Folks who are starting to build out their smart home security systems could do a lot worse than going with Nest's cameras. The Google brand offers an accessible entry point into home security (especially if you already have a Google account for Gmail, YouTube or the company's other services). As such, the Google Nest Security Cam (Wired) is our pick for the best security camera for smart home newbies. That model is currently on sale for $70, which is $30 off and a record-low price.
The camera is a cinch to set up and get working the way you want it to. You can manage it through the Google Home app, which is smartly designed, clean and easy to navigate. The app takes you through the setup process with step-by-step directions, and the plain language helps make it a breeze to do things like customizing routines. The camera supports features like location-based triggers on both Android and iPhone — you can set things up so that you're only notified of a detected incident when you're away from home.
Along with viewing your camera feed in the Home app, you can also access it from a Nest Hub, Google TV or Streamer. You should get a decent look at whatever's going on as the camera captures 1080p HD video with what we felt were accurate colors. Infrared images captured at night are smooth as well.
The Nest Cam has a fairly sleek, modern design featuring two half-orbs, one acting as the base (which can be wall-mounted) and another as the camera module. The arm that connects the two allows for a 90-degree range of vertical movement and full 360-degree horizontal rotation. That's especially useful as the camera has a 135-degree field of view, which is decent enough but not exactly the widest among home security cameras.
Google gates some of the Nest Cam's more useful features behind subscriptions. If you opt out, you'll only get access to three hours of the most recent event history. That might not be long enough, especially if you're away on a trip and something notable happens that your camera picks up.
With an $8-per-month Nest Aware subscription, you can access the past 30 days of recorded activity. Upgrade further to the $15 per month Nest Aware Plus plan and you can call up 90 days of recorded activity and store up to 10 days of round-the-clock recordings. A subscription isn't required for the people, animal and people detection features, or customizing alerts for any of those.
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