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Over the past few years, we’ve seen a renaissance of sorts when it comes to smart home cameras and security. Companies like Eufy and Wyze have shown that you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars to get a great security system, and it’s forced the likes of Nest, Ring, and Arlo to come down in price.
This morning, Google announced an all-new lineup of Nest Cam products, which comes a couple of days after the devices were accidentally leaked by Google. In total, Nest is introducing four new products — Nest Cam (battery), Nest Cam (wired), Nest Doorbell (battery), and Nest Cam with floodlight.
Nest Cam (battery)
Kicking off with the flagship camera, Google has updated its popular Nest Cam with an option that can now be powered with a battery. This removes the need to route cables around your home, and with the IP54 protection, you can mount the Nest Cam outdoors without worrying about potential water damage.
There’s a 2MP sensor capable of recording video at 1080p resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio and HDR. It offers a 6x digital zoom, along with a Night Vision mode thanks to the six 850nm infrared LEDs. Google claims these will provide up to 20-feet of illumination, so you can see exactly what’s going on in the yard. Additionally, the Nest Cam includes a “high quality” speaker and microphone combination that allows for two-way audio and offers noise cancellation.
The Nest Cam has also been updated internally as there’s an on-device machine learning chip paired with a TPU processor. This makes it easier for the security camera to recognize people, animals, and vehicles, along with setting up activity zones. And instead of being locked behind the Nest Aware subscription, these features are available for everyone, for free.
Battery life is where things can get a little bit messy, as it really depends on how “busy” your home or outdoor area is. The Nest Cam includes a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, allowing for wire-free installation, and offers the following estimates for battery life:
- Busy: About 1.5 months battery life with 20-25 recorded events per day
- Typical: About 3 months with 9-12 recorded events/day
- Quiet: About 7 months with 2-4 recorded events/day
The Nest Cam (battery) is available for pre-order starting today for $179.99 and will go on sale starting on August 24th.
Nest Doorbell (battery)
It’s been a little while since we’ve seen Google or Nest release an updated video doorbell. But the wait is over thanks to the all-new Nest Doorbell. There are a few key differences between the new Nest Doorbell and the previous-generation, with the wider 145-degree Field of View (FoV) coming as the biggest change.
With this new camera sensor, the Nest Doorbell is capable of recording HDR video in 1280 x 960 at 30fps. There’s an onboard night mode so that you can still see what’s going on if your porch light is out. You can even opt to go with either a battery-powered operation or wired, depending on your needs.
- Busy: About 1 month battery life with 25-30 recorded events per day
- Typical: About 2.5 months with 13-16 recorded events/day
- Quiet: About 6 months with 2-5 recorded events/day
Going with battery power, the Nest Doorbell will immediately chime soon any of your Google Nest smart speakers or smart displays. Those who want to go the wired route, can wire it like any other doorbell as the power has been upgraded to 8-24 VAC.
The Nest Doorbell (battery) comes in Snow, Linen, Ivy, and Ash, and is available for pre-order for $179.99 ahead of its release on August 24th.
Nest Cam with floodlight
This marks the first time that Google or Nest is trying its hands at an outdoor floodlight. Unlike the Doorbell and new Nest Cam, this floodlight variant requires hard-lined power. It also features similar camera specs to the Nest Cam, as it’s capable of recording 1080p, HDR video, and includes built-in IR lights for night mode.
Because this is essentially a Nest Cam attached to a mount with two floodlights on either side, it also includes the aforementioned machine learning and TPU chip. With this in tow, the Nest Cam with floodlight is not motion-activated, and instead, is “event-activated”. This means that the floodlights will turn on if a person walks by, but won’t if it recognizes something like the neighbors cat roaming the neighborhood.
The Nest Cam with floodlight is priced at $279.99 and only comes in one color. Unfortunately, Google did not provide any indication as to when this new camera would be made available.
Nest Cam (wired)
Last, but certainly not least, there’s an all-new Nest Cam (wired). As the name would suggest, this cannot be used anywhere, and must always be plugged in. The Nest Cam includes a built-in base, although you can also use this with compatible wall mounts.
Positioned as the successor to the original Cam Indoor, this features on-device storage for local backup when the Wi-Fi connection is lost. You won’t find any IP rating of any kind, but it does offer the same main camera as the other Nest Cam’s in today’s announcement.
Perhaps the most enticing aspect of this new indoor security camera is its priced, as you can get one for just $99.99. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for Google to tell us when we can buy one because like the floodlight, the Nest Cam (wired) is only listed as “coming soon”.
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