SwannBuddy 4K Video Doorbell review: Let the robots run the house

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Swann, a longtime player in the security camera world, has been spreading its wings to expand into related smart home gear, including video doorbells. Its first SwannBuddy Video Doorbell, a lackluster release, hit in 2022. The all-new SwannBuddy 4K Video Doorbell expands that device’s resolution and image quality considerably, resolving one of the original product’s biggest shortcomings.

Specifications

The SwannBuddy 4K offers a familiar design to both the original SwannBuddy and most video doorbells, with a large doorbell button in the center of the device, ringed with light (briefly blue, turning red when recording), a camera lens up top, and a motion sensor at the bottom.

The refreshed design features a slight overhang on the top of the camera that works as a sort of shade that may theoretically protect the camera lens from the elements, if ever so slightly. As with the previous device, a separate chime, powered by two AA batteries, is also included.

Christopher Null/Foundry

Video is captured at a resolution of 2032 x 3712 pixels at 15 frames per second, with a 165-degree vertical viewing angle (the camera’s diagonal viewing angle is not provided). The camera can record to both cloud storage and an onboard microSD card; a 32GB card is preinstalled, which is a nice touch—most manufacturers don’t give you anything.

The camera includes standard infrared night vision and a heat-sensing motion detector, allowing it to begin recording on movement in addition to starting up when a visitor presses the doorbell button.

The camera is powered through its internal battery, a 6500mAh cell that Swann says will provide up to three months of sustained service, although my battery level hit 64 percent after 10 days of admittedly heavy use, implying a significantly lower lifespan.

Note that the battery can be trickle-charged via a standard doorbell transformer; otherwise, you’ll need to periodically top up the battery via its USB-C connector. And for that, you’ll need to remove it from the included wall mount. Note also that angled mounting brackets are not included in the box, but you can purchase a 30-degree angle mount separately for $20.

Installation and setup

Unlike Swann’s MaxRanger gear, the SwannBuddy 4K does not need a hub to operate (nor does it include the long-range Wi-Fi HaLow spec), connecting instead directly to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network. Setup is a little tedious, involving a QR code scan with the Swann Security mobile app, then providing network credentials. (What is the point of requiring users to type in their Wi-Fi password twice?) After app onboarding, the chime pairs to the camera by pressing a button on the device and then one on the doorbell.

Christopher Null/Foundry

The SwannBuddy 4K records video both to the cloud and to its internal microSD card; but out of the box, cloud-based recordings are limited to only the most recent 48 hours, with Swann’s app deleting older recordings automatically. In the Playback section of app, you’ll need to tap the microSD card icon to access clips stored locally. Since this interface is identical to the cloud storage interface, it’s easy to forget this step. Cloud-stored playback can also be very slow to launch, often taking up to 40 seconds to begin playing.

Swann’s subscription plan extends cloud storage to 60 days, activates rich notifications, and turns on people, pet, car, and package alerts (instead of just person detection). The plan costs $4.99/month or $49.99/year for one camera, or $12.99/month or $129.99/year for unlimited devices. (Those are both significant hikes over the prices in 2022.)

Performance

The SwannBuddy 4K records quality video—much better than the previous 1080p edition of the product—thanks to its greatly improved lens and image sensor. Note that video is captured in portrait mode and is moderately distorted with a slight fish-eye appearance. Swann promises a range of 16 feet in night vision mode, which was roughly accurate in my testing, although recordings were extremely dim and difficult to make out beyond a range of about 5 feet.

Curiously, you cannot set the length of the video clips that are recorded; no clip recorded in my testing was longer than 60 seconds, regardless of the duration of motion. Most clips topped out at between 10 and 20 seconds.

The chime is plenty loud and responsive when the bell is rung. Six choices of chimes are available, which you can cycle through via a physical button on the device, and volume can be adjusted in the app. I rarely waited more than a couple of seconds for the chime to ring and for a push alert to be sent to my phone when the bell was rung.

Motion detection push notifications also arrived quickly, within a few seconds, although occasionally I would not receive notifications at all. A detection zone can also be set to block motion detection in certain parts of the image, and a sleep period between detection events can also be configured, up to 5 minutes, if you find yourself getting too many alerts or want to conserve battery life.

Swann Communications

New to the Swann Security App is a beta feature called SwannShield, an “AI-driven voice assistant,” that can autonomously communicate with visitors on your behalf. It’s less scary than it might sound, although it is literally a human-sounding voice that can greet visitors when the doorbell is rung and communicate with them without your involvement.

By that I mean it can literally have a conversation that makes excuses about why you can’t come to the door—all without any personal intervention. I’ve included a sample chat in a screenshot to give you a flavor of it, but conversations change based on time of day and the responses the visitor makes.

Remember, this all plays out via voice in real time—sort of, as there’s a significant and unnatural pause between each response. For the most part, however, the quality of those responses, when they do arrive, is uncannily realistic. The user can set the voice used (from eight options) and the demeanor (from polite, assertive, or disinterested).

You can also provide instructions for what to do if a visitor says they have a package, which you just type out in natural language rather than select from a menu. It’s a very cool feature, but obviously very much in beta, in part because it didn’t launch at all with many of my test rings, and in part because conversations start to break down into semi-gibberish the longer you try to drag them out. But when it did work, I was immensely impressed.

Christopher Null/Foundry

Note that you can also send a selection of canned verbal responses on demand if you’re watching a live video stream from the camera. This is a standard feature and not part of SwannShield.

Additional features are about as expected, including motion sensitivity adjustments and the ability to turn a siren on or off, push notifications, and person detection. Three modes—Home, Night, and Away—can be used to create three different presets of all of the above, including SwannShield usage. For example: High sensitivity, siren on when away; low sensitivity, no push notifications when home. These modes can all be set to activate on a recurring schedule, too.

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

Should you buy the Swann SwannBuddy 4K?

The SwannBuddy 4K is certainly a step up over the very basic original release, and the roughly $50 price increase seems warranted given the better video quality, overall improved performance, and emerging AI features.

I’m not thrilled about the subscription situation, but many users might find that the onboard storage is good enough without the extr