Earlier today during the company’s San Francisco event, Nest introduced a number of new products designed to offer better protection for the home. Of the new products, one of the most interesting was the Nest Hello as in spite of this being just a doorbell, it is also a smart doorbell, and one that comes with its own camera negating the need for any additional cameras to ensure the front door of the home is covered. Following the main announcement of the new Nest products, we were able to get a closer look at them all, including the new Nest Hello.
While the idea is here is to combine the use of a traditional doorbell with its own camera, the camera aspect is by no means discrete. Those who do walk up to a door and ring the doorbell will certainly be aware that there is a camera pointing right back at them. Although one of the key features on offer with Nest Hello is that it will be able to monitor the front door surroundings, including identifying people who are in the vicinity of the front door regardless of whether they ring the doorbell or not. So while it is not so discreet when it comes to those who ring the doorbell, it certainly might act as a more hidden camera to watch out for those lurking nearby, compared to more obviously-positioned cameras facing the door, the porch, or the drive.
Speaking of the view, compared to traditional spy holes Nest Hello does make use of a 160-degree field of view as well as a 4:3 aspect ratio. The idea here being Nest Hello is able to see much more of what can be seen through traditional measures. So although the camera is attached to the doorbell and at person height, the view on offer from the doorbell will account for a much wider amount of space. With Nest confirming that not only will the full picture of a person be visible, but even packages left on the floor outside will be picked up by Nest Hello. So in spite of its small footprint, this is a camera designed to capture most of what is visible in one direction.
Adding to that, this is also a camera that is designed to be as useful away from the home, as much as when at home. So in addition to being able to view who is at the door without heading to the door to see, users will be able to tune in through the Nest ecosystem and see who is at the door, even when the homeowner is not at home. Likewise, the more the user is integrated into the Nest ecosystem the better the information will be. As Nest has explained that Nest Aware users will be able to make use of ‘familiar face’ alerts which essentially means the Nest Hello will be able to tell the difference between people at the door the user knows, and those they do not. If all that was not enough then this camera-equipped doorbell also comes with night vision support which will likely appeal and be of benefit to those who are concerned about answering the door late at night, or just generally in less than ideal lighting conditions.
Unfortunately, Nest has yet to fully disclose availability details on the Nest Hello which does mean that at present there is no firm information on when Nest Hello will become available, or for how much. Nest did explain that the expected time-frame for Nest Hello’s arrival is sometime in the first quarter of 2018, so this is not something that is due to arrive during this year’s Holiday season. In the meantime, those interested in taking a closer look at the Nest Hello should check out the rest of the images in the gallery below.
