The Arlo Essential 2K Outdoor Security Camera is a static view cam which provides clear footage, a siren and spotlight to startle intruders, and two-way audio. There are two sleek shiny cameras in a pack, so you can cover every square foot of your garden. The initial price is painful, and the Arlo Secure fee is steep too. Because of this, I think I’ll be sticking with Ring.
Pros
+
Clear 2K footage
+
Thumbnail of what it’s detected
+
Easy to set activity and privacy zones
+
Dazzling spotlight
Cons
-
Battery drains quite rapidly
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Not always easy to set up
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Cost of footage very steep
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I thought I’d have fun and give the Arlo Essential 2K Outdoor Security Cameras the names ‘Fred’ and ‘Doris’. This is mainly because the alerts ‘Person detected on Fred’ and ‘Animal detected on Doris’ made me laugh. You may be less ridiculous than me and want to give your cams more boring names (perhaps their locations). Hey, I’m not judging.
Of course, I had to download the Arlo Secure app to use and name them - and it wasn’t easy to pair the app with the devices. Holding down the cam’s button until the light blinked didn’t ensure it would pair. Weirdly, when I took each cam upstairs individually and tried this, the pairing was much more straightforward, so perhaps the app was getting confused by the fact that there were two cams in front of it?
It’s very easy to mount and angle the cams wherever you want. You can check the live view and then reposition the cam if it’s not showing what you’re after.
As static view cams go, these are among the best outdoor security cameras in 2024. Made by the reputable Arlo Technologies from California, up there with Nest and Ring in the home security camera category, they’re full of stand-out features.
(Image credit: Future)
Arlo Essential 2nd Gen: Specifications
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Sensor
1/2.7-inch 4-Megapixel
Row 0 - Cell 2
Reolution
2560 x 1440 (2K) edition tested (1080P version available)
Row 1 - Cell 2
Night Vision
Yes (dual 850nm lights + spotlgiht for color)
Row 2 - Cell 2
Field of View
130-degree
Row 3 - Cell 2
Detection
PIR
Row 4 - Cell 2
Siren
Yes
Row 5 - Cell 2
Spotlight
Yes, LED - 42LUX at 1M
Row 6 - Cell 2
Storage
Cloud only
Row 7 - Cell 2
Dimensions
8.26 x 5.73 x 9.66 cm; 454 g
Row 8 - Cell 2
Connectivity
2.4GHz only
Row 9 - Cell 2
Arlo Essential 2nd Gen: Price and Availability
These cams are currently available for $99 each or $189.99 for a pair - fairly steep at either price. You get a 30-day free trial of the Arlo Secure plan - after this, you still get the live view, notifications and two-way audio but have to pay for the footage. Prices start from $8.33 per month or $12.50 for multiple cameras. (£10.99 per month). Ouch! Though yearly payment gets a discount and this is broady in line with other cloud cameras, it seems a lot.
(Image credit: Future)
Arlo Essential 2nd Gen: Build and handling
The Arlo Essential 2K Outdoor Security Camera is a chonky boi. Doris and Fred are weighty and solid with lovely curves, but I’m not saying they should go on a diet and lose weight: it’s reassuring to feel a hefty chunk of camera in your hand. Not that it’ll be in your hand much, I imagine; it’ll be mounted to your fence or wall with the mount provided.
Also, Fred and Doris are very unlikely names for such aesthetically pleasing cams. They’re sleek, monochrome and wonderfully glossy.
In fact Arlo offers even chunkier versions in the form of their 'XL' variants (they have been binging on charge and house bigger batteries). Perhaps I'd have been better off with them, but I'll get to that.
Doris showing off her QR code (Image credit: Future)
Arlo Essential 2nd Gen: Performance
I mounted Doris to the side of the garden and Fred at the back, and together they alerted me to all the wildlife. Doris filmed a lovely clip of a fox cleaning itself at night, though the first part of the clip is in black and white, and it only switches to colour halfway through.
When the app notified me of an event, which was often, the notifications would contain a little thumbnail of what the cam had detected, which added to the fun.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
The battery life is quite poor – I had to charge the cams every week, not every 4 months as promised, though they didn’t take long to charge. (More fox visits means more activations, which partly explains it.)
The actual footage captured was brilliantly clear. I would just worry that the cams would conk out moments before an intruder breaks in, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the battery percentage in the app.
The spotlight is blinding and would definitely stop a burglar in their tracks.
A still from the camera (as seen in the app) shows the quality (and that the cam chooses to expose for the lower light areas). (Image credit: Future)
The two-way audio is tinny, which is standard for these cams, but it was definitely audible.
You can easily designate privacy and activity zones in the app, but my garden is the size of a very small hamster so it wasn’t really practical.
Arlo Essential 2nd Gen: Sample Video
The video shows how quick the camera is to engage the spotlight for color video.
Fred looking watchful from his vantage point (Image credit: Future)
Arlo Essential 2nd Gen: Verdict
Overall, the Arlo Essential 2K Outdoor Security Camera is a great cam (well, pair of cams).
The clarity of the 2K footage is outstanding, the notifications come with a little helpful thumbnail, the spotlight is glaringly bright and the two-way audio works well. Doris and Fred have outdone themselves. If only their battery life were better, the price wasn’t so high and the subscription not so expensive (especially for people buying a multi-pack of cameras) then this would be a 5/5 review.
It is fair to add that if budget is a serious concern, then the 1080P (lower resolution) version of the camera is half the price – I was testing the 2K version. It's definitely worth asking if you need the extra resolution, though of course faces and license plates do gain detail and the monthly sub is still the same per camera rate.
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Features
A full complement of impressive features.
★★★★★
Design
A lovely chunky build and stylish look.
★★★★★
Performance
The performance would be great if the battery didn’t drain so quickly (to mitigate this, an 'XL' version is an option, for an even bigger outlay)
★★★✩✩
Value
The initial cost plus the realtively high per cam per month rate for the footage cloud is eyewateringly expensive.
Consider reading about the best HomeKit camera if you're an Apple user and want to find a way to avoid adding smart security cameras to your home but no more regular subscriptions.
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Ariane Sherine is an author and journalist on many subjects including interiors, and singer-songwriter (under the artist name Ariane X). She has written for the Guardian, Times, Independent, Telegraph, Spectator, Mail, New Statesman, Esquire, NME, Sun and Metro. She regularly appears on television and radio.
She's also written comedy for the BBC and Channel 4, and is still known worldwide for the 2008 Atheist Bus Campaign, featuring adverts on buses which proclaimed 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life' sponsored by Richard Dawkins.
As a result, Ariane went on to edit and compile the bestselling celebrity charity anthology The Atheist's Guide to Christmas (HarperCollins). She has also written three self-help books for major publisher Hachette: Talk Yourself Better, How to Live to 100 and The How of Happy (the last two co-written with public health consultant David Conrad). Ariane's debut novel Shitcom was published in 2021, and is a hilarious body swap comedy. Her latest book is the biography The Real Sinéad O'Connor by White Owl Books.
