Google Nest Cam (Indoor, Wired) review: Smart security

(Pocket-lint) - Google expanded its Nest portfolio successful 2021, not lone with a battery doorbell and battery Nest Cam, but a smaller and cheaper wired indoor information camera too. 

Its sanction mightiness beryllium a small clunky - officially "Nest Cam (indoor, wired)" if you're going by Google's ain tract - but its plan is thing but, positive it's got a large diagnostic acceptable too.

So if you're successful the marketplace for a smart information camera to ticker implicit the wrong of your home, look nary further, particularly if you person different Google astute location devices.

Compact design

• Tabletop positioned oregon wall-mounted with 2 screws
• Dimensions: 98.5 x 64 x 56.9mm / Weight: 93g
• Operating temperature: 0 to 40°C
• 45% recycled materials

The wired Nest Cam - which we'll conscionable telephone the Nest Cam for the remainder of this review, nary request for each the brackets and commas - follows the aforesaid plan principals arsenic the erstwhile Nest Cam IQ Indoor, but it's overmuch smaller and much compact. It's besides made from 45 per cent recycled worldly crossed its integrative elements - truthful it's much environmentally conscious compared to its predecessor.

There's a dome-shaped base, which you tin spot onto immoderate furniture, though it doubles up arsenic a wall-mount with 2 screw holes for those who privation to person the Nest Cam positioned successful apical country of a room, for example. 

A metallic hinge allows you to set its caput - i.e. the main portion of the instrumentality - to the space desired. On the backmost of this caput - which has a beauteous matte decorativeness - determination is simply a powerfulness cord and a speaker, enabling features similar Talk and Listen.

The beforehand of the 2021 Nest Cam has a achromatic integrative face, with the camera sensor positioned successful the mediate - arsenic has been the lawsuit for erstwhile models. There's a microphone supra the camera lens and an LED airy that sits supra that, indicating erstwhile the camera is on, arsenic good arsenic erstwhile idiosyncratic is watching done live-view.

The smaller size makes the Nest Cam overmuch much discreet than its predecessor. Google has paid much cautious attraction to the plan of its location devices, similar the Nest Hub Max, and the Nest Cams are nary antithetic - though the 2021 exemplary feels similar the institution went 1 measurement further, offering a subtler wide finish.

Easy setup

• Requires Google Home app
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz/5GHz)
• 3m (10ft) powerfulness cablegram with USB-A connector

The Nest Cam is easy setup, though it is worthy noting that similar the different 2021 Nest devices this is achieved done the Google Home app alternatively than the Nest app.

You'll request a powerfulness root adjacent by to wherever you privation to presumption your Nest Cam - there's a three-metre cablegram supplied - arsenic dissimilar the larger and much costly Nest Cam (Indoor oregon Outdoor, Battery), determination isn't the enactment to tally disconnected the built-in battery. Unlike that peculiar camera, this Nest Cam is not weatherproof, arsenic its afloat sanction attests, truthful it's an indoor camera only.

You'll request to marque definite you person a decent Wi-Fi transportation excessively - though successful the lawsuit of a powerfulness chopped oregon Wi-Fi outage, the camera volition proceed to seizure for an hour.

Once you determine wherever you privation to presumption your Nest Cam, motorboat the Google Home app and you'll beryllium taken done a step-by-step setup process. It's quick, elemental and doesn't instrumentality agelong astatine all. Once that's done the camera is afloat integrated with the Google Home app and you'll find the unrecorded provender successful the 'Cameras' section, arsenic good arsenic nether whichever country you person placed it in.

• Google Home tips and tricks

Smart features

• Activity zones
• Two-way Talk and Listen
• Person/animal/vehicle question detection
• 3hr lawsuit past (without a subscription)
• Familiar Face alerts, 30- oregon 60-day lawsuit past (with subscription)

The Nest Cam has a beardown diagnostic acceptable - and portion we bash similar the Nest app implicit the Google Home app due to the fact that it's truthful overmuch amended and a nuisance that it can't beryllium utilized present - galore of those features are escaped to usage without a subscription.

Previously, immoderate of the best features of the Nest Cam IQ Indoor required a Nest Aware subscription and though Familiar Face alerts - which, arsenic it says, is each astir designation of those you cognize - is inactive locked down the subscription, arsenic good arsenic much lawsuit history, determination are inactive plentifulness that you tin instrumentality vantage of without a subscription. 

You get person, vehicle, carnal and question alerts delivered to your smartphone. You tin besides unfastened the Google Home app to scan done 3 hours of lawsuit past (more if you person a subscription).

There's besides a two-way connection feature, allowing you to pat connected the microphone icon successful the Google Home app for your connection to travel done the talker connected your Nest Cam. You tin adjacent watercourse the provender to immoderate Google Smart Display you have, similar the Nest Hub oregon Nest Hub Max.

We concisely mentioned the LED airy connected the Nest Cam - this is simply a coagulated greenish colour erstwhile the Nest Cam is connected and recording. If a subordinate of your Google Home household is watching the unrecorded stream, it volition flash green.

There's besides a Home and Away diagnostic - thing Nest devices person offered for a agelong time, starting with its smart thermostat. This diagnostic uses your smartphone determination to automatically crook the Nest Cam connected oregon off. For instance: erstwhile you permission home, the camera tin beryllium acceptable to crook on; erstwhile you travel home, it tin beryllium acceptable to crook off.

There is nary mode to acceptable a docket though, not adjacent done Google Assistant routines. With the Nest Cam IQ Indoor, for example, you tin acceptable it to crook connected astatine 10pm successful the Nest app truthful it volition grounds erstwhile you spell to bed. This isn't imaginable successful the Google Home app with nary scheduling astatine all.

You besides miss retired connected a mates of different features, similar built-in Google Assistant and the tracking diagnostic offered by the Nest Cam IQ Indoor that volition zoom successful connected an intruder and travel them astir the room. That said, the Nest Cam is importantly cheaper than the Nest Cam IQ Indoor, truthful it's understandable.

Great performance

• 2MP sensor, up to 1080p (1920 x 1080) astatine 30fps
• 135-degree tract of view, 16:9 facet ratio
• Night Vision, precocious dynamic scope (HDR)
• 6x integer zoom

The Google Nest Cam offers large video and representation prime - time oregon night. It's not rather arsenic crisp arsenic the Nest Cam IQ Indoor but the colours are bully acknowledgment to precocious dynamic scope (HDR), and there's a bully tract of presumption to spot what's what.

You tin take to grounds successful High oregon Max prime - we had our camera acceptable to High and we recovered this much than adequate, though you could take Max if you're blessed to usage much bandwidth. There's nary 4K video recording, with Full HD/1080p the max.

As mentioned, determination are a mates of features missing compared to the Nest Cam IQ Indoor, truthful you suffer prime and item erstwhile you manually zoom successful the Google Home app, alternatively than the camera being capable to way a idiosyncratic automatically and zoom successful without losing detail.

As the Nest Cam is capable to separate betwixt people, animals, vehicles and question - similar the remainder of the 2021 Nest lineup - you lone get notifications for things that are really important to you, and this is existent adjacent without a Nest Aware subscription.

You tin take successful the Google Home app what events you privation to beryllium notified astir - we person radical lone arsenic we decidedly don't request to cognize erstwhile our feline is successful the surviving country - and you tin besides acceptable Activity Zones to further power what the camera records and what you are notified about. Overall, notifications are large with precise small delay.

If you person a Nest Aware subscription, you tin crook connected Familiar Face Detection, which volition let the Nest Cam entree to your look room and alert you much specifically when, say, Grandma is seen successful the Living Room. The subscription besides allows for 30-day lawsuit past (or 60-day lawsuit past successful the US), which is simply a small much utile than the escaped 3 hours.

• What is Nest Aware, however overmuch is it and what does it offer?

Writing by Britta O'Boyle. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 23 October 2021.