The Netgear Arlo Professional 2 equipment ($480, £345 or AU$79) is the newest choice for anybody searching for a pair of outdoor-friendly wi-fi safety cameras that may function with out the have to be plugged in to an AC outlet. The set consists of two rechargeable outside safety cameras and a base station you connect with your Wi-Fi router. The battery-powered cameras are weatherproof and designed to go outdoors — so far as your Wi-Fi community will enable. In case you subscribe to an Arlo Smart cloud plan (at additional price), you will get alerts when the cameras see an individual (versus a automobile or your neighbor’s cat) — and movement detection zones to the combo for added safety.
The Arlo Professional 2 cams provide 1080p HD reside streaming, which improves on Netgear’s already stable Arlo and Arlo Pro fashions that delivered lower-resolution 720p HD video. They’re versatile and responsive cameras with a beneficiant 7 days of free event-based cloud storage. However this is the rub: Regardless of help for Alexa and Google Assistant, I had a number of points getting the voice integrations to work, even after scouring help pages and attempting each logical repair.
I like that the Professional 2 is battery-powered just like the $200 Canary Flex, however it’s a must to pay for individual alerts (whereas Canary provides them without spending a dime). On the identical time, the Professional 2’s 7-day free cloud storage is significantly better than Canary’s 24 hours. The Professional 2 does not have as many options because the facial-recognition-enabled $349 Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, nevertheless it requires an influence adapter to work. Remember to try this roundup to be taught much more concerning the different outside safety cameras accessible right now.
Given my expertise, I might advocate that you just give the Arlo Professional 2 cams sturdy consideration for those who’re out there for sturdy Wi-Fi cameras that do not have to be plugged in — however provided that you do not care about voice instructions.
Sturdy function set — with voice management points
Take a peek on the chart beneath to see how the Arlo Professional 2 compares to the Canary Flex and the $180 Logi Circle 2, all of that are indoor/outside cameras:
Evaluating indoor-outdoor safety cameras
| Netgear Arlo Professional 2 | Canary Flex | Logi Circle 2 (wired mannequin) | |
| Value | $480, £345 or AU$799 (two-camera equipment, plus required hub) | $200, £159 or about AU$280 | $180, £130 or about AU$230 |
| Colour end | White | Black, white | White |
| Kind | Indoor-outdoor | Indoor-outdoor | Indoor-outdoor |
| Energy supply | Rechargeable battery, energy adapter | Rechargeable battery, energy adapter | Energy adapter |
| Decision | 1080p HD | 1080p HD | 1080p HD |
| Anticipated battery life | Six months | Two months | N/A (should use energy adapter) |
| Discipline of view | 130-degree viewing angle | 116-degree viewing angle | 180-degree viewing angle |
| Dwell streaming | Sure | Sure | Sure |
| Steady recording | No | No | No |
| Cloud storage | Free seven-day event-based video historical past. (Non-obligatory Arlo Good cloud service subscriptions starting from $three to $15 monthly.) | Free 24-hour event-based video historical past. (Non-obligatory 30-day event-based video historical past for $10 monthly.) | Free 24-hour event-based video historical past. (Non-obligatory 14- or 31-day event-based video historical past for $Four or $10 monthly.) |
| Native storage | No | No | No |
| Cell app | Sure, Android and iPhone | Sure, Android and iPhone | Sure, Android and iPhone |
| Internet app | Sure | Sure, with cloud subscription | Sure |
| Night time imaginative and prescient | Sure | Sure | Sure |
| Alerts | Movement, audio (individual alerts wtih Arlo Good) | Movement and individual (package deal detection with cloud subscription) | Movement (individual alerts with Circle Secure Premium subscription) |
| Exercise zones | Sure, with Arlo Good | No | Sure, with Circle Secure Premium subscription |
| Two-way audio | Sure | Sure, with cloud subscription | Sure |
| Working temperature vary | -Four to 113 levels Fahrenheit (-20 to 45 levels Celsius) | -Four to 113 levels Fahrenheit (-20 to 45 levels Celsius) | -Four to 122 levels Fahrenheit (-20 to 50 levels Celsius) |
| Third-party integrations | Amazon Alexa, Apple TV, Google Assistant, IFTTT | Amazon Alexa, Apple TV, Google Assistant, Wink | Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant |
All three of the cameras listed above have 1080p HD reside streaming and integration with Alexa and Google Assistant — this stuff are not thought of “particular” or “superior” options. On the Netgear, meaning you are supposed to have the ability to ask a Google-Assistant or Alexa-enabled system to point out you your digital camera’s reside video feed in your Chromecast-compatible TV or in your Alexa-compatible TV. I sadly discovered each integrations very hit-or-miss.
I particularly tried voice management utilizing a Google Home Max and a Chromecast-enabled Vizio TV. Within the Google House app, seek for Arlo underneath the House Management part. Enter your Arlo app username and password and it’ll join. After that, you are supposed to have the ability to say: “Hey Google, present me the backyard digital camera on the primary TV (or no matter you’ve got named your gadgets).” This integration is quick to configure, however I by no means truly obtained it to work.
It alternated between pulling up random key phrase searches for movies about gardens and telling me the reside feed wasn’t accessible to stream (though it was). I attempted all the things I may consider, confirming that the entire gadgets have been on the identical Wi-Fi community, accurately paired and that I used to be utilizing the right names for the cameras and the Vizio TV.
Connecting to the Arlo talent within the Alexa app was even worse. I entered my login credentials for Arlo, as prompted by the Alexa app no less than a dozen instances over just a few days and obtained this response: “We have been unable to hyperlink Arlo presently. Please attempt once more later.” It ought to be a lot simpler than this.
Netgear additionally has an Apple TV app, however no Siri voice performance. Even so, you should utilize your Apple TV to drag up your Arlo Professional 2 cams. That labored fantastic, however once more, it does not help voice instructions.
All three cameras additionally provide individual alerts — Netgear and Logitech cost for the function whereas Canary provides it without spending a dime.
What actually units Netgear’s Arlo Professional 2 aside is its free cloud storage. Netgear offers you 7 days of free storage; Canary and Logitech solely provide 24 hours of free storage.
Pay a month-to-month price for Arlo Good if you need extra storage and options:
Arlo Good Add-on: $three monthly (per digital camera) for individual detection, movement zones and wealthy notifications.
Arlo Good Premier: $10 monthly for individual detection, movement zones, wealthy notifications and e911. The Premier service additionally extends the video storage interval from one week to 30 days. It really works with as much as 10 Arlo cameras.