Logitech Circle View Doorbell Review

Logitech Circle View Doorbell Review Logitech Circle View doorbell deals

Two minute exam

The Logitech Circle View doorbell doesn't offer all the rings and whistles and smart home assistance you'll get from some rival video doorbells, but what it does, it does well. It is not a 4K doorbell, and there are certainly many options that provide sharper video on the market, but its 1600 x 1200 resolution it's still more than enough detail for most situations. Like all the best video doorbells, it sends a notification to your smartphone when someone presses the doorbell or is visible in your 160-degree field of view, so you can then have a conversation with whoever's at your door. However, where it differs from most of its rivals is that the doorbell only works with HomeKit, so there is no third-party app for you to deal with. Instead, the Home app on an iPhone or iPad is used to set up and display the doorbell's live stream. It supports HomeKit Secure Video, which means if you want to go back and review the footage after this has happenedYou'll need an iCloud storage subscription of 200GB or more, which costs $2.99 ​​per month, and own a HomePod, Apple TV, or iPad set up as a Homekit hub; You'll also need it if you want to receive a doorbell notification when you're not connected to your home Wi-Fi network. Logitech Circle View doorbell is not the device for non-HomeKit users, but if you live in the Apple ecosystem and want to support HomeKit Secure Video, this is a great option.

Logitech Circle View Doorbell Price and Availability

The Logitech Circle View doorbell costs €199,99 and is currently only available in the US on the Logitech website and other electronics retailers, including Amazon and Best Buy. You can choose to install the doorbell yourself, or professional installation costs an additional €100 on top of the cost of the doorbell. As we mentioned above, the doorbell uses Apple's HomeKit Secure Video to store the images recorded by the camera, so if you want to go back and watch videos up to 10 days after they were recorded, you'll need a cloud subscription of at least 200GB, which starts at €2.99 per month. Logitech Circle Video Doorbell (Image credit: Logitech)

Integrated

The Logitech Circle View doorbell isn't the flashiest video doorbell on the market, but it still has a relatively sleek and elegant design that should look good on the outside of any door. The Circle View doorbell is similar in size to the Arlo video doorbell and Nest Hello, so it's certainly noticeable outside a home, but that can be a good thing because it means customers will immediately know where the doorbell is when they arrive at your doorbell. home. On its own, the device measures roughly 4,68 inches tall, 1,65 inches wide, and 1,1 inches deep, but when you install it, you'll be installing it with a motherboard that can make it a bit deeper. The video doorbell is largely made of plastic, but it doesn't look cheap. On the front of the Circle View doorbell, you'll get an illuminated down button, an LED light for color night imaging, and the up camera module. At the bottom of the doorbell is a MicroUSB port, which can be used to turn the doorbell on in a pinch, and if you don't have a way to connect the doorbell to your existing setup. It's pretty frustrating that Logitech is still getting MicroUSB here; I understand the preference is for it to connect with the included accessories rather than through the port, but it's 2021 and no company should be building devices to the long-outdated standard. The device also comes with base plates to install it flush to a wall or at an angle, which is nice and means you should be able to configure it in a way that works with your setup. You'll also get all the wiring components you'll need. It's also important to note that this camera is only available as a wired option; There is no battery-powered Circle View doorbell yet. Logitech Circle Video Doorbell (Image credit: Logitech)

Performance

As far as configuration is concerned, Logitech has a number of tutorials and walkthroughs for setting up your doorbell, and they're really easy to follow. If you know where the doorbell is in your house and are comfortable with a screwdriver, you should be able to install the doorbell yourself without any problem. Perhaps the quality of the camera and how it works with the rest of your smart home setup is more important than the installation, of course, this is where the Logitech Circle View doorbell shines. The Logitech Circle View camera has a 160 degree field of view and records images at a resolution of 1600 x 1200, in a 3:4 ratio so you can see the full length of anyone at your door, including packages, at your feet. Its field of view isn't as wide as the standard Circle View security camera, but it should still be wide enough for most uses and you'll easily be able to record most of what's outside your door. It is one of the few video doorbells that has so-called "color night vision". It simply means that it uses LED light to illuminate a night scene instead of using infrared "night vision" which can cause loss of detail. We were impressed with the quality of the video recorded in low light conditions and the LED will turn on automatically when the doorbell detects motion. The only problem with this setup is that the light is relatively bright and can be uncomfortable for those who come to your door. In testing, the Circle View doorbell responded quickly to movement and very quickly to a button press. If you can't find a way to connect the doorbell to your existing doorbell, it doesn't matter if you carry your phone or an Apple Watch with you, as we've found that notifications instantly pop up on our smartphone whenever the button is pressed. We found that the Logitech Circle View doorbell was capable of producing relatively detailed video. It is not a 4K camera and you shouldn't expect it, but the video quality is more than enough for most users. Doorbell images are stored in iCloud, so you'll need a subscription with 200 GB of space or more if you want to see any of these images for up to 10 days after that. As we mentioned above, you'll also need HomePod, Apple TV, or iPad set up as a HomeKit hub. However, without HomeKit Secure Video, you can still use the camera and stream images from it whenever you want, you just can't save recordings of those images.

Application

One of the best things about it - for a niche audience is the Logitech Circle View app experience. If you are not an Apple HomeKit user, this device is not for you. This is because there is no app for the Circle View doorbell - the device is designed for Apple Home and only works with the Home app. This means that once you've physically installed your Circle View doorbell, you'll need to set it up in the Home app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and for the best experience, you must have a Homekit hub, which will allow you to receive notifications on your doorbell when you are away from home. This will also give you access to features like identifying whether the source of motion is a person, animal, or vehicle and facial recognition, which can identify visitors using tagged people in the Apple Photos app. In addition to this, it is also possible to define activity zones to only receive movement alerts in these zones. If you have a HomePod, you can also set it to ring when the doorbell button is pressed. It doesn't support the new Thread standard though, supported by the new Apple TV 4K and HomePod Mini, but even without Thread we found the device responsive and fast. If you are an Apple Home user, the overall experience of the Circle View doorbell software is great. It's nice not to have to download and use third-party apps.

Should I buy the Logitech Circle View doorbell?

Buy it if...

You are a HomeKit user Logitech Circle View works seamlessly within the Apple HomeKit ecosystem. The trade-off is that you can't use it with the Google Assistant, Alexa, SmartThings, or anything else, but that won't matter to die-hard HomeKit users anyway. You want the basics to be done right Logitech Circle View doesn't offer all the conveniences you might get with other smart doorbells, like the ability to turn off notifications or set times when the doorbell doesn't monitor activity, but it does. The basics are correct. It offers solid video quality with good night vision video, plus it's very responsive. HomeKit Secure Video is important to you There are other smart doorbells that are compatible with Apple's HomeKit, but few of them work with HomeKit Secure Video. If you want help with this feature, this is the doorbell for you.

Don't buy it if...

You are not using HomeKit If you do not use HomeKit, you will not be able to use this product and as such you should stay away from it. You just want a solid smart doorbell on a budget The Logitech Circle View doorbell isn't the cheapest on the market. If you want HomeKit Secure Video and the features it offers, this is still the way to go, but if you just want a smart doorbell, it's probably worth buying the Arlo Video Doorbell instead. You want local storage HomeKit Secure Video works very well, but some may prefer local storage, in which case a device like the Eufy Video Doorbell 2K is worth considering. First Review: May 2021 Price - Logitech Circle View Doorbell: ▼

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