The future of home safety has arrived.
Google continue to release new products to make your home more integrated, more connected, and now more safe.
Check out our hands on reviews of the new Google Nest Doorbell and the Google Nest Cam (battery).
Matching the white, grey and black aesthetic already in place by the other Google Nest products released, the Doorbell and Camera are minimalist, slick and very easy on the eye. The doorbell does seem a bit "out there" initially, as most people's front door would be where wood meets brick, and this sudden white and black arrival does definitely stand out. But the sleek fixture, including a subtle but useful light system on the interface, is very pretty. The Nest Cam is similarly semi-futuristic looking, like CCTV from a germ-free utopia, but small enough to still pretty much disappear from your eye-line should you want it to.
Both the Google Nest Doorbell and the Google Nest Cam are charged by their battery, but instead of having to replace them with AAs every few weeks or whatever, they're both rechargeable from the batteries they arrive with. Better still, the initial charge will likely last between six and eight weeks, and the recharge time itself pretty negligible, so it is great for the environment AND a real time/money saver.
So, this is what we're really all here for. The reasons why we'd buy either of these two in the first place. They both tie into the Google Home app on your mobile device, so any time somebody rings the bell or drops off a package or whatever, you can watch them on the app, and talk to them in real-time via the microphone in the doorbell device. Both the camera and the doorbell are also capable of differentiating the types of visitors. So if they're carrying a package, or if they're a bird or cat, or literally whatever it might be, the camera will know and inform you accordingly. Additionally, they can both be connected to any existing Google Nest devices you might have in your home, to further push that level of connectivity. Remember those sci-fi movies where entire homes seemed automated and so painfully futuristic that we'd never actually see it ourselves? Or if we did, we'd need to be super rich to live that lifestyle? Yeah, it turns out it is actually here and now, and very affordable.
Both the Google Nest Doorbell and the Google Nest Cam are on sale for €199.99 each, with further additions to the Google Nest line-up (Google Nest Cam with floodlight, and the second-generation wired Google Nest Cam) due to arrive later in the year. You might be immediately thinking "Is that a lot of money for a doorbell?", and technically, yes, it is. But it is something that every home must have, something that is used practically every day, and this particular one brings the addition of home security. As for the Google Nest Cam, if you're in the market for cameras for in or outside your home, the adaptability of this one certainly makes it stand out from the crowd.
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