Arlo Pro / Pro 2 Camera Review
My Arlo Pro and Pro 2 cameras were my original investment in smart home security. I originally got the set that included a base station and one camera. Later I expanded with add-on cameras, both Arlo Pro as well as Arlo Pro 2.
Pros
Free Cloud Storage
The number one advantage is the rolling 7-day free storage. This used to be a standout feature of Arlo but more recently it has transitioned to a subscription for its newer products.
That being said, if you can still get your hands on an Arlo Pro or Arlo Pro 2, the free cloud storage will be the primary benefit.
In fact, refurbished Arlo Pro and Arlo Pro 2 cameras are still selling at a premium precisely for this reason.
There are other smart home security that include limited free storage but very few come close to Arlo in terms of quality.
Wireless
If you don’t like to drill holes in your walls, then Arlo is your friend. The Arlo Pro and Pro 2 cameras connect to a base station via WiFi.
The cameras include batteries that can easily last several weeks. If you’re expecting several months battery life, that’s a tall order and I haven’t seen them last that long but to be honest, they are so easily to take off and recharge, it’s not really an inconvenience.
Siren
The Arlo base station includes a siren, which you can activate via the app. It’s extremely loud, over 100 decibel, and something you can use to try to scare off intruders.
App
The Arlo app works well for the most part. They constantly update it. Occasionally, some of the updates made things worse but their tech team always came back and fixed things.
With the app, you can set all kinds of triggers if you have multiple Arlo devices. For example, if one camera is triggered by motion, you can have it set up so that another camera starts recording as well.
USB Storage
One thing I like about the base station is that you can insert a USB stick and use it to save files locally. This way you are not reliant on uploading to the cloud. This also works if you expand to some of the newer Arlo devices like the Arlo Video Doorbell. It’s a nice gesture on Arlo’s part that they have made this available to their loyal users.
Smart Home Connectivity
When Arlo cameras were first released, they supported a wide range of smart assistants and smart home platforms. However, one notable exception was Apple HomeKit.
It was a long-time feature request in the Arlo Community. To their credit, eventually, Arlo pulled through and added HomeKit support.
Cons
2-Way-Audio
It’s obviously not a con that they have this feature. It certainly works but I think the quality needs to be improved. It’s also possible that it’s heavily reliant on your home wifi network.
Cost
These Arlo cameras are rather expensive and cost a premium relative to many other smart home cameras. With the free cloud storage, though, the cost is certainly justified.
Takeaways
Arlo has been a long-time market leader when it comes to wireless security cameras with smart connectivity.
They were originally part of Netgear before the company was spun off on its own. That gave me some pause at first but from what I can tell, the company has continued to perform well.
Yes, the subscription services are somewhat annoying but they also give you peace of mind that the company’s business model will be sustainable and you will be able to use your devices for many years.
Another reason why I’d recommend Arlo over cheaper alternatives is that they are not trying to be exclusive but support multiple smart home platforms. Additionally, they are an American company with servers located in the United States, so there are some obvious privacy benefits as well.
