There are a ton of options out there for cameras in HomeKit, but they definitely are not all created equal.  Some have better resolution, some have better night vision, better audio, and these are just the standard features.  Today I thought we’d explore an often overlooked HomeKit camera gem, the Arlo Baby, a HomeKit baby monitor.  

I did buy this as a HomeKit baby monitor for my daughter, after all it is marketed as such, but it turns out that it’s a sweet camera no matter how you use it, but it might not be worth it for your HomeKit nursery and today we’ll look at 3 reasons why you shouldn’t and 3 reasons why you might want to pick one up. Also, check out our video review below if you’re looking for an alternative idea for a HomeKit baby monitor.

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Features

• 1080p resolution
• max. 130º field of view
• two-way audioB/W night vision
• up to 6 hr. battery

Need to Knows

• built-in lullabies & recording options 
•  RGB LED nightlight
• temperature, humidity, air quality sensors
• 2.4 gHZ WiFi

Cons

This first one may be a non-starter for some, but theArlo Baby does not have support for HomeKit Secure Video.  I reached out to Arlo about this and here’s what they said:

Arlo does not currently plan to support Apple HomeKit Secure Video, but we will support a range of other features that will enable Arlo cameras to participate in the HomeKit ecosystem.

It’s not all bad news, though. The Arlo Baby comes with 7 days of free cloud recordings through the Arlo app which is encrypted.  However, there is no local storage option which I would have appreciated, especially in a baby monitor.  This being said, we have access to the camera’s live feed and two-way audio through HomeKit, so it’s super simple to pull up the nursery camera with Siri… as long as you are on an iOS device or Apple TV.

Notifications are nothing new in HomeKit and, in fact, we’ve got a guide on how to manage them, but one of my gripes about HomeKit is that it doesn’t have support for sound detection, but the Arlo Baby does AND it even takes it a step further sending notifications based on it detecting a baby crying using some kind of far-out AI wizardry.  

However, there’s a problem, the Arlo AI wizard doesn’t listen when you tell them to stop sending you notifications based on motion or sound.  There’s an option for it.  But my requests were ignored.  Ultimately, I had to turn off notifications from the Arlo app entirely to stop that incessant, infernal racket.  

The Arlo Baby may be packed with a lot of features and I did manage to get mine for less than $100, but it is NOT an inexpensive camera.  Nor are any of its mounting solutions, nor those cute little animal costumes you can stick on it.  

 Not only does the Arlo Baby carry a premium price tag, it’s also not so easy to find.  It’s rarely available on Amazon and it’s not even in stock on Arlo’s own site.  I contacted Arlo to see whether it had been officially discontinued and got this response:

Despite this, it can still be found elsewhere and I left the link below will help you track it down.

Pros

As you might expect, the Arlo Baby’s camera is exposed to HOMeKit and we get all of the standard features of any HomeKit camera minus the HSV support, but that’s just the start of it.  Each of its sensors, motion, temperature, humidity, and air quality, AND the full-color night light are also addressable in Apple’s Home app or any third-party HomeKit app.

This is particularly useful in a nursery where you want to precisely manage air conditions for newborns and using automations to turn off or on humidifiers, air purifiers, and fans or air conditioners is a very welcomed helping hand to parents.

  I would have, of course, appreciated having access to the sound alerts, but more than that being able to trigger automations based on sound being detected would be a great security addition to HomeKit in general.

But something I really like is being able to record messages and songs.  I especially like being able to play these songs as soon as my daughter wakes up from a nap.  It’s not only calming for her, but it can buy me a few more minutes on Insta.

It’d be super cool to have one of these songs play when that AI wizard in the Arlo app recognized that she was crying, but unfortunately, we’re not there yet…

We started out with what is probably the Arlo Baby’s biggest downside, so let’s end with what I think is it’s biggest win.  It is HomeKit’s only battery-powered camera that doesn’t require a hub.  You won’t get anywhere near the battery life out of it like you do with cameras from the likes of eufy or Arlo’s hub-based options, but you can definitely get in a nap or two or even a playdate.

And just like with other HomeKit accessories with batteries, you can see the battery level, as well as whether or not it’s charging right in Apple’s Home app or by asking Siri, which is pretty convenient.

Final Thoughts

So, coming back around to our title question, I have to say that it’s probably not worth it.  It’s nice to have all those sensors and a nightlight built into one single device, and the recording function is really cool, and the 6-hour battery is definitely a tick in the plus column, but lack of HSV and that pesky notification issue just make it annoying really.  That on top of shelling out a not-small-amount of money while not knowing for how long the device will be supported make it difficult to recommend this camera.

Thankfully, I have a solution for a HomeKit-compatible baby monitor that not only keeps tabs on the indoor air metrics, but also sports HomeKit Secure Video, and won’t break the bank, but we’ll have to save that one for another day. We’ll also be doing a full HomeKit nursery walkthrough in the very near future, so be on the lookout for those.

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