2020 has definitely seen its fair share of all sorts of waves.  One of them being HomeKit Secure Video cameras hitting the market.  Though it wasn’t the first camera to support HSV, that was their Circle 2, the Logitech Circle View was the first camera to ship with full-support for HomeKit Secure Video right out of the box.  While we’ll leave a more comprehensive exploration of HSV for another post, this post will hopefully help you decide if the Circle View is the right camera to add to your HomeKit home.

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Features

• 1080p resolution
• 180 field of view
• IP64 rating on the camera body
• pixel-based motion sensor with ambient light sensor
• Infrared night vision
• Privacy button

Need to Knows

• HomeKit-exclusive
• 2.4 gHz WiFi band
• 10 ft. non-detachable, USB power cable
• LED indicator
• Includes mounting hardware

Pros

The Logitech Circle View is the successor to what used to be the go-to HomeKit camera, the Circle 2.  As such, some comparison is warranted.  A feature that thankfully remains unchanged is the impressive 180 field of view.  While it could be argued that the extra 40 degrees plus that the Circle View has over other HSV cameras is overkill, I find it very useful especially in outdoor situations.

There are relatively few HSV cameras currently on the market and even fewer that are rated for outdoor use.  Similar to the Circle 2, the Circle View has an IP64 rating against liquids and dust.  This means that you won’t want to leave this out in a typhoon nor use it to keep an eye on algae growth on the bottom of your pool, but you should be OK in most weather conditions.  It’s worth noting that though the camera body has this IP rating, the USB connection and power brick DO NOT.  So, make sure this part is adequately protected.

While the Circle View might not exactly be the budget HSV option, its build quality is solid.  I really appreciate the metal base and the tilt hinge is stiff enough to support the weight of the camera body without making it difficult to adjust.  It definitely has that “feels-good-in-the-hand” factor and I have more confidence in its outdoor use than its predecessor.  

Cons

I’ve said this about every HomeKit camera I’ve encountered, Secure Video or not, I want to see a physical shutter cover.  The privacy button that the Circle View boasts is great, but it’s a soft button.  Sure, we can see the camera as “Off” in the Home app and we even get a notification, but I’d like a step further.  I also applaud the ability of the Circle View to be folded down to cloak the lens, but I would personally rest easier knowing that the shutter has a shutter, especially if it’s being used indoors.  

While I very much appreciate the metal base and the low-key matte black camera body and I understand the decision to permanently affix the power cord to better ensure ingress protection, I do not get the decision to go with a white power cord.  Any obscurity the unit has is almost ruined if you’re not able to tuck the cord out of sight. It would also make sense to me if they had decided to go with all white components.  There is just something that seems a bit off to me about the aesthetic choice here.

Lastly, in an interesting change to the status quo, the Circle View does not have support via the Logitech Circle app, nor any other app that doesn’t support HomeKit cameras.  This means that outside of its functionality in HomeKit and all the features of HSV, there are no other features to look forward to.  Furthermore, this also means that this is a HomeKit exclusive camera.  So this might be a non-starter if you’re looking for devices that are more platform agnostic.

The App

The Circle View is unique when it comes to the app experience as there is no support for this camera in the Logitech Circle app.  All feeds, recordings, settings, and updates are accessed through Apple’s Home app.  So though as a HomeKit Secure Video camera, we do get a ton of fantastic features, you won’t find any extras with the Circle View specifically.

As a HomeKit Secure Video camera, you can see the past 10 days of recorded events by scrubbing through the timeline with the ability to share the recordings.  You can also see a live stream and communicate in real-time using the onboard speaker and microphone.  We can also toggle the camera’s status light and night vision, though I’m not sure why you’d want to do the latter.  Furthermore, we have the ability to choose when and where we receive notifications and these notifications can be based on general motion or specifically based on animals, vehicles, or even people.

Speaking of people, a touted feature of iOS 14 is the ability for HSV cameras to recognize faces.  This is done either through people you have tagged in your Photos library or through tagging people that the camera recognizes.  This seems to work pretty well with the Circle View, though the face does need to be reasonably close to the camera to be detected as a specific person rather than just a person.

Another iOS 14 feature supported by the Circle View is activity zones.  Activity Zones give us the ability to draw specific areas of the camera’s frame that we want to be used for activity detection or ignored.  This feature is great for areas that may be high traffic that you are less concerned about or may be further away than you care to be notified about.

Final Thoughts

The Circle View sits in an interesting place in the HomeKit camera sphere.  It has a high-quality design and does exactly what you would expect it to do as a HomeKit Secure Video camera and does it well.  The thing is that it doesn’t do much more than that.  The competition has manufacturer app support that offer more features that aren’t offered in Apple’s Home app or through HSV.  Perhaps more concerning about this is that most of the competition comes in at a lower price point as well.  So, who is the Circle View for?

The Circle View is a fantastic entry into HSV for those looking for a simple solution. It doesn’t have a lot of frills and it works without a hitch.  This is BY NO MEANS a negative thing.  Logitech is a trusted name in tech and with pretty good reason and their Circle line of cameras is no different.  It’s also one of the only HSV cameras that can be used outdoors.  So, if you ticked these boxes, the Circle View just might be the HomeKit camera for you.

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Find out more about the Circle View and Circle 2 HomeKit-compatible cameras at https://www.logitech.com

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