As the headline states, Arlo appears poised to introduce a smart home sensor. For real this time.
Originally announced way back in January 2019, the Arlo Home Security System was quickly scrubbed from the company’s website as they tightened focus on core camera competencies and financial viability, by dropping free storage to drive subscriptions for that recurring revenue. The Arlo pet tracker was also a causality.
But, based on new Android app resources, it appears the Arlo sensor is seemingly resurrected … possibly with a CES 2022 reveal next month, should the show go on.
Unlike the single purpose sensors others like Ring Alarm and Wyze bring to the table, Arlo looks to offer a multi-purpose sensor that can detect leaks, motion, and open windows or doors of various styles, including garage. While an Arlo Multi-Sensor would be extremely flexible for consumers, it doesn’t sound at all cost effective for Arlo and hardware pricing may not be entirely competitive. Unless the intent is to subsidize hardware by once again banking on recurring subscription revenue, perhaps expanding home monitoring beyond Emergency Response functionality within the top-tier Arlo Secure Plus @ $15/mo.
As with the aforementioned Ring Alarm and Wyze security, an Arlo hub of some sort will be required. Fortunately, many Arlo devices ship with exactly that — several over the years, including the most recent base station, include both Zigbee radios and alarms. And that RF connection could potentially lead to Thread and Matter, although Arlo isn’t yet confirmed as a member of either group.
Has a clever corner wall mount accessory (for motion detection) that may be magnetic. I wonder if Arlo Chime 2 can be leveraged for alerts as well, like an opening door. Apple Homekit linkage would be nice but I can neither confirm nor deny that’s coming.