Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 vs Arlo Video Doorbell: Which doorbell camera is right for you?

Date:
Sun, 05 Dec 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Description:
We pit Rings top-of-the-range video doorbell against its rival from Arlo to help you choose the best video doorbell for your home.

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The best video doorbells ensure that you never miss a delivery again (and
that you can give cold callers the cold shoulder) by enabling you to see and speak to whoever is on your doorstep from your smartphone, even when youre
not at home.

Arlo and Ring are two of the biggest names in the video doorbell market right now, and each offers a flagship video doorbell that captures footage in an aspect ratio that ensures you can see the full length of someone on your doorstep, and any packages at their feet - ideal if youre doing your holiday shopping online.

The Arlo Video Doorbell will set you back $149.99 / 179.99 / AU$289.99, while the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is a good bit more expensive at $249.99 / 219 / AU$399.99. You may be wondering whether spending an additional $100 / 40 / AU$110 will result in a better experience when conversing with people at your threshold, so we pitted the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 against the Arlo Video Doorbell to help you choose the best video doorbell for your home. (Image credit: Ring) Best Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 and Arlo Video Doorbell deals

Read on to find out how these doorbell cameras compare or, if you already know which smart doorbell you want to buy, you can check out the current best prices for both products below: Price

Wen it comes to cost, the Arlo Video doorbell is more affordable than Rings top-of-the-range smart doorbell. As weve mentioned, Arlos model is priced at $149.99 / 179.99/ AU$289.99 , while the Ring Video Doorbell Pro will set you back $249.99 / 219 / AU$399.99 .

Both models are mains powered, although Arlo does offer a wireless version of its doorbell, which costs $199.99 / 179.99 / AU$329 . In the US and
Australia, the Arlo Essential is $50 / AU$40 more expensive than the wired doorbell, while in the UK the two are the same price.

Ring doesnt offer a battery-powered version of the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2. If you want a wire-free option, youll need to invest in the Ring Video Doorbell 4 , which doesnt offer the same video quality or aspect ratio as the Pro model, but is more affordable at $199.99 / 179 / AU$329.

To get the most out of both doorbells, and review footage recorded by the camera at a later date, youll need to subscribe to the relevant online
storage service. In the case of Ring Video Doorbell, this is Ring Protect, which is priced from $3 / 2.50 /AU$4 per month. For Arlo devices, youll need an Arlo Secure subscription, which starts at $2.99 / 2.79 / AU$4.4 9 per month. (Image credit: Arlo) Design

While both video doorbells are compact, with a small footprint, each has a distinct look. The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 has a rectangular design, which combines a glossy black fascia with a slim silver surround, which is
removable and can be swapped for alternatives in an array of colors including red, blue, and gold. The Arlo Video Doorbell sports a rounded design with a stylish monochrome finish.

Both doorbells feature a button that illuminates when pressed and have a built-in camera, microphone, and speaker that enable you to see and speak to anyone on your doorstep. The Ring Video Doorbells lens has a 150-degree field of view, and captures footage at a resolution of 1536 x 1536p, while the Arlo Video Doorbell has the same resolution but a wider 180-degree field of view.

As mentioned, both doorbells are mains-powered and need to be connected to existing doorbell wiring, although in the UK the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is available with an adapter that enables you to plug it into a power outlet. If you have an existing chime in your home, both doorbells will activate this when theyre pressed.

If you dont already have a chime, both Ring and Arlo offer an additional plug-in chime that connects to the doorbell wirelessly. The Ring Chime will set you back $29.99 / 29.99 / AU$59, while the Arlo Chime is priced at $49.99 / 44.99 / AU$79.

Alternatively, both video doorbells can be connected to a smart speaker or smart display to sound an alert in your home. However, in the case of the
Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2, this only applies to Amazons range of Echo smart speakers and Echo Show smart displays . Arlos doorbell, meanwhile, is compatible with Amazons devices, as well as those that use Google Assistant, and also has HomeKit support for those invested in Apples ecosystem. (Image credit: Ring) Features

When it comes to essential functionality, the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 and Arlo Video Doorbell are evenly matched. Both will send an alert to your smartphone and will activate a connected chime when the doorbell is pressed, or motion is detected in the field of view.

On receiving this alert you can either log in and view the doorbells live
feed from your smartphone or, provided that youve subscribed to the relevant storage service, review the footage at a later date.

During testing, we were impressed with the quality of video captured by both doorbells. The footage was clear, and audio was in sync with the picture. Rings doorbell has an advantage over Arlos here, as it captures colorized night-vision footage when its dark. While theres no built-in LED (a feature that many of Ring and Arlos home security cameras offer), the doorbell uses ambient light in the cameras field of view to apply a simulated color to the image and provide more detailed footage. This comes in handy if you dont have a porch light, or its not always on. However, the Arlo doorbells wider field of view means more of your driveway is captured in the video.

Both video doorbells allow you to set activity zones so that youre only notified about motion in these areas, although as with many of the other features this does require a subscription. The Arlo doorbell is slightly better at distinguishing between different types of motion, and can identify people, animals, vehicles, and packages, while Rings video doorbell can identify people, but not animals and vehicles; it does have a package detection mode, but this is more fiddly to set up than on Arlos doorbell.

We also found that the notifications Arlos video doorbell sends when the doorbell is pressed are harder to miss. The doorbell places a Voice over IP (VoIP) call to your smartphone, rather than just sending an alert. On test, once this call was answered it was slightly faster to load the live feed from the doorbells camera than the feed from the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2.

Ring also offers a couple of features not found on the Arlo Video Doorbell.
3D Motion uses radar to identify the distance of a person, animal, vehicle,
or another source of motion from your door, and only sends a notification
when the motion is within a certain range so that youre not plagued by unwanted alerts. The Birds Eye View feature provides an aerial map charting the path of any motion, which can be useful in working out where a delivery person went with your package if you werent home, for example. (Image credit: Arlo) Verdict

When it comes to choosing the best video doorbell, both the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 and the Arlo Video Doorbell perform their basic tasks equally well.

For those on a tighter budget, or who want a video doorbell that prioritizes speed of alerts and offers the widest field of view, the Arlo Video Doorbell is the better choice.

However, the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is better suited to those who want color night vision, or a device thats loaded with features to reduce unwanted alerts, and track motion once the source leaves the doorbells field of view. Check out these great Amazon Echo deals and hook up your video doorbell to a smart speaker



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/ring-video-doorbell-pro-2-vs-arlo-video-doorbel l-which-doorbell-camera-is-right-for-you/


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