given how bad most passwords are – which is exactly why many companies are moving away from them altogether.

According to CompariTech which released a report on Thursday, "123456" is the worst password of the year (for at least the second year in a row). More than 7.61 million accounts leaked on a data breach forum this year had “123456” as their password.

This year's list of most uses/worst passwords are all, well, terrible. In addition to "123456" the top ten include "admin," "password," and "1234." Passwords are already on their way out, as many companies from Google to Microsoft move to the more secure passkey technology, and this report proves that the adoption of a more secure method is essential as users will simply default to the easiest or laziest option instead of taking time to properly secure their accounts.

Here are three ways you can make your home more secure than the now infamous Louvre, starting with your password.

1. Don't use your name as your password

In 2014 the password to the museum’s video surveillance systems’s was the name of the museum itself – LOUVRE – the same audit showed that another system built by defense and cybersecurity company Thales, used THALES to access credentials. It's unclear whether or not these were default passwords that were left in place, or if they were purposefully chosen as the secure passwords for the organization.

However, either way, I think that in the year of our internet 2025 we should all be able to do better than our own names, our spouse's names, kids names or pets names as passwords. I can literally come up with three better passwords right now off the top of my head: PurpleMonkeyDishwasher. ArianaGrandestarsinWicked. Fridayisthelastdayintheweek.

All of those are phrases, contain more than twelve characters and aren't easily associated with anything that could be brute force guessed about my life. That makes them much harder to crack.

CTO at Dashlane, Frederic Rivain, was quoted by Cybernews suggesting that companies make better passwords by using one of the best password managers, by enabling multi-factor authentication or by switching to passkeys. And I recommend that advice for private individuals as well.

2. Update your operating system

Whether you manually update your computer's operating system regularly, or automate it, making sure that you're running the most up-to-date patches and updates against all the most recent malware, spyware, infostealers and ransomware.

According to reports, the Louvre's automated network was using computers equipped with Windows 2000. Support for Windows 2000 ended in 2010 which means that the museum's computers were not receiving any updates, patches or protections against any current malware. They systems were vulnerable to all manner of viruses or threats; according to the Libération, the museum was still running the outdating operating systems as late as 2021.

3. invest in well placed cameras

The Louvre is epically huge, at over 652,000 square feet, and according to a 2024 report 61% of it had no CCTV coverage. Covering that area is a daunting task, however, since it's unlikely that you have to deal with 37 hectares, it'll be a lot easier to get decent coverage with smart home security cameras if you start with the right areas.

First, cover your front entrance, then make sure that the most frequently used entrances have coverage. Sometimes that might be a back door, garage door or side door.

Next, make sure a camera is watching your garage and/or driveway – garages are common break in points both because they often contain expensive goodies like bicycles or tools and because they're harder to watch and hear as they’re often separate or removed from a home.

Last, put a camera up watching the backyard, deck or patio so you have a wide field of view over back entrances, as well as fences, gates, sheds, children playing or even wildlife passing through.

Make sure you’re avoiding low mounts on fences, which could get stolen, anything that faces a neighbors property and cameras pointed at a window (which will only reflect back).

How to make better passwords

If you must use a password, and insist upon not using one of the best password managers or a passkey, here are some tips to make sure you can create your own unique, strong passwords.

Make your password a phrase, and use at least twelve characters. The longer the password, the longer it will take to crack; CompariTech showed that nearly 66% of stolen passwords had less than twelve characters. Use a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and characters.

Change your passwords frequently, especially for high profile accounts like banking, email or social media. If you're concerned about a password that may have been involved in a leak or breach, you can check it in the Cybernews Password Leak Check. Also, if you'd like to see how secure a password is, you can check it out beforehand in the Nordpass How Secure is My Password site.

More from Tom's Guide

• The best password managers in 2025
• I ditched my passwords for passkeys on these 3 popular services — and it took me less than 10 minutes
• The 3 best places to put a home security camera — and the 3 worst

These days, one of the best home security cameras is an essential part of any home and there are plenty of steep discounts to be had on our favorite models right now in Amazon's October Prime Day sale.

From securing your home from intruders to keeping an eye on pets or kids, investing in a few indoor and outdoor security cameras is absolutely worth it. The good news is there are so many excellent models available that it's easy to pick one for almost any need or task – whether you need a budget outdoor camera to watch your garage or want a top of the line offline option for the entire interior of your home.

Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days has plenty of worthwhile deals on some of our favorites from top brands like Google Nest, Ring, Blink, Eufy and Wyze. While some premium models are half off, more budget-friendly options have also been heavily discounted, making them an even better buy.

Either way, now is the best time to take advantage of these deals on both indoor and outdoor home security cameras which I personally recommend based on our extensive real-world testing and reviews but you'll have to hurry as October Prime Day is more than halfway over.

Quick Links

• Ring Floodlight Cam Wired Pro: was $230 now $160 @ Amazon
• Google Nest Cam Outdoor or Indoor, Battery (2 Pack): was $330 now $260 @ Amazon
• Google Nest Cam with Floodlight: was $280 now $209 @ Amazon
• Wyze Cam v4: was $36 now $26 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security Indoor Cam S350: was $140 now $80 @ Amazon
• Blink Outdoor 4: was $70 now $35 @ Amazon
• Eufy Security Cam 3: was $220 now $130 @ Amazon
• Arlo Ultra 2, two camera system: was $600 now $346 @ Amazon
• Eufy 4G LTE Cam S330: was $250 now $160 @ Amazon

Home Security Camera Deals

For more great discounts be sure to check out our Amazon Prime Day deals live blog right now.

Among other new features announced at Amazon's event, Ring announced Search Party, an AI-powered community feature that turns outdoor Ring cameras into a neighborhood network for finding lost dogs.

The feature launches as pet owners posted over 1 million lost or found pet reports in the Ring app during the last year alone. Search Party uses artificial intelligence to scan outdoor camera footage for dogs matching descriptions of missing pets reported in the app. When a potential match is detected, nearby camera owners receive notifications with images and relevant footage that might help reunite the dog with its family. Rolling out in November to users in the U.S., Ring plans to expand this feature to cats and other animals at a later date.

How Search Party works

When your dog goes missing, you report it in the Ring app with a description and photo of your missing pet. This alert triggers Search Party for outdoor Ring cameras in the surrounding area.

AI analyzes footage from participating outdoor cameras to identify dogs that potentially match the lost pet's description. The system looks for visual matches based on the information provided in the missing dog report.

Camera owners receive notifications when a possible match is detected. The alert includes a picture of the reported lost dog alongside relevant footage from your camera showing the potential match.

You control whether to participate in each Search Party. When you receive an alert about a possible match, you can choose to ignore it or share the footage with the neighbor who reported the lost dog.

The feature reflects Ring's broader vision of using AI to create connected communities where neighbors actively help each other. Search Party represents one application of this community-focused approach to smart home technology.

Compatible Ring devices

Search Party works with the following Ring cameras and doorbells:

Doorbells: All Ring doorbell models are compatible with Search Party and can participate in lost dog alerts.

Floodlight Cams: All models work with the feature to help locate missing pets in your area.

Spotlight Cams: All models support Search Party functionality for finding lost dogs.

Stick Up Cam: All models are eligible only if explicitly set to "Outdoor" Install Type in Device Settings.

Outdoor Cam: All models are eligible only if explicitly set to "Outdoor" Install Type in Device Settings.

We're curious to see how well this feature works, and if it will help set Ring video doorbells apart from the best video doorbells. Now that AI is being integrated into just about every company's product, it's features like this that could differentiate one device from another.

More from Tom's Guide

• 7 Ring video doorbell tips everyone needs to know
• How to put Ring Doorbell motion detection on a schedule
• Make your Ring Doorbell smarter — how to set up quick replies

Wyze has long offered relatively affordable smart home devices that are reasonably high quality. The Wyze Cam in particular has been popular among smart home enthusiasts and those getting started with smart security who may not want to spend much more than necessary. The latest in the series is the Wyze Cam Pan v4, which is built to go beyond the basics with a 4K resolution and a series of smart features while still retaining the affordable price tag.

The new camera is a pretty significant upgrade over the v3 model. Notably, it steps up the resolution, all the way up from 1080p to 4K, while upgrading the night vision tech, adding AI-powered tracking features, and more.

The upgrade comes at a time when we’re starting to see more low-cost, high-quality security cameras — like the new Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K, which has many of the same features. Does Wyze do enough to take the top spot among the best home security cameras?

Wyze Cam Pan v4 review: Price and availability

The Wyze Cam Pan v4 went on sale in the second half of 2025, and is available from the Wyze website and online retailers like Amazon. It costs $59.98 for a single camera. You can also buy it in two or three packs, which gives you a little discount over purchasing them individually.

Wyze Cam Pan v4 review: Design and installation

The overall design of the Wyze Cam Pan v4 is similar to the third-generation model before it, though not exactly the same. There are basically two main parts to it: a base and the camera, both of which are little cubes. These are connected by an arm on the side, which can tilt the camera up or down while the base rotates to pan the camera side to side.

It's not necessarily the most premium looking smart home device out there, but it's also not ugly. It's made mostly from white plastic with a black circle that houses the camera lens and a spotlight for color night vision. Attached to the base is a fixed cable that you'll plug the USB-C cable into. The fact that Wyze hasn't gone for a traditional USB-C connector could make for some durability issues down the line, but if you're careful, it should be fine, given the fact that you likely won't be messing around with the cable very often.

On the bottom of the main camera component is a button that you might use to reset the camera or set it up, along with a rubber door hiding the microSD card slot. Note, I didn’t have to use the Setup button during setup — the camera should enter a pairing mode when it’s first plugged in. But, if it doesn’t you may need to use the button.

The Wyze Cam Pan v4 is IP65-rated, meaning it can be used both indoors or outdoors. That makes it relatively versatile — and more versatile than some competitors.

Setting the camera up is a relatively simple affair. You can opt to simply place the camera on a flat surface or use the included mounting hardware to mount it upside down. I didn't use the mounting hardware, instead placing it on a windowsill, so I didn't really have to do much to physically set it up. After you've positioned the camera, all you have to do is plug it in, then download the Wyze app and either create an account or log into your existing one. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to add the camera to your account.

Once you've added the Wyze Cam Pan v4 to your account, you'll be walked through setting up things like a home position, which is where the camera will return to after it has tracked motion or you have manually moved it. You'll also get some basic instructions on how to use the camera and the app, which is always helpful. If you're impatient or you already know how to use it, you can skip this.

Wyze Cam Pan v4 review: Image and audio performance

As mentioned, one of the headline changes for the Wyze Cam Pan v4 comes in the form of a 4K resolution, which is up from the 1080p resolution on the previous model. It makes a huge difference. I didn’t have the v3 model on-hand to compare with, but I’ve tested plenty of 1080p security cameras, and have two installed in my home (which I only still have because HomeKit Secure Video only supports 1080p). I could tell the difference in detail right away.

It is true that the difference between a 2K and a 4K camera is probably less noticeable than the difference between a 1080p and a 2K camera, but having that 4K resolution is still a pretty impressive improvement over a 2K one, like what's on offer by Arlo's newest model. To that end, the Wyze Cam Pan v4 was able to provide crisp, detailed footage, allowing me to easily see smaller details, and making things like faces and license plates more legible.

I do wish the camera’s lens offered a wider view though. At 105.4 degrees, it’s not able to see as much as many competitors, like Arlo’s pan/tilt camera.

I also found the camera offered vibrant colors during the day. To be clear, this isn’t quite as important as the resolution, but the ability to produce bright colors helped make the image look more accurate. Could that be the difference between catching something and missing it? Probably not, but it certainly can’t hurt.

What does help is the solid dynamic range. Wyze isn’t marketing the camera as supporting HDR, but I did find that it captured decent detail in shadows and highlights. It wasn’t dramatically better than comparably-priced cameras in this area, but it still did well.

Low light performance

Low-light footage was generally crisp, and with the built-in spotlight, the camera was able to capture color night vision. It’s not the most powerful spotlight out there though, so you might still want it to use infrared if you’re using the camera to capture larger environments.

I did find the color footage to be slightly blurry and lacking in detail, especially when there were nearby objects that reflected the light back, and when the camera was moving to track motion. Once it stopped moving, it was usually able to dial in video settings enough to gain some clarity and color-accuracy though.

By default, the spotlight is scheduled to work between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., but you can change it to work based on sunset and sunrise, including setting it to start working a set number of minutes before or after sunset and sunrise. I recommend changing the default to this so you can forget about having to change the schedule depending on the season.

I also wish it could work based on a light sensor — even if it knows when the sun sets and rises, perhaps it actually gets dark a little earlier because it’s cloudy. That’s not a huge deal though, and I found that setting it to start 59 minutes before sunset and after sunrise worked perfectly fine, even on overcast days. You’ll also need to set how long the spotlight stays on after motion stops being detected.

Motion tracking

The camera did a pretty good job at tracking moving objects as they appeared in its vision, but it wasn’t the most responsive to motion. At times. It began recording quickly, but on occasion, it didn’t start recording until well after it should have. On a few occasions, I was alerted to motion from a neighborhood cat in my backyard — but the clip started with the cat right in the middle of the view of the camera.

I could give the camera a pass if the cat had sprinted into view, but given the behavior of the cat in the footage, I doubt that’s what happened — and I’d guess there will have been at least five seconds of motion that should have triggered recording before it actually started.

On one occasion, the recorded clip began with the camera moving from its home position. That means that it did detect motion, and began tracking the cat in the backyard, but didn’t start actually recording until later. This behavior seemed related to the size of the subject in the footage — when I walked directly past the camera, it began recording immediately.

I do hope that audio-based tracking comes to cameras like this at some point. This is obviously much trickier, as the microphones built into these cameras don’t offer any kind of directionality, but with features like alerts for barking or crying, it seems like cameras should at least pan around to look for the source of that audio when they hear it.

Audio quality

The audio experience on the Wyze Cam Pan v4 isn’t bad. The camera picked up voices with decent clarity, however when streaming video through the app, it seemed to cut out quieter sounds (which included quieter voices), compared to after sharing a clip and playing it back offline.

It wasn’t a big deal, but it did impact two-way audio a little. While the camera cleanly played back my voice spoken into my phone, I had to ask the person in front of the camera to repeat themselves once or twice. This isn’t super uncommon, and it wasn’t a huge deal. Again, exported clips still sounded clean though.

Wyze Cam Pan v4 review: App and smart home support

As you would expect, the Wyze Cam Pan V4 works with the Wyze app, which is relatively well-designed and easy to use. From the main screen of the app you'll see a live feed of your cameras, and you can jump through tabs for favorites, all of your devices, and any automations you have set up. The app has screens to show you a list of events. Plus, there's a monitoring tab that will give you an overview of the kinds of events over the course of the day. For example, it will split events up by person, motion, and so on.

If you tap on a device or a camera feed, you'll be taken to its own settings. From there, you can change the positioning of the camera manually, or access features like a siren and a pan scan, which has the camera pan around the scene. You'll also be able to access more in-depth settings like night recording settings, alarm settings, and so on. As you would expect, there are options for setting up motion zones too, which can come in handy.

The Wyze Cam Pan V4 works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT. It's a good selection of smart home integrations, with the notable omission being Apple Home support. That's not completely unexpected, as Apple Home only offers very basic camera support. It doesn't allow for cameras with a resolution higher than 1080p, and there are no controls in Apple Home for things like panning and tilting. So a camera like this wouldn't really work very well in the first place.

Wyze Cam Pan v4 review: Video storage

One of the best things about this camera in particular is that you don't have to rely on cloud storage for your footage if you don't want to. There's a MicroSD card slot built right into the camera, and you can have the camera save footage to it, then access that footage from the app down the line.

Of course, if you prefer cloud storage, Wyze offers a subscription service, which also gives you access to additional features. Without a subscription, you’ll still be able to use the cameras with basic features like motion detection, and local storage.

Upgrade to Wyze Cam Plus ($2.99 per month, $19.99 per year, only supports one camera), and you’ll get 14 days of video storage, rich notifications, smart object recognition (people, animals, and packages), smart audio detection (barking, crying, etc), and more.

Wyze Cam Unlimited ($9.99 per month or $99.99 per year) offers similar features but supports unlimited cameras, though it does also have facial recognition and critical alerts. The most advanced plan is Wyze Cam Unlimited Pro ($19.99 per month, $199.99 per year), which adds AI-powered descriptions and an emergency dispatch feature.

Wyze’s pricing is fairly competitive, but it offers far less video history than other brands. For example, Ring’s plans give you up to 180 days of storage, while Arlo and Google give you 30 and 60 days.

All that to say, while you might be looking at a camera like this for its ability to record locally, and thus not need a subscription, you might end up wanting one anyway, so you can access some of the smarter AI-powered features that work in the cloud. It does make sense that a subscription would be required for those, especially for a camera at this price point. Some cameras, like the Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro, can process some of these smart features locally, but they generally cost more, partially due to the processing power required for local AI processing.

Wyze Cam Pan v4 review: Verdict

The Wyze Cam Pan v4 may not be perfect, but at this price point it’s close. With a 4K resolution, advanced object-tracking features, local storage, and more, it’s easily the best home security camera for those who want a pan/tilt camera at a reasonable price — and even beats many options at far higher prices.

The only exception would be for those deep in another ecosystem. For example, the Arlo Essential Pan Tilt Indoor Camera 2K is a solid option, and while it’s not as good as the Wyze model when it comes to video quality, it’s still a decent choice for those who want to stick with Arlo. For all others, though, the Wyze Cam Pan v4 is the camera to beat.