As the regulars know, I’ve been a huge proponent of Arlo wire-free cameras. And, since hopping on early, Netgear’s continued to expand the ecosystem by incorporating indoor cameras, cellular cameras, a variety of accessories, and home automation integrations… including Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit. So it wasn’t a huge surprise last fall when the company signaled full-on smart home hardware intentions by announcing the Arlo Security Light.
At the time, there wasn’t a lot of the detail. Now, from the recently published Amazon pre-order page, we learn an Arlo light two-pack will set you back $250 and a variety of product performance elements were reiterated:
The Arlo Security Light is a 100% wire-free, smart-controlled, and weather-resistant LED light that helps improve outdoor safety by alerting you when something’s happening around your home.
As someone who has bought into the Arlo line and tracks this space, the bundled “Arlo Bridge” fascinates me. Does this effectively replace the hardwired Arlo WiFi mesh network hub required by their wire-free camera or is it merely an option for those that don’t have cameras?
Given details revealed in the included “Recommended Setup” marketing graphic, it’s reasonable to wonder if the Arlo Bridge, err, bridges our home WiFi network to Zigbee to utilize an established smart-home protocol and perhaps eek out additional power savings over RF. But if this is the recommended setup, what other setup options might I have? Hmm. I guess all will be revealed closer to that May 15th launch date, although I’d much rather rely on Arlo camera motion alerts triggering my existing Hue and Zigbee bulbs via some sort of integration like IFTTT or Smartthings. I also wonder if leaving out an siren alarm puts these at a deficit to the Ring Spotlight Camera that is a camera, light, and alarm.