The Arlo Pro 4 Wire-Free Spotlight Security Camera is the latest addition to the company’s smart home security ecosystem that doesn’t need a hub and connects directly to WIFI to get your new home security system up and running in a matter of minutes.
Last year, we took a look at the Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera which literally shines a light on your home and security needs. The Arlo Pro 4 takes all that was good from the Essential Spotlight and makes it better.
In the box you get the Arlo Pro 4, a wall mount and screw kit, a charging cable and a quick start guide. The camera features the same aesthetic that Arlo is known for and will fit in most home and office environments. It blends in quite well if you like your cameras out of sight.
Much like the ones that have come before, the camera has a sturdy build, is weather resistant against heat, rain and cold and is very suitable for outdoor use.
The Arlo Essential Spotlight is extremely easy to get up and go. Figure out the right placement, connect with your smartphone, and you’re done. In fact, most of the set-up time was spent on the firmware update more than anything else.
The Arlo Pro 4 camera gets an upgraded 160-degree field of view (FOV), compared to the 130-degree FOV the Essential Spotlight Camera had, that allows you to get a great view of corridors, driveways and if installed in your home, the living room or kitchen.
The Arlo Pro 4 captures video at 2K resolution, another upgrade from the 1080p that the Essential Spotlight camera. The capture is sharp and you can see key details as you zoom in. It manages to do that quite well at night as well – especially with the spotlight on.
One of the key features of the Arlo Pro 4 is its motion detection alerts and spotlight that’s powered by AI technology. Taking advantage of those features, I experimented (once again) using it not just as a security tool, but as a doorbell.
Working from home most of the time, I get a lot of deliveries – online shopping and food mostly. The doorbell gets busy.
Placing the Arlo Pro 4 above my doorway facing the corridor meant I got notifications whenever someone was at the door and it was really quite convenient. Getting to see who’s at the door without having to leave my desk really helps. Especially when it might not necessarily need my personal attention like for example, my son’s friends who’ve come over to see him.
The 2-way audio feature is also pretty cool when I can let the person at the door know that I’m coming and they don’t need to press the doorbell twice when they actually do see it.
If you see someone that shouldn’t be there, you can trigger a siren automatically (if pre-set) or manually from the Arlo app.
Integrating the camera is also very simple and the Arlo Pro 4 works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and IFTTT for easy interaction, automation and control.
The removable rechargeable battery can last about 6 months on a full charge (about 8 hours), which isn’t bad at all. Charging the camera twice a year? I can live with that.
You can also snap on the optional magnetic charging cable for continuous power if needed.
Once again, the biggest downside to the Arlo suite of cameras is the fact that you need its subscription service to access the full potential of the ecosystem which includes access to 30-day video history, the ability to set custom activity zones and more.
At about SGD 399, The Arlo Pro 4 is not the cheapest camera in the market. However, it is one of the most robust, feature-packed (especially with subscription) and extremely dependable in the long run.