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SMART HOME BASICS
LET
’
SPL AY,
HOUSE
Feeling a bit
overwhelmed by
the unnecessarily
complicated smart
home? Let Stuff
simplify things
with our up-to-date
guide to the best
products, platforms
and broadband
advice for joining
the dots of your
connected abode
[ Words Jack Parsons, James Day ]ideo doorbells
are like
embarrassing
bladder
conditions: we’ll probably
all have one eventually.
Operating over your
home’s Wi-Fi, they call
your smartphone when
someone rings the bell
so you can see them
on screen and have a
two-way conversation,
even if you’re not in; and
they send alerts when they
detect movement.
The appeal is obvious,
in terms of both security
(hey, there’s someone
dodgy in the garden!)
and convenience (hey,
a courier’s here but I can’t
get to the door because ofmy embarrassing bladder
condition!). So, with the
promise of hassle-free
installation plus high-def
video with HDR and night
vision, this Arlo Essential
might live up to its name.TALL OR NOTHING
This is a handsome and
weatherproof rival to Ring
and Nest, but stands out
with a 180° diagonal field
of view so it won’t miss
lanky people or parcels
plonked on the doorstep.
It scores highly for ease of
installation and use, and
the advantages over an
old-fashioned ding-a-ling
are clear, even if the image
quality isn’t always: in
theory the resolutionis better than HD, but
faces are nowhere near
as sharp as that.
The real question is
about value. Once your
free trial runs out, Arlo
Smart costs £2.49 a
month – on a par with
Amazon’s Ring Protect
Plan (£2.50/m) and half
of Google’s Nest Aware
service (£5/m). The three
vary in terms of features,
but Arlo’s is just about
essential to make the
device worth owning:
without it, you lose the
all-important activity
zones for motion detection.
But if you can spare 30
quid a year, this might just
be where the reign of your
dirty old bell ends.Arlo Essential Video^
Doorbell Wire-Free
£179^ / arlo.com
STUFF SAYS Like having an eagle-eyed bouncer at your
front door 24/7 – as long as you keep subscribing ★★★★✩V