Arlo safety cameras are recognized for making well-designed {hardware} with stable options that work effectively. But one other a part of the Arlo pedigree is that its units are additionally usually costly. Thankfully, it has the Essential lineup of safety merchandise, which supply a lot of what the firm places into the extra premium units in a extra budget-friendly line. This is the place the new Arlo Essential and Essential XL Wireless Outdoor Security Cameras land.
The design of the new cameras is modified to look extra like the remainder of Arlo’s units, as are a few of the internals. The Arlo Essential Outdoor Wireless Camera and the Arlo Essential XL Wireless Outdoor Camera are upgraded with all the similar options as the customary mannequin however with a for much longer battery life. So, let’s dig into extra of what these two units have to supply and see if it is actually price your cash.
More than simply new seems
So, there are two new cameras — the Arlo Essential Wireless Outdoor Security Camera and the Arlo Essential XL Wireless Outdoor Security Camera. In case you missed it, the names are precisely the similar, minus the XL moniker on one. As the names counsel, these cameras share all the pieces besides the battery dimension. It’s right here the place the XL comes into play, with a big 18600mAh battery versus the 4650mAh in the common mannequin. Otherwise, it is all the similar, together with the design, providing as much as 16 months and 4 months of use between fees.
Instead of the wedge-shaped oval from the first-gen mannequin of the Essential Outdoor Wireless Camera, the new variants are simply oval. This is not a big change to one in all Arlo’s greatest cameras, however it does deliver the design in line with the remainder of Arlo’s merchandise. Also, a part of the change is the location of the highlight. Previously, Arlo positioned it above the sensor, and now it’s under it for each new cameras.
Arlo made small however necessary design adjustments in order to get the model’s total digicam product line to have the similar design language.
Setting up these cameras is tremendous easy and is one in all the areas that Arlo has actually gotten down. It actually is so simple as establishing your Arlo account in the app, tapping the plus signal, selecting the digicam you’re including, and following the prompts. It will stroll you by way of set up and spotlight a few of the digicam’s options. While the onboarding course of is not essentially particular to Arlo, it simply appears so clean in comparison with different cameras I’ve examined.
| Specs | Arlo Essential Wireless Outdoor Security Camera | Arlo Essential XL Wireless Outdoor Security Camera |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 2.34 x 2.08 x 3.67 inches | 3.25 x 2.25 x 3.8 inches |
| Connectivity | 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (2.4GHz) | 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi (2.4GHz) |
| Local storage | 🚫 | 🚫 |
| Two-way communication | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Speaker | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Camera | 1080p HD or 2K | 1080p HD or 2K |
| Spotlight | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Viewing space | 130° diagonal | 130° diagonal |
| Night imaginative and prescient | IR, black and white, shade | IR, black and white, shade |
| Smart options | Motion detection | Motion detection |
| Weatherproof | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Battery | Built-in 4650mAh, as much as 4 months | Built-in 18600mAh, as much as 16 months |
| Security | AES 256-bit encryption and Transport Layer Security (TLS | AES 256-bit encryption and Transport Layer Security (TLS |
| Operating temperature | -4 to 113° F | -4 to 113° F |
| Smar house compatibility | Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomePackage | Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomePackage |
Both the Arlo Essential Wireless Outdoor Security Camera and the Arlo Essential XL Wireless Outdoor Security Camera can be found in both a 2K video decision or 1080p HD. Going with the greater decision choice will add $50 to the worth of both digicam, so maintain in thoughts whether or not you actually need that added decision. It will primarily come into play if you have to make the most of the 12x digital zoom, as the greater sensor will deal with that higher.
I’ve been testing the HD fashions for each cameras, and every one seems utterly superb in most conditions. I’ve the cameras mounted pretty excessive up, and the zoom is usable, however with the smaller sensor, it does not provide quite a lot of element. When in low-light environments and not zoomed in, the black and white video seems fairly good, contemplating it solely has a small LED highlight, however it does assist. It additionally assists in offering shade night time imaginative and prescient when enabled.
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The Arlo app gives a good quantity of customization and is comparatively effectively laid out. It could be a bit irritating to seek out particular person system settings since the current app redesign, however I’ll have extra on that later. Once you discover the digicam settings, every choice is straightforward to grasp and permits you to arrange exercise zones the place you’ll get movement alerts. It does lack an choice for privateness zones, which might let you block areas from view. This could be significantly useful if you have shut neighbors.
In the app, you may select the 4 totally different energy modes. Each choice adjusts how a lot energy the battery makes use of based mostly on how a lot you need the digicam to do. If you select the Best Video choice, you’ll have the highest video high quality, however the battery will drain quicker. Alternatively, you can choose the Low Power mode and save the most battery, however it can solely take snapshots as an alternative of video when movement is detected. I’ve left mine on Optimized, and it is finished effectively.
No escaping the cloud
While I’m a fan of each of the new Arlo Essential Outdoor Wireless Cameras and, for the most half, the app, I’m not a fan of the required subscription simply to make use of the cameras. Though this apply is not fully extraordinary relating to lots of the greatest wi-fi house safety cameras, it’s nonetheless disappointing.
Arlo sells a base station to assist with connectivity and native storage, as you will not discover any Arlo digicam with native storage until you have a base station. Unfortunately, neither the Arlo Essential Outdoor Wireless Camera nor the Arlo Essential XL works with the accent. This means you should join one in all three Arlo Secure plans to make use of your new cameras. But you do get a trial interval together with your buy to check the service and your cameras out.
The plans aren’t out of this world costly, with a beginning worth of $4.99/month for a single digicam or $12.99/month for limitless. But it goes as much as $17.99 and $24.99 from there, with a small break if you pay yearly. I simply discover it fairly irritating that Arlo does not provide an area storage choice for these cameras, and you cannot even get a fundamental set of the options you pay for when you purchase the digicam until you pay for a subscription.
I discussed above that I’ve some gripes with the Arlo App. Well, general, I believe it’s higher than apps from different manufacturers of cameras I’ve examined. But my largest challenge is that when Arlo redesigned the app a number of months in the past, it modified how schedules and automation work for the cameras — and I am unable to get it to work like earlier than.
Unfortunately, an app redesign can alter the total expertise of utilizing a product.
I reviewed the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera in 2022, and between then and now, that app redesign modified how I take advantage of the digicam. Since I’ve this digicam in my workplace, I do not want or need it me all day, and as a result of it has a bodily shutter to cowl the digicam, it’s a nice alternative — that’s once I might nonetheless clearly schedule when it was on or off. Now, I’ve not but been in a position to get it arrange the means I had it, and it is fairly irritating.
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I do not suppose my points with the app change must be a deal breaker, and if you hadn’t recognized of the app prior to now, you could not care. But it leads me to suppose the replace made a helpful function in automations and schedules much less user-friendly and may very well be a deterrent for somebody who does need to have extra granular management over their Arlo safety cameras.
Should you purchase these cameras?
If you have already got some Arlo units in your house, like the Essential Indoor Camera I discussed above, the Pro 3 Floodlight Camera, or maybe the new Arlo Video Doorbell that was introduced with these two new cameras, then these cameras will match in effectively. You get choices for battery life and video high quality, stable connectivity, and a ready-made ecosystem.
But if you aren’t in the Arlo ecosystem, you may balk at the necessity for a subscription to make use of the units you are shopping for. You do get some good options with Arlo Secure, however you could not need or want a few of them. You’ll pay anyway simply to save lots of your digicam’s footage.
Taking the subscription out of the equation, with a beginning worth of $50 for the customary Essential Outdoor digicam and $99 for the XL mannequin, these are nice units with stable function units and might serve your house effectively. But that month-to-month subscription needs to be handled and is a alternative fully as much as you.
Arlo Essential Outdoor Camera (2nd Generation)
Basic, however good
Along with the new bodily design adjustments, this digicam has gotten a bit quicker and comes in two decision choices of 1080p HD and 2K to take higher benefit of the 12X digital zoom. Just bear in mind to enroll in the Arlo Secure subscription or the digicam will not do a lot for you.
Arlo Essential XL Outdoor Camera (2nd Generation)
Go longer
Everything the customary Essential Outdoor Camera provides however with extra battery life. In reality, with the XL mannequin you can get greater than thrice the use earlier than it is time to recharge it.