Amazon’s budget security camera company, Blink, has launched the second generation of its popular video doorbell. The new Blink Video Doorbell adds a head-to-toe view and improved video resolution. It can also now alert you when a person is at your door instead of just the neighborhood cat or a strong gust of wind triggering its motion sensors. The doorbell camera comes with a new, more basic hub, the Sync Module Core, which, unlike the first-gen model, is required to use the buzzer.
Blink’s latest doorbell is still one of the cheapest on the market, costing $59.99 without the hub and $69.99 with it. The lowest-priced battery-powered buzzer from Ring, Blink’s sister brand, is $99, and it only claims six to 12 months of battery life compared to Blink’s industry-leading two years, powered by its custom silicon.
Upgrades on this version include an improved 150-degree field of view with a 1:1 aspect ratio. That should give you a head-to-toe view of your porch so you can see people and packages. The prior version, which is my pick for the best budget video doorbell, has a 16:9 aspect ratio. This buzzer also adds 1440p x 1440p image resolution, according to Jonathan Cohn, Blink’s head of product. This is a step up from 1080p, meaning footage should be clearer. There’s still no color night vision; it retains the infrared night vision of the first-gen model.
The biggest upgrade is the addition of person detection; the first-gen model sends alerts for any motion, but now you can be notified just when there’s a person at your door. This is powered by on-device computer vision, so it doesn’t require the cloud. But it does require a $3 per month ($30 per year) Blink subscription plan (which also adds 60 days of cloud storage for recorded video). Blink has slowly been bringing person detection to its lineup, adding it first to its wired floodlight camera, then its flagship outdoor camera, and its Blink Mini indoor / outdoor camera last year.
The new doorbell requires a Sync Module to work, Cohn says, and it now comes with the new Sync Module Core, rather than the Sync Module 2. This is something of a downgrade as the Core doesn’t have the local storage option that the Sync 2 offers. Cohn says the module helps extend battery life and range and enables on-demand live view and two-way audio. He confirmed that the new doorbell can work with the Sync 2 and the newer long-range Sync Module XR, if you already have one or if you want local storage.
The new buzzer features a slightly chunkier design to accommodate three AA lithium batteries as opposed to two in the first-gen version. The extra battery helps maintain the impressive two-year battery life while powering improved image quality and the addition of person detection, Cohn says. Blink is unique among security camera makers as it uses its own chip that’s optimized for power management, so while it doesn’t boast the higher-end features like those from Ring and Arlo, you don’t have to worry about dealing with charging or replacing its batteries as often. It can also be hardwired to main power, which allows the doorbell to work with an existing indoor chime.
Unfortunately, Blink chose not to upgrade the device’s Wi-Fi capabilities; it’s still limited to 2.4GHz. Motion-activated recording is also limited to just 30-second clips, and the two-way audio is push-to-talk, which is like using a walkie-talkie, as opposed to full duplex, which is more like a phone call and is what you’ll find on most other video doorbells.
Presumably, most of these limitations are designed to extend battery life, and Blink’s two years is still its standout feature; no other video doorbell on the market comes close. The addition of higher video quality and person detection, all for the same price, makes this a worthy upgrade.
The second-generation Blink Video Doorbell is available to buy now on Amazon for $69.99 with the Sync Module Core or $59.99 as a standalone device.
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