New Blink Video Doorbell promises 2 years of runtime on 3 AA batteries

Amazon’s Blink division—the budget-oriented sibling of Ring in the smart home space—has announced an all-new version of its affordable battery-powered Blink Video Doorbell, which is available now for $69.99.

While the price has gone up by $10 compared to the previous model, the new version’s higher-resolution camera (1440×1440 pixels), 150-degree field of view, and 1:1 aspect ratio will provide a head-to-toe view of visitors.

Blink is bundling the new doorbell with its new AC-powered Blink Sync Module Core, which acts as a bridge to the home’s Wi-Fi network (it does not have a chime that sounds off when a visitor rings the doorbell). Blink says having the doorbell connect to the Core, instead of directly to a home’s router, is what enables the doorbell’s remarkable 2-year battery life.

Blink

Since the Sync Module Core does not offer any means for local storage—unlike the Sync Module 2 (with a USB-A socket) and the Sync Module XR (with a microSD card slot)—buyers of the latest Blink Video Doorbell will need to either sign up for a subscription to store video recordings in the cloud, or they’ll need to replace the Core with either of Blink’s other two Sync Modules. You’ll also need a subscription if you want to unlock person detection (the camera does not offer pet or package detection at all).

All three Sync Modules connect to only 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks, but each of them can support up to 10 Blink cameras. It’s worth noting that the new doorbell cannot take advantage of the longer wireless range that the Sync Module XR offers.

As did the previous version of Blink Video Doorbell, this new model can also be hardwired to an existing doorbell transformer, provided the transformer is 8- to 24-VAC, 40VA max, 50/60Hz model (although it will still require batteries).

This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best video doorbells.

The latest Blink Video Doorbell carries an IP65 weatherization rating, which according to our IP code guide, means it’s impervious to dust ingress and that it can withstand water jets coming from any direction (short of a blast from a pressure washer).

Our review of the earlier Blink Video Doorbell was very favorable, and Amazon is now blowing out that product—with a Blink Sync Module 2—for just $34.99.