August Home's New $199 Doorbell Cam Pro With HD Video and Built-In Floodlight Now Shipping

[MacRumors]

August Home today announced that its new August Doorbell Cam Pro is now shipping following nearly three weeks of pre-orders.

Like other video doorbells, the Doorbell Cam Pro is equipped with a full-color HD camera and microphone for two-way audio and one-way video. Using the companion August Home app (HomeKit isn't supported), homeowners can see and speak with visitors at their door in real time, even when they're not home.

A built-in motion detector triggers instant alerts via push notifications when something's happening at the door. A new feature called HindSight adds a few extra seconds to the beginning of a video recording so homeowners can see what's happening just before motion is detected, rather than someone walking away.

The updated camera features a built-in floodlight that enables it to work during the night. By comparison, its competitor Ring uses infrared in the dark.

An optional August Video Recording plan, available for $4.99 per month or $49.99 for a one-year plan, lets users replay, download, and share recordings of activity at their door through the August Home app.

The video doorbell replaces a home's existing wired doorbell, and has a USB dock for easy setup ahead of installation.

August Doorbell Cam Pro is available immediately for $199 USD in silver and dark gray from August.com and select other retailers, including Amazon and Best Buy. By comparison, the Ring Video Doorbell starts at $179.

Article Link: August Home's New $199 Doorbell Cam Pro With HD Video and Built-In Floodlight Now Shipping

 

[Drumjim85]

It looks like this is the only video doorbell on the market that doesn't also use an IR camera.

 

[WilliamG]

It looks like this is the only video doorbell on the market that doesn't also use an IR camera.

Ahem. SkyBell HD. Full color at night.

Oh, and monthly fees with SkyBell HD = $0.

 

[BrentD]

lol at "features a built-in floodlight". If by floodlight you mean small LED in the August logo. Skybell has been doing this, and doing it well, since the beginning, and with no monthly fees. The only added benefit I see in the August doorbell is the Hindsight feature.

 

[avanpelt]

Yeah, that's not going to attract attention to your house -- a floodlight being emitted by your doorbell. I think I'd prefer infrared in this scenario.

 

[jmh600cbr]

Pretty expensive for a door Bell. I have one. Not worth the cash

 

[TurboPGT!]

No HomeKit = No Buy

And I think I'd rather have infrared.

 

[WilliamG]

Yeah, that's not going to attract attention to your house -- a floodlight being emitted by your doorbell. I think I'd prefer infrared in this scenario.

Why would it draw attention to your house? It only comes on when motion is detected at your door. It’s not like it’s always on.

 

[avanpelt]

Why would it draw attention to your house? It only comes on when motion is detected at your door. It’s not like it’s always on.

I didn't realize that the light was motion-activated. That makes more sense.

However, I still feel like infrared would have an advantage because it would allow you to always be able to see the surroundings at night without a light needing to be activated. Sure, you won't see colors with infrared; but I'd rather always be able to see discretely with infrared as opposed someone knowing they're likely being watched because a light is shining. Personal preference, I guess.

 

[rtdunham]

-- a floodlight being emitted by your doorbell. I think I'd prefer infrared in this scenario.

I don’t want a bright light – even a bright LED – shining in the face of every visitor who approaches my door at night. I think if that happened to me just once at a friend’s house I’d be reluctant to go back.

 

[Solomani]

Built-in flood light? Meh. I'd like to have a HomeKit smart doorbell that has a built-in taser…. for all those solicitors!

 

[MDF314159265]

No mention of FOV, here nor on their website.
$50/year is too much anyway. Ring is $20 less, and night vision/infrared looks awesome on my ring pro.
Pass!

 

[sandman42]

I have the previous, non-Pro, version of this. I’m sort of “grudgingly satisfied”, I guess. They advertise that you can answer your door remotely and talk to whoever’s at the door, but in practice by the time I get the notification, launch the app, and the app connects to the camera, they’re gone. Mebbe that’s my laggy, 3-year-old iPhone 6 Plus, but I don’t think so. I will say that even on mine the camera is good and captures good images, especially of the guy who nonchalantly looked over my UPS package before he walked off with it (the nice video, and still images from it, led to nothing, naturally).

When I bought it they claimed “future HomeKit compatibility”, and when I emailed them said they were hardware capable from the beginning and it would just be a future software update, once they had the manpower to get it done. That was a year ago; never happened.

I think the floodlight is the circle in the upper left corner of the device, not the illuminated logo in the center. Mine has the illuminated logo. Is the floodlight a visible-light LED? That shines in your visitors’ faces? Hmm. Woulda thought they’d use IR.

My last comment on the thing is that it is not obvious to all visitors that it’s a doorbell (switch) at all. Mine is the dark brown version, and people don’t seem to understand it’s a button they can press. It doesn’t say “press me” in any way. I made this comment to August too; guess they didn’t believe me.

 

[WilliamG]

I have the previous, non-Pro, version of this. I’m sort of “grudgingly satisfied”, I guess. They advertise that you can answer your door remotely and talk to whoever’s at the door, but in practice by the time I get the notification, launch the app, and the app connects to the camera, they’re gone. Mebbe that’s my laggy, 3-year-old iPhone 6 Plus, but I don’t think so. I will say that even on mine the camera is good and captures good images, especially of the guy who nonchalantly looked over my UPS package before he walked off with it (the nice video, and still images from it, led to nothing, naturally).

When I bought it they claimed “future HomeKit compatibility”, and when I emailed them said they were hardware capable from the beginning and it would just be a future software update, once they had the manpower to get it done. That was a year ago; never happened.

I think the floodlight is the circle in the upper left corner of the device, not the illuminated logo in the center. Mine has the illuminated logo. Is the floodlight a visible-light LED? That shines in your visitors’ faces? Hmm. Woulda thought they’d use IR.

My last comment on the thing is that it is not obvious to all visitors that it’s a doorbell (switch) at all. Mine is the dark brown version, and people don’t seem to understand it’s a button they can press. It doesn’t say “press me” in any way. I made this comment to August too; guess they didn’t believe me.

All your complaints are mine. I had the original August Doorbell when it launched, and even helped August to a great degree troubleshoot their hardware. However, update after update never resolved that it was way too slow to connect, way too laggy, - and yes - people couldn't even figure out it was a doorbell due to its terrible design. At the end of the day, the doorbell needs to look like a doorbell. Until doorbell cams are fully prevalent in the world, it's going to confuse a lot of people.

And believe, it's nothing to do with your iPhone 6 Plus.

I switched to a SkyBell HD and life has been good.

 

[whtrbt7]

I have the previous version. It works maybe 50% of the time due to weak wifi chip. Hopefully they have fixed this in this new Pro version. On the plus side, when it does work, it does open the August locks. There’s also a lot of lag but I think that’s due to the weak wifi chip inside. I ended up having to mount a Nest Outdoor cam outside in order to get better notification of when someone is at the door but it’s a hassle to switch between apps to open the door. If only there was HomeKit comparability and better wifi chips.