Logitech Circle View Doorbell only works with Apple HomeKit
Video doorbells are friggin' awesome. For my home, I rely on the Arlo smart doorbell and I couldn't be happier with it. Arlo's offering was very easy to install, but more importantly, it lets me know when there is any activity at my front door, such as food delivery people, packages, the occasional nighttime raccoon, and more. For a few dollars a month, I can even save recordings to the cloud.
Of course, not all video doorbells are the same. For instance, you should avoid Amazon's Ring Doorbells as there are too many privacy red flags surrounding it. While Arlo is great, another respected company is getting into the doorbell game. You see, Logitech has launched the Circle View Doorbell, and it looks like a solid product. Unfortunately, it only works with Apple HomeKit, meaning Android users should look elsewhere.
"Featuring Face Recognition and Logitech TrueView best-in-class video, Circle View Doorbell gives you crisp head-to-toe portrait video from just two feet away, true HDR to handle high-contrast scenes, and color night vision up to six feet away. Circle View Doorbell, compatible with most existing wired doorbell systems and designed to complement homes of every style, also supports HomeKit Secure Video, giving you simple and secure ways to customize your video recordings, notifications, storage, and sharing options," says Logitech.
The company further says, "Face Recognition identifies people you tag in your Photos library or recent visitors captured by your camera or doorbell in the Home app. With Circle View Doorbell, you can use the Home app to be notified when people come to the door and receive smart notifications across your Apple devices -- on your iPhone and Apple Watch while you’re away, or even an announcement on Apple TV and HomePod. Video streams and recordings using HomeKit Secure Video are processed on the home hub device, uploaded to iCloud, and are end-to-end encrypted securely to the Home app."
Logitech shares specifications below.
Connectivity
- Wireless Connectivity: 2.4/5 GHz a/b/g/n/ac 2 x 2 MIMO Wi-Fi
Video
- Camera FOV: 160-degree DFOV with 3:4 format Portrait View
- Sensor + Video Quality: 5 MP Sensor with 1200 x 1600 HDR-enabled video
- Night time Illumination: 4000K LED light strip that provides illumination in an unobstructed area up to 6 ft away
Audio
- Mic: Digital MEMS
- Speaker: Mono
- Two way talk: Full Duplex with Acoustic Echo Cancellation
Dimensions
- Height: 4.68 in (118.8 mm)
- Width: 1.65 in (41.8 mm)
- Depth: 1.10in (28 mm).0 mm
- Weight: 5.33 oz (151 g)
If you are an iPhone user entrenched in Apple's ecosystem, and you are interested in a smart video doorbell, the Logitech Circle View Doorbell looks to be a winner. The video streams are securely saved to iCloud, but don't count against your storage limits, meaning there is no need for an additional monthly subscription. That will save you money in the long run.
Interested in buying the Logitech Circle View Doorbell? It can be had immediately here. Pricing is just $199 if you plan to install it yourself, but for an additional $100, you can have a professional come to your house and put it in.