That’s not to say the Nest is perfect: it has a couple drawbacks. But on the whole, if you want a durable, reliable security camera with cloud storage and excellent tech features, the Nest Cam Outdoor does not disappoint. This camera is technically wireless, but that really just means you don’t have to connect it to your internet router with an Ethernet cable. You do still have to plug this baby into a wall outlet—and it has to be an indoor one. So be prepared to drill a hole through your wall or awkwardly thread it through a door. Once you figure out where you want to put the camera, you just secure the mounting plate to the wall with the screws that come in the box. Nest includes some wall anchors, too, but not a screwdriver or drill—you’ll need your own. Included Google Nest Cam Outdoor installation tools:
Camera wall plate Adapter wall plate Screws Wall anchors Cable clips
Once you have the mounting plate securely installed, the Nest Cam’s magnetic base snaps right onto it. It’s a strong magnet too. It’ll take you a bit of effort to pull the cam off the mount again. You can drill a hole through your exterior wall and slide the wire through there, or thread the wire through a doorway. We recommend drilling because then the wire won’t interfere with your door closing, and you won’t get the wear and tear of closing your door on the wire all the time. Once the camera’s up and plugged in, you need to download the Nest app and create an account. The app will ask for things like your email address and your location. Once that’s all finished, you just scan the QR code on the body of the camera, and you’re ready to catch your nosey next-door neighbor on (digital) film. If that did happen, you’d still have footage of the event. (It would just go straight to the cloud.) But the Nest Cam is an expensive little camera, and you don’t want to lose it. If you’re worried about it, you might want to consider upgrading to the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor. Everything the Nest Cam Outdoor can do, the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor can do better. Plus, the IQ requires a security screwdriver to take the camera on and off its mount. Thieves can’t just grab n’ go. Some cameras give you activity zones in blocks, and you can select which ones are active. It’s imprecise, and you might get more alerts than you want for one area but not enough for another. Nest lets you draw custom activity zones, so you can adjust exactly which areas you want to get alerts about. You can even color code and label the zones, so you get specific alerts about each one. It makes it much easier to sort through your notifications and see which ones are important. That said, the Google Nest Cam Outdoor is a bit of an older model, so you’ll pay less than you would for the Nest Cam Outdoor IQ (the newer, fancier model). If you still want a high-quality Google Nest camera, but looking to save some money, the Nest Cam Outdoor is a good option. Plan to spend around two hundred dollars.
24/7 continuous recording Timelapses Clips Custom activity zones AI features (like familiar face detection) Smart alerts Multi-day cloud storage
The Nest app gets good reviews through Google Play and the Apple App Store. Google Play users give it a little over four stars,1 and App Store users give it nearly a full five stars.2 We’ve also found the app to be full-featured and intuitive. You won’t have to spend a couple hours just trying to figure out where everything is—it’s pretty simple. The 8x digital zoom is also useful if you need to zoom in on a license plate of a passing car or need to zoom in to see if that’s a stranger in your yard or just your neighbor grabbing their missing football. Of course, the Nest Cam Outdoor will also work with your other Nest devices. If you already have a Nest Secure home security system or a Nest Hello video doorbell, then your Nest Cam Outdoor will fit right in. Complete your Nest home with Google Nest Audio. The Arlo Ultra camera is best for:
People who want the best tech features available People who want 4K resolution People who want 100% wire-free cameras
The Nest Cam IQ Outdoor is best for:
People who like the Nest Cam Outdoor but want an even better version People who want better image quality when you zoom in
Check out our Nest Cam IQ Outdoor review. This cam isn’t the latest and greatest model on the market, but its features still hold up, and you can get them for cheaper than you’d pay for something brand new and fancier, like the Arlo Ultra. If you’re a smart-tech fan who wants an outdoor security camera, Nest will serve you well.
