Benefiting from its acquisition of monitoring startup Dropcam in 2014, Google’s sister company Nest has introduced two new products – a smart doorbell and an outdoor security camera.
Benefiting from its acquisition of monitoring startup Dropcam in 2014, Google’s sister company Nest has introduced two new products – a smart doorbell and the Nest outdoor camera.
Nest’s first smart doorbell Hello has an embedded camera with a HDR 160-degree field of view and allows users to send and receive audio from smartphone app. The camera also has a built-in wedge so that users can adjust the angle of the camera to match the doorstep setup.
Since the doorbell belongs to the Nest Cam family, it is capable of facial recognition and person alerts, sending a person’s face photo when he/she stands by the door. For Nest Aware subscribers, the camera will constantly monitor activities at the front door and send notifications while there are unusual events, like strangers talking, for example.
In the Nest app, there’s a new feature called Quick Actions for the doorbell. It allows users to respond to visitors at the door with a set of automatic replies. In the near future, the company plans to roll out a new feature called Warm Welcome, which would shine a light to greet anyone who walks up to the door.
Another new Nest device is the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, a followed up device for the Nest Cam IQ. It has the same chipset, the same improved Wi-Fi capability and the same facial recognition technology.
Designed to be used outdoor, the new camera comes with an IP 66 waterproof rating, a speaker 15 times more powerful, and a tamper-resistant mount. With the software for the facial recognition technology, the camera detects not only actions but also people’s faces. For example, users can activate “Familiar Face” alerts on their mobile app.
Along with the announcement, Nest says it will bring Google Assistant support to its Nest Cam IQ indoor. It will be available via a software update this winter.
Doorbell Hello will start shipping in the first quarter of 2018, but the price hasn’t be revealed yet.
The Nest Cam IQ Outdoor will cost US$349 and start shipping in November. Users can opt in for a US$10 monthly service in order to get 10 days of video storage and the facial recognition feature. Nest will still sell its old outdoor camera for US$199, which has a lower waterproof rating and comes without facial recognition capability.