Google Nest Cam Indoor and Outdoor 2K Review: Slick, Smart, and Secure

The new Nest Cam Indoor and Nest Cam Outdoor boast the easiest setup experience I’ve ever encountered. Just plug them in (Nest Cam Indoor has a 10-foot USB-C cable, Nest Cam Outdoor has an 18-foot weatherproof cable), scan the QR code sticker on the front of each camera via the Google Home app, connect to Wi-Fi, and you’re up and running in no time (both 2.4-GHz support and GHz bands). The elegant magnetic mount for the Nest Cam Outdoor requires a few screws, while my Nest Cam Indoor sits neatly on a shelf.

While Google has lagged behind competitors for years with its 1080p cameras, support for HDR and a higher frame rate have helped keep last-gen Nest Cams relevant. That said, a 2560 x 1400 resolution with a larger 152-degree diagonal field of view is a clear and immediate upgrade. This resolution bump also enables 6X digital zoom, so Nest Cams can serve up zoomed-in notifications about each animated alert. These notifications show a few frames of each event, making it easier to decide if you need to tap and watch the full video. You can also zoom in on the live feed and crop the view to focus on a specific area, such as a garden gate or path.

Google Home via Simon Hill

Google Home via Simon Hill

Both cameras detect more activity than their predecessors and warn more accurately and quickly. The range seems better. For example, my indoor camera faces a side door, and it can pick up people from across the street and zoom in on them as they walk by. I don’t necessarily want to do it, but the reach is impressive. It’s even more successful with outdoor cameras, as the new model only gets to me when entering the back door of a remote garage compared to the previous generation. Outdoor cameras are much faster to upload alerts and accessible videos than older battery-powered models (this is usually true of wired cameras).

The cameras get six hours of cloud video history at no extra cost (up from three for the previous generation), but that’s all you need without an expensive subscription. On that note, Google has stopped favoring Nest Aware Two-tier Google Home Premium: Standard is $10 per month or $100 per year, and Advanced is $20 per month or $200 per year.

Google’s Home Premium subscription includes everything you get with Nest Aware (30 days of video history, familiar faces, and garage door, package, smoke, and CO alarm detection) and Nest Aware Plus (60 days of video history or 10 days of 24/7), but standard compatible smartphones include Gemini Live and you’ll want to build home speakers and automated speakers. Such an option. The app works well with this last feature if you have a bunch of smart home devices set up in Google Home and you can tell it to do things like “turn on the lights at sunset” or “trigger the outside lights on the side door camera.” It’s much easier than using the old script editor.

Advanced AI

Cream of AI Goodies requires advanced subscription. It adds descriptive notifications, so instead of “Person detected” you’ll get messages like “Person walking down the stairs” or “Cat is on the table” instead of “Animal detected.” Searchable video history using the Ask Home search bar is really handy; You can ask questions like “Who opened the back door last night?” or “Did FedEx deliver a package today?” And jump right into the event. You also get the daily summary with Home Brief, which gives you an often hilarious digest of the highlights from the day.

screenshotGoogle Home via Julian Chokkattu