ARLO has finally announced a complete home security system, at CES 2019. This is a completely do-it-yourself (DIY) system, which includes the ARLO multi-sensor, ARLO Siren, ARLO Remote and it is powered by the SmartHub. Users will be able to control the entire system with the ARLO app – available on both Android and iOS. ARLO’s multi-sensor is different from the sensors you would pick up from Nest and other competitors. This is a versatile sensor that can be used nearly anywhere. Whether that’s on a door, window or elsewhere. Other systems have sensors for each location, forcing users to buy more and spend more money. But that’s not the case with the ARLO security system. It is also able to detect motion, smoke, carbon monoxide alarms, water leaks, temperature changes and so much more.
The other components of this system include the ARLO Siren, which can be used outdoors as it is weatherproof and it has a battery inside. This will work as long as it is in range of the SmartHub. It’s a loud siren and it has a red strobe light, which is meant to deter intruders from getting into your home. It can also output other sounds like a TV being on or a dog barking, to try and deter intruders without waking up the entire neighborhood. There is also the ARLO Remote which is a simple remote that you can use to arm or disarm the security system for yourself or someone else. Finally, there is the SmartHub. This is exactly what you’d expect too. It’s the center of your home security system, and uses a proprietary two-way radio frequency technology that is being called ArloRF. This is needed so that the SmartHub can still protect your home, even when the Internet or power goes out. This offers up extended battery life and long-range wireless coverage throughout your home, making it really great for those that do have larger homes. Finally, this is also Zigbee and Z-Wave compatible beginning in the second half of 2019, so it will work with your existing smart home products. ARLO has not yet announced pricing and availability for its Security System, but it should be available at some point in the first half of the year.
ARLO is launching more products to accompany its best-selling security cameras
ARLO, who just spun out from NETGEAR recently, is very well-known for its wire-free security cameras, in fact it leads the industry. And lately, it has bene producing new products that are aimed at supporting those security cameras. For instance, it debuted a doorbell not too long ago. But unlike other smart doorbells on the market, there is no camera built-in. This is because ARLO expects you to use it with your existing ARLO cameras. This allows ARLO to keep the price lower (it’s just $60, versus others like Ring and Nest being over $200), and it also allows the user to get as many angles of their front-door and in front of their house as they’d like.
Now with this new security system that ARLO is providing another way for existing users of its cameras to add more functionality to those cameras. As you’ll notice, this security system does not include any cameras. Again, that is because ARLO expects you to already have some, or pick them up separately. ARLO’s cameras are all wire-free (with a couple of exceptions, like the ARLO Q), which means that you can put them outside, and mount them around your home. So you can keep your home safe from people that might be trying to get into it.
‘Works with ARLO’ allows other smart home products to talk with ARLO
The company also debuted the new “Works with ARLO” program at CES 2019 today. This is essentially to allow other products to talk to the ARLO SmartHub and ARLO App. This means that you won’t need to buy all of ARLO’s products to make your home a “smart” home. The Works With ARLO program will work with smart locks, lights, speakers and much more. Basically everything in the “smart home” category will be compatible. The program isn’t slated to launch until the second half of the year, but it does have a few names for partners. Which include Bose, Danalock, Jasco, Leviton, LIFX, Philips Hue, Schlage, Sonos and Yale.
ARLO Ultra gets Pricing & Availability confirmed
Finally, in the slew of ARLO announcements today at CES, it also announced when the recently announced ARLO Ultra, 4K HDR wire-free security camera would be made available. It will be available later this month at ARLO’s usual array of retailers. This includes Best Buy, Amazon and many others. It will cost $399 for a single camera. Which also includes a one-year subscription to ARLO Smart Premier, which is the company’s AI and computer vision powered service that is able to store 30 days of recordings in the cloud, and also able to detect people, vehicles, pets, packages and much more.
The ARLO Ultra is a much more expensive camera compared to ARLO’s other cameras on the market, and this is mostly due to the fact that it is a 4K HDR camera, and it is still wire-free. It boasts a 180-degree field-of-view here, allowing you to really get your entire home in view, and see your entire front-yard from this camera as well. It does also offer advanced noise cancellation for two-way audio, so you are able to still talk to those that are being seen by the camera. One of the main advantages to recording in 4K versus 1080p or 720p is the fact that you will be able to zoom in on the video and actually be able to see what’s going on. In a lower-resolution video, zooming in would result in the image not being as sharp. Nest started this trend with its Nest Cam IQ a couple years ago, however that was not a wire-free camera, and the ARLO Ultra is the first (and so far, only) 4K HDR camera that is wire-free and weather-proof.