Nest announces four new camera products, including first wireless doorbell cam

Early on in its history, Nest was known for basically two things: smart thermostats and security systems. Since Google bought the company, it’s branched out into other product lines such as security cameras. However, it hasn’t refreshed its camera lineup since 2017.

See also: The best Google Nest products you can get right now

That changes today! Google launched a total of four new Nest cameras, with at least one applying to pretty much every smart home owner. Let’s get right into each product.

2021 Nest cameras: Nest Doorbell

In 2018, Nest launched its first smart doorbell known as the Nest Hello. While it was a good product overall, it had a very limited user base since it required a home with a pre-built doorbell chime system. This meant renters, apartment dwellers, and people with older homes were likely left out.

Thankfully, the new Nest Doorbell does not have this limitation. With this one product, you can either go wired or wireless. If you go wireless, the doorbell will chime on your Google-powered smart speakers and/or smart displays. If you go wired, it will use your pre-built chime system (but it will also show a live feed on your smart display).

See also: The best smart home devices you can get

The camera has a resolution of 1,280 x 960 at up to 30fps. It has a night mode that allows it to see better in the dark and even has onboard storage for up to one hour of recording should your internet/power go out. On battery, the doorbell could last up to six months, assuming your front door isn’t very busy. A conservative estimate would be one or two months of battery life.

Throughout the world, it will come in one color called Snow, which is off-white. In the United States, there will be three more colors: Linen, Ivy, and Ash (shown above).

Nest Cam (indoor/outdoor)

Nest has released a few outdoor cameras. The most recent — the Nest Cam Outdoor from 2017 — is weatherproof but only works with a cable.

The new Nest Cam not only has a wireless option but also can be used indoors or outdoors. This makes it the most versatile camera yet from the brand. Theoretically, you could buy a few of them and easily move them from one location to another in or around your home.

The Nest Cam records in 1080p and can record up to one hour of footage if your power or internet goes out. Battery life will of course depend on how often events trigger the camera, but Google claims a quiet household could see up to seven months on one charge.

This camera only comes in one color (seen above). Unfortunately, out-of-the-box you’ll need to use it wireless outdoors. Google will sell 5m and 10m weather-proof cables if you want to use it in a wired mode outside.

Nest Cam with floodlights

As one would expect, the Nest Cam with floodlights is the same thing as the camera in the previous section just with floodlights attached. It only works in a wired mode and would likely require some degree of professional installation.

The cool thing about the floodlights, though, is that they are not motion-activated. Instead, they are event-activated. In other words, if the camera spots a person or vehicle, the lights will turn on. If it sees a raccoon go by, the lights will stay off. This will preserve the life of the bulbs and also save you a nominal degree of money on your electric bill when compared to lights that simply turn on with any type of motion.

Unfortunately, Google did not disclose what kind of bulbs the device uses. We assume they would be easily found at most hardware stores, but we are not certain.

Nest Cam (indoor)

Finally, we have the simplest (and cheapest) entry in the new lineup of Nest cameras. The indoor-only Nest Cam only works in a wired mode and does not feature any type of weather-proofing. It exists as a simple way to bring the advantages of an indoor security camera into your home. This is not much different from the Nest Cam Indoor camera which has been available since 2017.

Google did update the look and aesthetic options of the device, though. It comes in multiple colors and has an optional wood base that should help it fit in better with your in-home possessions.

2021 Nest cameras: Pricing and availability

Here is how much each of these devices costs as well as when we’ll see them launch:

• $179.99 — Nest Doorbell, available on August 24
• $179.99 — Nest Cam (indoor/outdoor), available on August 24
• $279.99 — Nest Cam with floodlights, availability TBA
• $99.99 — Nest Cam (indoor), availability TBA

Along with these new Nest cameras, Google is also updating its Nest Aware paid subscription. Previously, you would need Nest Aware for intelligent alerts (when a person comes into view, for example), three hours of event recordings in the cloud, and the ability to create custom activity zones. For these four new cameras, though, those options are now free. If you elect to pay for Nest Aware, it will be for up to 60 days of event recording and Familiar Face Detection, which alerts you when it sees specific people.

Do keep in mind that this does not change anything for existing Nest products. If you currently own a Nest camera and have Nest Aware, you will need to continue to pay for it for the features mentioned in the previous paragraph.

We will update this article when we learn more about these new Nest cameras!