Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera
With the Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera cover the basics with our straightforward wireless security camera. Home security you can control from your smartphone. 100% wire-free and weather-resistant, install in minutes for no-fuss protection.
The Essential Spotlight keeps the Arlo design. It’s covered in a white shiny IP65 enclosure. The front is black and features the camera and the spotlight. Inside is a 2.4ghz wifi adapter, motion sensor, spotlight, speaker, status LED, mic and infrared sensors. This provides a black and white night vision and uses the spotlight for colour vision at night.
Video is captured at 1080p, this isn’t a 2k or 4k camera. It has 130 degrees of view and 12X digital zoom. You get notifications via the app or email for any movement, but you’ll have to pay for an Arlo plan to watch the video. Prices start from £2.49 for a single camera and £7.99 for up to 5 cameras. You also get up to 30 days of cloud storage, detection modes for people, animals, packages and vehicles. You also get a call a friend option and cloud activity zones.
Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera Review
The battery lasts around six months after being charged. Bear in mind the entire camera will have to be bought inside to charge it. You are missing the magnetic mounting, which was a favourite feature on their more expensive models. As wifi is built-in you can use this alone with the app, you don’t have to buy the hub. There is also integration with Alexa, Google Assistant and IFTTT.
The app is used to control the camera, such as a live stream, manual record, photos and also turning on the spotlight. You can also access the saved videos and notifications. You also set up the camera via the app, which is a breeze. Set up and firmware updates took around 5 mins.
In my testing video performance was great and the 1080p was detailed enough for my needs. The night vision was OK, but I liked that the spotlight added a better view. It is also useful to scare off the neighbourhood cats. Motion detection was on point, and I failed to get a single false reading.
Overall, the Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera is a nice cheaper option to other more expensive Arlo offerings. But you still need to consider the price of a smart plan to use the features you are buying. Finally, check out our other Digital Home reviews. Follow us on Twitter or Facebook.
Be the first to comment