Google has finally released its Nest Cam models that are powered by batteries. This is a big step forward for the company, as it has been struggling to keep up with the competition in this space. The new cameras are also much more affordable than their predecessors, which is a huge plus.
Google’s New Nest Cameras
Google announced a few different Nest cameras, but the one that has us the most intrigued is the Google Nest Cam (battery). It comes with almost all of the same features as the wired camera (it can’t record 24/7 video, though), but it runs on battery.
As far as battery life goes, Google says the Nest Camera will get about 1.5 months of battery life in a busy location with about 20-25 recorded events per day. However, if you have a quiet place for it, you can get up to seven months of battery on a single charge, which is pretty impressive battery life.
Outside of the battery, the camera has plenty of features that could make it worth a look. It can record up to 1080p at 30 FPS with support for HDR, which means those videos will look nice.
The Nest Cam can actually detect whether the event its recording is a person, vehicle, or animal, which allows it to make smarter decisions about what to record. That sounds incredibly useful for making sure you’re not jumping to attention whenever a squirrel walks by the lens.
The wireless camera will sell for $179.99 when it comes out on August 24, 2021. It’s available for preorder right now if you want to lock one in.
If you want 24/7 video recording, Google also announced a new version of its wired Nest Cam, which also happens to be the cheapest Nest camera the company has ever sold at $99.99. It’s not designed for outside use, though. Still, at $100, it’s worth checking out as long as you can live with a wire hanging down.
Finally, Google announced a new Nest Cam with floodlight. It’ll retail for $279.99, and it has most of the same features as the other cameras, but it also comes with a bright light that’ll turn on when it detects movement.
Google’s Nest Doorbell With Battery Power
Outside of the camera, Google also showed off a new Nest Doorbell that also runs off battery. It’ll sell for $179.99 and is also set to launch on August 24. Removing the limitation of having an existing doorbell wire opens this device up to a lot more potential users and makes it far more competitive with other doorbells such as Ring’s offering.
The doorbell is rated for slightly less battery life than the Nest Camera, but it’ll still last up to six months in low-traffic areas.
It features two-way audio with noise cancelation, night vision, and all of the other features you’d expect from a Nest doorbell, but that wireless option really puts it over the edge in terms of usefulness, ease of installation, and overall functionality.
What If The Wi-Fi Goes Down?
One big new feature: These new cameras will record up to one hour of events locally (about a week’s worth of events in most situations) in the event of a power or Wi-Fi outage. They’ll then upload them to the cloud once Wi-Fi is restored, so if anything important happens while you don’t have internet, it’ll still be recorded.
Overall, it seems like Google has made the right moves with its new Nest Cameras. Going wireless makes them a practical choice for many more users and makes them serious competition for other doorbell and camera devices on the market.
