Google’s Nest Cams and Doorbell get a refresh - TechCrunch

Yesterday’s leak didn’t leave much to the imagination. And today’s big Nest reveal confirms pretty much everything we saw — which is precisely what happens when Google’s the one doing the leaking. Still, this morning’s announcement marks one of the biggest refreshes to Google’s home security line in recent memory, with updates to various configurations of Nest’s security cam and doorbell.

Depending on how you count, Google’s announcing up to four devices today. The list includes: the Google Nest Cam battery, Google Nest Doorbell ($180, each), the $280 Google Nest Cam with floodlight and the $100 Google Nest Cam.

Image Credits: Google

The Nest Cams feature a design that looks a bit like they stepped out of some Pixar movie. The $100 basic Nest Cam is a second-gen wired device, designed for indoor-use only. The $180 model, meanwhile, adds battery power and waterproofing, making it suitable for either indoor or outdoor use.

The company says it should get around three months of battery life on a charge, assuming your home has an average of nine to 12 recorded “events” a day. The numbers obviously fluctuate a fair bit, depending on how much action your house sees on a typical day. The AI/ML is trained to record specific activities, triggered by things like people, animals or package deliveries, depending on the setting.

Image Credits: Google

“Building a camera that uses ML to recognize objects requires showing the ML model millions of images first,” Google writes in a blog post. “Our new Nest Cameras and Doorbells have been trained on 40 million images to accommodate lots of different environments and lighting conditions. Thanks to a cutting edge TPU chip, our new cameras run an ML model up to 7.5 times per second, so reliability and accuracy are even better. 3. Works in any home: Nest Cam and Doorbell’s wire-free design.”

Image Credits: Google

I quite like the new streamlined design for the doorbell. Being battery powered means you can install it without having to futz with wiring. Without direct access to a hardwired chime, you can configure to ring through connected Google devices like Nest speakers and smart displays. Unlike the wired Nest Hello (which Google is keeping on the market), the new doorbell doesn’t offer continuous recording, owing to battery constraints. It should give you around three months of use, on average.

The new nest devices are up for preorder today in 18 countries and will go on sale August 24.

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