

If you’re thinking of outfitting your home with Google products, the next logical step after the security cameras is a video doorbell. You can have your Google assistant address you as “admiral.” It’s up to you. You can have your indoor cameras stop recording when you’re at home and start again when you’re away. You can set reminders to charge your phone at bedtime, lock your doors at 9:00, and start dimming the lights at 8:30. If your home is outfitted with Nest products and other smart accessories, you can set “routines” to automate things. Here’s where Google’s family of products really shines. Once was when I was wearing a hood because it was really cold, and the other was when I was wearing my glasses that reflected the IR light in night vision mode (more on that later too). I noticed only two times that the camera didn’t recognize me - both outside. From then on, it will include that name in the alert so that you know there’s nothing to worry about going on in the living room. The first time the Nest Cam sees someone it doesn’t recognize, it asks you to give them a name. Nest Cam’s Familiar Face feature excuse the mug This is a neat feature: The Nest Cam will recognize who it’s looking at and alert you when they’re seen, as opposed to an “unfamiliar person.” With a Google Aware subscription, you’ll have access to the familiar faces function. If you’re fine with it only picking up major events, your battery could last up to four months on one charge. Just know that if you pick up a Nest Cam for yourself, it might take some fiddling to get it exactly to your preferences.Īnother thing to consider, though, when you’re adjusting your sensitivity settings: The less your Nest Cam is triggering, the better your battery life is going to be. This isn’t a drawback, really, but it’s something to be aware of nonetheless.

I had to go into the settings and tell the camera to detect my pets as well as alert me when motion was captured. Right out of the box I found it wasn’t really sensitive enough. With the Nest Cam, though, I actually had the opposite issue. It was pretty simple to calibrate the Nest Cam to trigger for important events only With other cameras I’ve used, it’s a little difficult to find exactly what you’re looking for, but Google Home offers a simple, intuitive solution.
#Google security camera trial#
With my free trial of Nest Aware - more on that in just a bit - the history of each camera is set up in such a way that you can scrub through the whole day, skipping to moments where the camera caught something. Here’s another neat thing I noticed with the Nest Cam, or more specifically, Google Home. While there’s a bit of latency - there is with every camera I’ve ever tested - it’s totally reasonable to use it to have a conversation with a delivery guy or tell your cats to stop fighting. Now it’s not going to sound like it’s coming through a high-end stereo system, but the Nest’s internal speaker for two-way communication is certainly better than most. I could actually sing them through the device and annoy anyone sitting in my living room with high fidelity. Now, back to singing the Nest Cam’s praises. Maybe I’m just spoiled, but when I first saw the picture, I sort of shrugged and said, “It’s OK, I guess.” Audio Quality No crystal-clear 2K resolution? No ultra-wide-angle lens to capture every detail? C’mon, Google. Why am I considering this a tick in the cons category? I just expected more.
#Google security camera 1080p#
1080p is industry standard, and as you can see, a 130-degree view is more than enough to capture an entire room if you’re thoughtful about the camera’s positioning. Just screw the mounting plate into the wall and snap the camera into place. Instead, you’re probably going to want to use the included hardware to mount it on a wall a little above your head. This piece of equipment is designed to be mounted about six feet off the ground, meaning you probably don’t want to set it on your countertop and call it a day.

Something to keep in mind, though, when you’re installing your Nest Cam. It took all of two seconds and I was ready to go. And honestly, that was it for my indoor install. Someday I’d like to see the Nest Cam offered in a few more colors, like we saw in our review of the Ring Spotlight Camera, but for now white will do.īecause the greenhouse is metal, the Nest Cam’s magnetic base attached really securely. It gave me a pretty good vantage point to see everything going on in my living room, and the black-and-white motif went well with the decor. I chose to stick mine on the indoor greenhouse I made for my wife.
