Upgrades to doorbell and security cameras plus a brand new intelligent spotlight
Smart home automation specialist Vivint has gone live with a suite of new products, from a doorbell camera to an intelligent spotlight, all designed to “take the guesswork out of smart home and deliver an experience that takes living in a smart home to the next level.”
First up is the new Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro, an AI-powered video doorbell that aims to detect and protect packages coming to your door.
It has a 180° x 180° lens, two-way talk and a 90dB speaker to warn anyone off who shouldn’t be there.
Intelligent detection will alert you whenever people or parcels arrive, and an on-camera encrypted SD card allows for 24/7 monitoring and recording.
The upgraded camera sensor offers better color accuracy and low-light performance, giving you increased detail in shadows and at night.
Read this: What it’s like to live in Vivint’s smart home
The new Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro comes with improved image color and detail and like the Doorbell, also includes an on-camera encrypted SD card for 24/7 monitoring and recording even if the Wi-Fi connection is lost.
It also retains all the features of the previous model, including an 85dB speaker to deter lurkers, a 360° ball joint for easy positioning, a 140° lens, 3x HD zoom, surveillance zones, night vision and far-field microphones for two-way talk.
The brand new Vivint Spotlight Pro is designed as an accessory for the Outdoor Camera Pro, using the camera’s technology to detect people on your property, shine a spotlight on them and even follow them as they move around.
If they still aren’t deterred, the lighting becomes more dramatic in order to deter potential burglars.
Hopefully you won’t constantly be beset by thieves, though, in which case the Spotlight Pro will make itself helpful by providing ambient lighting along paths for visitors, and can also be adjusted to ensure it doesn’t shine straight into a neighbor’s window as they’re trying to sleep.
Finally, the new Vivint Indoor Camera Pro adds new features such as monitoring for glass breaks or smoke or CO2 detectors for added indoor security. It also has a new Privacy Mode which means the camera only records when you have set it to “Away/Arm”.
As you’d expect, it also comes with a sleeker design and improved image quality, plus the previous feature of a call-out button which allows you to chat with family or pets through the camera.
The new Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro is $249.99 and the Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro is $399.99, both available now.
The new Vivint Spotlight Pro will begin rolling out in July 2022, costing $249.99, and the Vivint Indoor Camera Pro will be available later this year for $199.99.
What is Vivint?
Vivint started as a home security company back in 1999, gradually growing and attracting more customers as it introduced home monitoring and other security features. In 2014, it started to creep into the smart home market with the purchase of cloud storage company Space Monkey.
From there, it sealed partnerships with Amazon and Nest and started introducing its own smart home products.
In recent years it formed a partnership with Google, giving away free Google Home Minis to Vivint customers so that they can use Google Assistant to command their smart home systems.
Vivint takes these devices, combines them with its customer and security support and puts them into smart home packages. Unlike other smart home companies, you can’t really go on the website and easily select what products you want and what you don’t.
You’ll need to call Vivint and speak to a customer service rep, who will walk you through what your options are, but we’ll get to that in a bit. First, you should know that Vivint’s service is built on two pillars: home security and home automation.
Home security is in Vivint’s DNA. It combines a number of sensors and monitors with 24/7 monitoring from staff. Those staff are on hand to respond should anything bad happen in your home. Thare isn’t just burglaries either, but fire, floods and carbon monoxide.
Home automation is usually what you think of when you think of the smart home. Vivint pairs its own devices with that of partners to give you a bit more control. That means doing everything from opening and closing your garage to controlling your lights or setting the temperature.
