Arlo has officially expanded its smart home lineup with the release of two new video doorbell models: the battery-powered Video Doorbell (3rd Gen) and the Wired Video Doorbell (3rd Gen). Both units are priced at $80, are currently available for preorder, and will officially go on sale starting November 25. Aside from their power delivery methods, the hardware specifications across both models are identical, though they introduce notable upgrades over the previous second-generation variants.
Key takeaways
- Both the battery and wired third-gen models are priced at $80 and launch on November 25.
- The new devices feature 5GHz Wi-Fi support, improved motion detection up to 25 feet, and an extended battery life of up to six months.
- Unlike the second-generation models, the new units are not compatible with Arlo SmartHubs or Base Stations.
- Users must rely on Arlo subscription plans starting at $10 a month for video storage due to the lack of local storage options.
Hardware Enhancements and Connectivity
The third-generation doorbells maintain several core hardware features of their predecessors, including 2K video resolution, 12X digital zoom, black-and-white infrared night vision, and two-way audio communication. They also retain a 180-degree diagonal field of view, which remains an unusual specification for video doorbells in this product category. However, Arlo has updated the physical aesthetic by offering the new devices in a wider range of colors, including white, black, Greystone, and Sand Dune, moving beyond the single white option of the older generation.
Performance-wise, the updated hardware introduces 5GHz Wi-Fi support, replacing the slower and longer-range 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band used by the second-generation models. This upgrade is designed to enable faster transmission speeds for higher-quality video feed, provided the doorbell is positioned close enough to a wireless router. Additionally, Arlo claims the battery-powered variant can now last up to six months on a single charge, representing a substantial improvement over the four-month battery life of the previous version. Motion detection capabilities have also been enhanced, with the new sensors capable of detecting activity up to 25 feet away compared to the previous 10-foot limit.
Subscription Requirements and Smart Home Integration
A significant change accompanies the third-generation hardware regarding storage and ecosystem compatibility. According to product documentation, the new devices are not currently compatible with any of Arlo’s SmartHub or Base Station hardware. Consequently, users lose the ability to utilize local storage, leaving them entirely dependent on Arlo's cloud subscription plans, which begin at $10 a month for single-camera video storage. The lack of SmartHub support also means these new cameras forfeit the basic, streaming-only Apple Home support previously enabled by those base units, although they continue to maintain compatibility with Google Home, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT, and SmartThings.
Arlo's subscription tier, known as the Smart Aware plan, introduces several cloud-based features such as AI-generated video summaries, notification captions, and advanced detection for persons, animals, and vehicles. While these additions aim to streamline event monitoring, competing hardware options on the market—such as the Eufy Video Doorbell S4 and TP-Link Tapo Video Doorbell Pro D260—continue to provide object detection and local microSD card storage out of the box without forcing users into mandatory cloud subscriptions.
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