Two-minute review
Google could also be a relative newcomer to the house safety digicam market, having solely launched its first machine in 2017, however due to helpful options reminiscent of facial recognition and integration with its voice assistant, it’s rapidly turn out to be a revered participant available in the market.
The Google Nest Cam (battery) is the model’s newest safety digicam, and is extremely anticipated after Google discontinued its first two cameras firstly of 2021. It’s additionally Google’s first battery-powered digicam, supplying you with better flexibility as to the place it may be mounted (it may be mains-powered in case you’d favor), and its first that works utterly with the Google Home app, quite than the Nest app.
The Full HD digicam is straightforward to make use of, and is weather-proof, making it appropriate to be used open air or inside. It has a 130-degree discipline of view, and can ship an alert to your smartphone if it detects movement, enabling you to view the digicam’s dwell feed from the Google Home app.
As properly as letting you view the incident in actual time, the Nest Cam (battery) can even retailer video clips for as much as three hours after they’ve been recorded, so you possibly can review them, and in case you pair the digicam with a Nest Aware subscription you’ll be capable of view the footage for as much as 60 days after they’ve been captured. Nest Aware additionally gives entry to the Familiar Face characteristic, that lets you assign names to folks detected by the digicam, and get an alert subsequent time they seem within the digicam's discipline of view.
The digicam has a 6x zoom that permits you to pick particulars within the movies, whereas HDR ensures you possibly can see particulars clearly, even when the environment are significantly brilliant or shadows are being forged. It additionally integrates with Google Assistant, and you may view the digicam’s footage on the display screen of any Google sensible show in your house.
The Google Nest Cam (battery) can retailer as much as 60 minutes of video domestically ought to your Wi-Fi go down or the digicam run out of battery, and as soon as it comes again on-line it'll mechanically add this footage to the cloud in order that it’s viewable within the app, making it splendid in case you undergo with web outages.
At $179.99 / £179.99 /AU$329, the Google Nest Cam (battery) is a mid-range house safety digicam, and is good for many who need flexibility in the place they will set up their digicam, or for many who wish to review footage for a restricted time after it’s captured with out having to pay for a subscription for a cloud storage service.
Google Nest Cam (battery) value and availability
- List value: $179.99 / £179.99 /AU$329
The Google Nest Cam (battery) prices $179.99 / £179.99 / AU$329, and is offered to order now. As we’ve talked about, that is the successor to the Google Nest IQ Indoor, which value $299 / £299 / AU$399 when it launched, and the Google Nest IQ Outdoor, which was out there within the US and the UK, and value $329 / £329 (round AU$425)
The Google Nest Cam (battery) is one among three Google Nest cameras being launched this 12 months. The Google Nest Cam with Floodlight, which is a mains-powered safety digicam flanked by two LED lights, will value $279.99 / £269.99 (round AU$370) whereas the Google Nest Cam Indoor might be Google’s most inexpensive house safety digicam, costing $99.99 / £89.99 (round AU$130). Both of those might be launched later in 2021.
As we’ve talked about, the Google Nest Cam (battery) will retailer video clips recorded by the digicam for as much as three hours freed from cost, with Google’s algorithms figuring out which clips are saved based mostly on the movement and sound recognized within the video. If you need to have the ability to view clips for an extended interval you possibly can subscribe to the Nest Aware service, which affords steady recording and shops footage for as much as 60 days, with costs ranging from $5 / £5 / AU$9 per thirty days.
Design
- Battery-powered
- Requires extra equipment for use freestanding
- Magnetic plate makes it simple to angle the digicam
The Google Nest Cam (battery) is a compact house safety digicam that measures 3.27 x 3.27 x 3.27 inches / 8.3 x 8.3 x 8.3cm (w x d x h). The matte white design is complemented by a shiny black fascia that homes the 130-degree Full HD digicam lens, together with an LED that illuminates inexperienced when movement is detected, and a speaker and microphone that allow you to converse with anybody within the digicam’s discipline of view.
The Google Nest Cam (battery) is weather-proof, and will be mounted outdoors or used indoors. It comes with a magnetic plate that lets you place the digicam on the desired angle when mounting it on a wall, whereas if you wish to use the digicam freestanding you’ll have to put money into an non-obligatory stand, which prices $34.99 / £29.99 / AU$59.
The Google Nest Cam (battery) is powered by a chargeable battery, though it will also be mains-powered. It’s equipped with 3.3ft / 1m indoor mains cable, whereas in case you’re mounting the digicam outdoors, a weather-proof cable is offered, priced at $34.99 / £29.99 / AU$59.
Like the Google Nest Doorbell (battery), the Google Nest Cam (battery) will retailer as much as 60 minutes of video domestically if the Wi-Fi goes down, or the ability is lower. When the digicam comes again on-line, this footage might be uploaded to the cloud, and might be viewable in your timeline of occasions.
Setting up the digicam utilizing the Google Home app was comparatively easy, and we have been impressed that through the course of we have been provided loads of useful suggestions when it got here to mounting the digicam on the wall, in addition to being prompted to pick out how the digicam behaves once we’re away from house, or contained in the property.
Performance
- Clear, detailed footage each through the day and at evening
- 130-degree discipline of view shows a slight fisheye impact
- Familiar Face can provide you with a warning when family and friends are noticed by the digicam
The Google Nest Cam (battery) recorded clear footage each through the day and at evening, whereas the 6x zoom enabled us to enlarge the video to see small particulars extra clearly. The footage is recorded in shade through the day, however in black and white in low mild, and the digicam’s HDR functionality ensured that we have been nonetheless in a position to see particulars in darkish areas of the footage, or when the solar was shining brightly. We did discover the 130-degree discipline of view created a slight fisheye impact within the video, though this didn’t detract from the readability of the footage.
The Google Nest Cam (battery) proved efficient at figuring out folks in its discipline of view, in addition to animals and automobiles. If the digicam is used with a Nest Aware subscription you possibly can assign names to faces of family and friends, and while you obtain an provide you with a warning’ll be notified whether or not it’s a acknowledged face or a stranger within the digicam’s discipline of view.
There are a spread of modes that can help you arm or disarm the digicam in numerous situations, and we discovered the geofence perform, which makes use of your telephone's location to arm or disarm the digicam based mostly on whether or not you’re at house or away from the property, efficient.
The Google Nest Cam (battery) additionally affords loads of customization for managing the variety of notifications you get, from selecting which sources of movement you wish to be alerted about, to creating exercise zones so that you just’re solely notified about movement in these areas.
App
- Easy to navigate
- Integration with Google Assistant
- Subscription required for facial recognition
Unlike earlier Google Nest Cameras, the Google Nest Cam (battery) works with the Google Home app, which is straightforward to make use of: simply choose the digicam from the record of Google Assistant-compatible units in your house and you may see the digicam’s battery degree, in addition to entry its dwell feed, and look at the total recording historical past or entry the settings menu.
The digicam will solely retailer video clips from the previous three hours freed from cost, which for most individuals received’t actually be lengthy sufficient. If you wish to hold and be capable of view footage for longer you will have to subscribe to Nest Aware, as talked about above.
There are loads of customization choices, and in addition to managing what number of notifications the digicam sends you, you can too modify the length of the video clips it data, the sensitivity of the digicam to movement and the digicam’s quantity too.
As the Google Nest Cam (battery) is suitable with Google Assistant, you possibly can ask Google’s voice assistant to arm or disarm the digicam, and when you have a Google Nest sensible show, such because the Google Nest Hub (2nd era) you can too view the digicam’s dwell feed on the sensible show’s display screen.
Battery life
- The battery lasts as much as three months between fees
- It takes 5 hours to totally recharge the battery
- The battery isn’t swappable
Google says the Nest Cam (battery) will last as long as three months between fees, though this may rely upon how typically and for the way lengthy dwell view is activated, in addition to how typically movement is detected. We’re not in a position to verify this based mostly on ‘typical use’, as we’ve put the digicam by way of heavy testing in a brief time period for this review.
The battery took 5 hours to totally recharge, which is disappointing, as as a result of the battery is built-in the digicam might be out of motion whereas the battery is charging. We’d favor to see a swappable battery, as within the Arlo Ultra 2 and the Arlo Pro 4, in order that, supplied you buy an extra battery, the digicam won't ever be offline.
Should I purchase the Google Nest Cam (battery)?
Buy it if...
You need a battery-powered safety digicam
Unlike Google’s earlier house safety cameras, this Google Nest Cam is powered by a chargeable battery, which affords extra flexibility as to the place it may be put in.
You need facial recognition
If you subscribe to Nest Aware, you’ll be capable of assign names to faces detected by the cameras, and get alerts after they – or unfamiliar faces – are detected within the digicam’s discipline of view.
You have unreliable Wi-Fi
The Google Nest Cam (battery) will retailer as much as 60 minutes of video domestically in case your Wi-Fi goes down, and add it to the cloud when web entry is restored, making it splendid for many who typically expertise Wi-Fi outages.
Don't purchase it if...
You need shade evening imaginative and prescient
Unlike house safety cameras from Arlo and Ring, the Google Nest Cam (battery) doesn’t report night-time footage in shade. If it is a precedence for you, then think about a digicam from a kind of manufacturers.
You wish to retailer recorded footage domestically
This digicam doesn’t retailer video domestically, and whereas it'll save footage for 3 hours within the cloud at no cost, we don’t assume that is lengthy sufficient. We would have most popular to see an choice to retailer video domestically for many who don’t wish to fork out for a month-to-month subscription.
You need a built-in mild and siren
Also in contrast to cameras from rivals reminiscent of Ring and Arlo, there’s no built-in mild or siren within the Google Nest Cam (battery). If it is a key characteristic in a safety digicam for you, then it’s value hanging on for the Google Nest Cam with Floodlight, which is due out later this 12 months.
First reviewed: August 2021
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