The smart home space is getting better all the time. The new Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera has debuted and it aims to satisfy indoor and outdoor security needs alike. It connects directly to a Wi-Fi network, ditching the need for a hub and has features ranging from color night vision to a built-in siren. Its wire-free design is powered by rechargeable batteries, ensuring you won’t need to keep AAs or something similar on-hand. Continue reading to learn more.
Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera doesn’t need a hub
The latest security camera from Arlo is here and ready to provide your home with additional peace of mind. It integrates with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT, handily ensuing compatibility with some of the most popular smart home ecosystems.
As its name implies, this model has an integrated spotlight, allowing it to illuminate a given area whenever activity has been detected. A built-in siren can be triggered when motion occurs or a button is manually tapped within the app.
It captures 1080p footage, putting it on equal-footing with most of its competitors. Battery life specifications are a bit of an unknown here as Arlo has yet to make this metric abundantly clear.
“Essential cameras are easy to use, affordable and packed with powerful security features including a bright spotlight, built in siren, and 2-way audio. Echoing the same premium design of our other camera solutions, the Essential Spotlight Camera fits in anywhere, and can be coupled with Arlo’s Smart AI computer vision technology which filters unnecessary alerts and also works with other Arlo cameras, doorbells and Floodlight to create the perfect security solution,” said Tejas Shah, SVP product and chief information officer.
Pricing and availability
The new Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera is available for pre-order starting now and pricing starts at $129.99. A bundle of three cameras will set you back $349.99, bringing the average cost down to roughly $117. It can be purchased in a white or all-black colorway. While only available directly from Arlo right now, the company states these units will roll out to major retailers like Amazon soon.
9to5Toys’ Take
My home security setup is comprised of Blink and Wyze offerings. Both have their own pros and cons. Blink has no cloud storage fees and 2-year battery life, but load times can be a bit slow and each camera retails for around $90 when not on sale. Wyze cameras trade in a cord-free design for an exceptionally-low price tag and snappy load times.
While Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera is arguably more well-known in the tech arena than Blink, it falls short on features like battery life, camera pricing, and online storage costs, when going head-to-head. It’s too bad Arlo chose not to build-in HomeKit support as that would make these a clear option for many iOS users. But nonetheless, Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera looks appears to be a great addition to the company’s ever-growing ecosystem.
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