I’m all-in on the Arlo ecosystem, so I was pleased to see that they have two new products showing at CES including the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera and the Arlo Touchless Video Doorbell. Both sound intriguing, but we don’t yet have a lot of details.
Arlo Essential Indoor Camera
Arlo Essential Indoor Camera
The Arlo Essential Indoor Camera will have an easy-to-control, automated privacy shield so that you can choose when the camera monitors and records video. With the privacy shield in disarm mode, all recording, motion, and audio detection is disabled, and it won’t begin again until the shield is opened using Arlo App. You can also set the privacy shield to open automatically and begin recording by starting a live stream or changing the camera to arm mode.
The Arlo Essential Indoor Camera streams 1080p HD video, and it has a 130º diagonal field-of-view, with motion and audio detection and two-way audio. It will be compatible with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and IFTTT for easy interaction, automation, and control.
If you like the idea of having a camera monitoring your home when you are away, but you don’t want to worry about it recording you while getting a glass of water in the middle of the night in your skivvies, you’ll want to keep an eye out for this one.
Arlo Touchless Video Doorbell
Other people’s fingers are gross in the best of times, but during a pandemic, the fewer things of yours that get touched by some door-to-door salesman, the better. Using proximity Sensing Technology, the Arlo Touchless Video Doorbell zeros in on visitors as they approach your door. Once they’ve been detected by the video doorbell, your visitor will hear a chime and they’ll see a light, signaling that the doorbell has been activated as you are alerted — all without them having to touch your doorbell.
The Arlo Touchless Doorbell will provide a vertical field of view for full front porch coverage. You’ll be able to see visitors from head-to-toe along with any packages on your doorstep due to the video doorbell’s 180º viewing angle, optimized 1:1 aspect ratio, and full HD video quality. “Direct-to-mobile SIP calls, clear, two-way audio and pre-recorded, quick-reply messages enable convenient, in-the-moment communication with visitors.” The Touchless Video Doorbell connects directly to WiFi, and it is hardwired for power.
Both of the new products have picked up a 2021 CES Innovation Awards in the Smart Home category. We don’t have prices or dates when you’ll be able to get these products yet, but they should pop up in the coming months on the Arlo site.