🎖▷ Nest Cam IQ camera review [VIDEO]

The Nest Cam IQ indoor surveillance camera is the most expensive and advanced model of the brand, which has several on the market. With specifications that may not be too surprising but software that does offer unique features, it becomes a very interesting option for those looking for one of the most advanced security cameras of the moment.

Nest Cam IQ has a really amazing facial recognition system, with push notifications directly on your mobile devices and the option to record all content in the cloud to have it available for 10 or 30 days and view it whenever you want. We have tried it and we tell you our impressions in the following article and video.

4K sensor and 1080p recording

The camera has an 8 Mpx 4K sensor but contrary to what you might think, the image recording is done at 1080p. What does this sensor include? Why The camera allows a digital zoom of up to 12 magnifications that allows you to see with great detail what happens in the room with 130º viewing angle. The camera also identifies the people who enter the room and zooms automatically following the person while in their field of vision. Hence the importance of that 4K sensor.

Night vision is also an important facet of this camera and the images obtained are clear enough to identify anyone who enters their field of vision. The most important specifications are completed with uNo speaker that allows you to remotely communicate with anyone in your home, and three microphones so that you can clearly hear what is happening in it. The audio quality in practice is good, and the speaker is heard quite loudly, so establishing fluid inaction communication through the camera is perfectly possible.

Facial recognition, its great strength

It is undoubtedly the great differentiating element of the Nest Cam IQ camera, and what places it in a position of superiority compared to other more affordable models. The camera is not only able to differentiate between animals and people, but it can also recognize the face of who appears in their field of vision. This way you will know who enters the house because you will be notified by notifying your iPhone and Apple Watch. If it is a stranger, it will notify you accordingly.

The notifications show a very complete information, even with images of the person who has entered, and if it is known it indicates the name. Even from your Apple Watch you can see who has entered your room, so you will be informed in real time of everything that happens at home. The facial recognition system is based on Google technology, since we must not forget that Nest belongs to the technological giant.

Being a really interesting function and with a quite acceptable operation, facial recognition has its points of improvement. One of them is difficult to improve, but the other is more than desirable to do so. If the camera captures images from a TV, it will capture all the faces of the people that appear on the screen and ask you to indicate whether you know them or not.. The only solution I can think of is to avoid having a television in the camera's field of vision, and that is what I have done in my case.

What is desirable to improve is the recognition system itself, or at least that the Nest application allows you to indicate that several faces belong to the same person when you identify them independently. It is normal that the camera should learn to identify faces, as with all applications of this type, but also they should give you the option to merge faces when they belong to the same person. It is something that a priori seems simple to implement and is sure to arrive in future updates of the application.

Programmable and sensitive to your location

There are two options that have also seemed worthy of mention: the possibility of programming the hours at which the camera turns on and off, and that of establishing that the camera turns on when you get home and turns off when you're away. Depending on your location (what your mobile is in charge of) the camera will start recording or stop doing so. It's something really useful because I just want to use it as a security camera, and I don't want it to record while we're at home. Or I can program it to record at night, and turn off in the morning.

Nest Aware Subscription

The Nest Cam IQ camera does not have any microSD slot to store the video it records. Everything you capture stays in the cloud and can be viewed with great image and sound quality from your iPhone using the Nest app. For free you will have access to the last 3 hours of recording, but if you want to have a history of up to 10 days you will have to register in the Nest Aware program Standard (€ 10 / month or € 100 / year) and if you want to arrive at 30 days, Extended Nest Aware (€ 30 / month or € 300 / year).

Subscriptions to Nesta Aware are also necessary to have notifications of known faces, since if you stay with the free basic option you will only be notified that there is one person. It is therefore a necessary subscription to fully exploit all camera functions, but Although the free basic option leaves you without some advanced features, it may be enough for many users They only want her as a security camera to let them know when someone comes into the house. So you have no doubts, when you buy the camera you will have a one month free Nest Aware trial order.

We forget HomeKit

Talking about a smart accessory for our home and not talking about HomeKit is strange today, but this Nest Cam IQ is not compatible with the Apple platform. It is not an inconvenience to change anyone regarding your purchase, because really a security camera is something so specific that there is not the slightest problem in having a specific app for it, but it is an absence that should be solved, and that could be done now that Apple allows software certification.

Free

The camera is also a motion detector, so when integrated into HomeKit we could use it to launch automations such as turning on the light or a smart plug. As can be seen It's not an excessively important loss, but it's never a bad year for too much wheat, and having that option would be something that many would appreciate.

Editor's Opinion

The Nest Cam IQ surveillance camera is one of the most advanced options we can find in the market. A 4K sensor and software that squeezes it to the fullest allows you to have a security camera that will recognize people entering at home, identifying those that are known. Its 12x zoom, night vision and integrated microphones and speaker complete the specifications of this fantastic camera. The subscription to Nest Aware will be necessary to enjoy all the possibilities of the camera, but it is not essential to use it as a surveillance camera. Its price is high, about € 335 on Amazon and € 349 on its official website, but it will meet the expectations of the most demanding.

Editor rating
4.5 star rating
Exceptional

€ 335

Nest Cam IQ
Review of: Luis Padilla
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