Alphabet's Nest ends product drought with revamped indoor camera

[SAN FRANCISCO] Nest Labs, a unit of Alphabet Inc, is ending a nearly 11-month product drought with a revamped, high-end indoor security camera.

The product, called the Nest Cam IQ, is Nest's first redesigned indoor camera since acquiring Dropcam, a startup that made similar devices, in 2014. Nest released its first indoor camera based on Dropcam's product in 2015.

The model announced Wednesday has a new design based on the look of Nest's outdoor camera, which launched last year. It also has LED lights on the front so a user knows when it's recording.

The Nest Cam IQ, which costs US$299, shoots higher-resolution 4K video that allows users to more deeply zoom into footage without losing as much clarity as the current version.

The video, however, automatically scales down to 1080P as 4K files are too large to reliably stream to a user's phone. The higher-quality camera lens allows it to automatically pan to follow a person in the view as they walk around a room.

For a monthly fee, as part of Nest's cloud storage subscription service, the new camera can also identify specific people in the frame and then send notifications to the camera's owner.

Bloomberg reported details of the new camera earlier this year. Nest is also working on a cheaper thermostat, a comprehensive home alarm system, and a digital doorbell with a video camera, Bloomberg News also reported.

BLOOMBERG