Google threw a curve ball with its new Nest Cam lineup | usagoldmines.com

Anyone following the recent chatter about Google’s latest Nest cameras won’t be surprised by the company’s unveiling today of its revamped, first-party offerings: one outdoor Nest camera, one indoor cam, and a video doorbell, just as predicted. 

What was surprising was news is that Google is turning to a frequent collaborator—Walmart—to offer a pair of additional budget-priced security cameras that will be “deeply integrated” into Google’s new Gemini for Home ecosystem, complete with bells and whistles such as AI video descriptions and zoomed-in notification previews. 

Walmart

But first, let’s cover Google’s new first party cameras, all of which had been previously leaked: the second-generation Nest Outdoor Camera ($149.99), the third-gen Nest Indoor Camera ($99.99), and the second-gen Nest Doorbell ($179.99). 

The new Nest Cam trio consists only of wired models, with Google Nest and Home head Anish Kattukaran explaining that the “steady stream of video” from the always-on wired cams fits nicely with Gemini for Home’s ability to synthesize video footage and other smart home signals into its daily “home digest” summaries. (Kattukaran emphasized that Google is “still very excited” about battery-powered security cameras, even if none are being announced today.) 

All three cameras boast 2K HDR video resolution, up from 1080p on the previous models. The new Nest Outdoor Camera and Nest Indoor Camera will both offer a 152-degree field of view, expanded from 130 and 135 degrees respectively, while the revamped Nest Doorbell gets a 166-degree FOV with a 1:1 aspect ratio that will capture visitors from head to toe. 

Google

Also new are zoomed-in previews—that is, image previews attached to mobile notifications that are zoomed in on the activity that triggered the mobile alert. You’ll also be able to zoom and crop video events in the Google Home app. 

Now for the curve ball: two additional cameras, each of which come from Walmart’s Onn brand, known for its well-regarded line of Google TV-powered streaming video players. 

Two Google Home-compatible security cameras from Onn are on tap: the Indoor Camera Wired for $22.96, and the Video Doorbell Wired for $49.86. Both cameras will boast 1080p video quality. Both are pictured above.

Google

Few other details about the two Walmart cams were given during Google’s pre-brief, but Kattukaran noted that the cameras will be “deeply integrated” into Gemini for Home, including the “full experience” and “all of those camera improvements” slated for the new Nest cameras.  

Nice, but keep in mind that the best new Google security camera features require Nest Aware—er, Google Home Premium, the new name for Google’s smart home subscription service.  

Google

The zoomed-in previews, for example, are included in the Standard tier of Google Home Premium, which gives you 30 days of video history for all your cameras, plus other features for $10 a month. For 60 days of video history along with Gemini’s AI video descriptions and daily smart home briefings, you must sign up for the Advanced version of Google Home Premium for $20 a month. (We have more details about the new Google Home Premium plans here.)

That said, Google is getting more generous with video history for those who don’t pay up for a Google Home Premium plan. 

Moving forward, free Google Home camera users will get six hours of video event history (up from three hours), with a 10-second video clip added to each event. 

This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best security cameras. Also, be sure to check our complete coverage of Google’s Gemini for Home rollout, including details on the new Google Home Speaker and new Google Home Premium subscription plans.