Most of Arlo’s offerings are weather-proof and made for the outside, but the latest is made to be used indoors.
While home security typically happens outside the home, watching over a door or window, sometimes it’s in the home that a camera can be suited, as well. It might be to watch someone or to make sure someone isn’t breaking into a window, with a camera sitting on a ledge or bookshelf to make sure you’re aware of just what’s going on.
With many cameras these days being built for weather resistance and wireless operation with a battery, it means if you’re looking for an indoor camera, you might actually be paying for features you don’t need.
Outdoor cameras are handy for making sure potentially bad neighbours or anyone else won’t try to break in from the front or back, but indoor cameras don’t need the water resistance nor do they always need the battery for cordless operation, such as is the case with the Arlo Pro models. They’re built for outdoors, but can also be used indoors if you choose to.
So Arlo has a solution on the way for people looking for watchful eye on the inside of the home, as it launches the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera in Australia, which is basically what the name suggests. As such, it’s an indoor camera useful for monitoring anything on the inside, though for a change, Arlo’s Essential Indoor also comes with something no other Arlo offers: a cover for the camera, acting as a privacy shield.
Controllable by the app, Arlo’s privacy shield basically kicks in as a cover for the camera, preventing the indoor camera from monitoring what’s going on, either by video or audio until it has been turned off.
“Arlo holds user privacy in the highest regard and the all-new Essential Indoor Camera further supports that commitment,” said Brad Little, Vice President and Managing Director of Arlo in the Asia Pacific region.
“Unlike competitive indoor monitoring solutions, we designed the Essential Indoor Camera with a clearly visible privacy shield, easily differentiating it from the camera face so users can distinguish at a glance when the privacy mode is activated,” he said. “This thoughtful design element provides added peace of mind, so users can quickly identify whether or not the camera is capable of recording.”
When there’s no privacy shield and the camera is just doing its regular thing, the Essential Indoor Camera can capture at 1080p video with support for night vision, and includes two-way audio like a video doorbell so you can talk to people through the camera. The camera is also compatible with both major smart home assistants — Amazon’s Alexa and the Google Assistant — and the app works on iOS and Android, as well, much like it does with other Arlo cameras, such as the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight camera we reviewed.
One thing you won’t get from the Arlo Essential Indoor model is water resistance, as it’s not needed here. You also won’t get a battery, with this camera needing to be plugged in at all times to work, though it does include a siren which can be triggered automatically from a specific rule or from the app, something Arlo has been known to include on its hubs.
The new Essential Indoor camera isn’t entirely new for Arlo, mind you, which has offered indoor cameras in the past. There’s the Arlo Baby and the Arlo Q, both of which offered an indoor approach to security, though neither of which have been updated in quite some time. We’re guessing the Essential Indoor is a replacement for both, but we’re checking with Arlo to find out if that’s true.
For now, Arlo’s Essential Indoor Camera can be found at electrical retailers across Australia for $159.
