The Arlo Essential Outdoor in Practical Testing: Night Vision, Siren and Subscription

Smart, Sharp and Secure: Arlo Introduces the 2nd Generation of the Popular Essential Outdoor

The Arlo Essential Outdoor (2nd Generation) Security Camera combines advanced surveillance features with a simple installation process and a balanced price-performance ratio. It targets users who want to comprehensively secure their home or outdoor area without having to accept a complex setup or high costs. In this test report, I clarify whether the camera can convince with its features and everyday usability.

Key Features

• 2K resolution (2560×1440 pixels) for sharp video recordings
• Color night vision for clear images even in darkness
• 130° viewing angle that covers large areas
• Powerful spotlight that illuminates faces up to 7 meters away
• Integrated alarm siren with up to 80 dB volume

Essential Results in Pro-Contra Overview:

Technical Specifications of the Arlo Essential Outdoor 2k at a Glance

Detailed Test Report: Design and Build Quality

The sleek and functional design of the Arlo Essential Outdoor 2K fits seamlessly into different environments. The weatherproof housing made of robust polycarbonate is protected against rain, sun, wind and snow and functions reliably at temperatures between -20 °C and 45 °C. Thanks to the included mount with ball joint, the camera can be flexibly installed on walls or ceilings, and it's also suitable for overhead mounting.

Setup and User-Friendliness

The package includes the charging cable and wall mounting brackets.

The camera installation is intuitive via Bluetooth and is completed in just a few minutes. After pressing the pairing button, the connection was established in seconds during testing. The user-friendly app guides you very clearly through all installation steps, so not much can go wrong during initial setup.

In the Arlo app, surveillance areas can be individually adjusted and privacy zones can be defined. The app also supports smart home integrations with Google Home, Alexa and IFTTT, making use even more versatile. Unfortunately, customers on Amazon report that the Alexa skill only functions inadequately and so useful functions like calling up the camera on Fire TV don't work.

Some of the advanced features, such as 30-day cloud recordings, customizable activity zones, recordings up to 2K, and AI-powered object detection, detailed messages in the feed, require a paid Arlo Secure subscription. During installation, a 30-day trial period is granted that doesn't auto-renew, essentially as an appetizer. Overall, the cameras make little sense without a subscription due to the severely reduced feature set.

The battery enables 4-6 months of operating time, depending on activity and temperatures. The current status is displayed in the app. A small disadvantage is that the battery is not removable. This means that the camera must be completely dismounted for charging, unless a permanent USB-C charging cable has been installed. However, the cameras can also be easily charged directly on the wall with a mobile solar panel or power station and a long USB cable. So it's not that big a deal.

Essential Functions and Performance

In everyday testing, the camera proved to be reliable. The alarms functioned precisely in my case, without false alarms, and video playback proved to be stable and high-resolution. The alarm, which sounds up to 80dB loud, can be clearly heard within a radius of 30 meters and is variably adjustable. The notifications on the smartphone are helpful for distinguishing unimportant activities from relevant ones without constantly being glued to the smartphone (with subscription naturally much more informative). Individual areas can, as mentioned above, be excluded from surveillance, e.g. the public street or neighbor's property

Should you want to make contact with a person, this works without problems via two-way communication. The speech is transmitted very clearly, so nothing fundamentally stands in the way of a chat. Sometimes there are a few seconds delay in transmission, which significantly hampers communication.

While the daylight recordings are impressive, the night vision quality falls somewhat soft under difficult lighting conditions. Overall, the video quality still remains at a high level (see images).

Especially at night, the combination of alarm siren and spotlight offers an adequate deterrent measure. A shortcoming is the missing possibility for local storage, which can become a problem during internet connection failures. The online storage in the cloud functions according to a fair-use principle, meaning if you exceed a certain framework, additional costs become necessary. This can happen, for example, if you want to observe 4 dogs with 10 cameras.

Special Highlights of the Arlo Essential Outdoor are:

• Motion Detection and AI Functions: Precise alarms that can be further optimized with a subscription.
• Color Night Vision: Colored images at night, which can lose details in very low light conditions.
• Communication: Two-way audio with noise and echo suppression enables clear conversations.

The app itself offers many setting options. Updates occur OTA

Privacy and Security

Arlo relies on comprehensive security measures to ensure user privacy. All videos are secured with bank-standard encryption. Privacy zones allow targeted exclusion of certain areas from the camera field. Two-factor authentication and continuous threat monitoring minimize the risk of unauthorized access. Accordingly, during testing I didn't feel like I was carelessly giving away data.

Price-Performance Ratio

The Arlo Essential Outdoor 2K is available from €229.99 for a 2-camera set, which is quite an attractive price compared to similar products. The camera is also available in various sets, e.g. as 3-piece, 1-piece kit e.g. in the ([url="https://www.arlo.com/de_de/cameras/arlo-essential-2k-outdoor",name="Arlo Online Shop",title=""]) or 4-piece set (also with solar panel) on Amazon.

The costs for the Arlo Secure subscription start at the current time (Nov. 2024) at €4.99 per month (or €49.90 p.a. in the basic plan) for 1 camera via €11.99 for up to 4 cameras (€119.90 p.a.) and rise to up to €16.99 monthly (€169.90 p.a.) for the most comprehensive plan with unlimited cameras. Since numerous functions are not available without a subscription, above all cloud storage and AI-powered event analysis, the subscription is almost essential.

Other cameras, such as the EufyCam 2C or the Ring Spotlight Cam, offer local storage options or longer battery life in similar price categories.

Conclusion

The Arlo Essential Outdoor (2nd Generation) 2K Security Camera offers a sensible combination of image quality, intelligent functionality and simple installation. It's ideally suited for users who seek a flexible security solution and don't shy away from dependence on a paid subscription. For users who don't need local storage and can accommodate the optional additional costs, the camera is a good choice. Minor shortcomings, such as defects in the Alexa skill or delays in transmission, will hopefully be fixed with upcoming updates.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Arlo Essential Outdoor

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  How is the Arlo Essential Outdoor 2K installed?

  The camera is set up via Bluetooth and can be installed in just a few minutes with the Arlo app. Mounting is done with the included bracket that is simply attached to walls or ceilings.

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  How long does the camera's battery last?

  The permanently installed battery has a runtime of 4–6 months, depending on usage. A permanent power supply via USB-C charging cable can optionally be used to avoid constant dismounting. There are matching solar panels from Arlo for this purpose.

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  Does the camera offer a local storage option?

  No, the Arlo Essential Outdoor does not support local storage. Recordings can only be stored in the cloud with an Arlo Secure subscription.

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  Which smart home platforms are supported?

  The camera is compatible with Google Home, Amazon Alexa and IFTTT, making integration into existing smart home systems easily possible.

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  Which functions are available without a subscription?

  Without an Arlo Secure subscription, the camera offers basic functions such as live video streaming, motion detection and simple notifications. However, advanced functions such as AI analysis, detailed notifications or cloud storage are not available.

Comparison with Current Market Competitors

In this comparison you can see the features of current competing products among security cameras.