With the cost of smart home security cameras these days, investing in added peace of mind is relatively inexpensive. That being said, the number of wireless home security options can be overwhelming. We've spotted this Blink video camera doorbell and a pack of two Outdoor 4 cameras for a cool $72 at Amazon right now. That saves you a massive $118 on a camera that earned a CNET Editors' Choice Award.
Blink also includes two AA Energizer Lithium batteries that last up to two years, so maintenance costs are negligible.
CNET's key takeaways
The Blink Outdoor 4 security camera
The Blink Outdoor 4 is one of the more affordable cams, and it is often on sale.
The Blink app is limited to Alexa support only, meaning you cannot connect with Google, Apple or other third-party smart platforms.
Blink's Outdoor 4 cam came with a big promise when I first started reviewing it: lithium AA batteries that could last for two years without needing to be replaced. That's a ridiculously long time for a wireless security camera, which usually has batteries that need recharging every few months.
I started out skeptical, but Blink's cam stayed operational on my fence, not just for a few months but season after season while I waited, and I was increasingly impressed.
While my Blink Outdoor 4 model didn't quite reach the full two years that Blink rates its wireless camera batteries at, a year and a half far surpasses the use of any wireless camera with a rechargeable battery, like Ring or Nest. In my experience, those rechargeable batteries tend to last several months at the most before you need to bring them in for a recharge or switch them out with a new battery pack.
That recharging gets annoying during cold winters or for wireless cameras that are posted out of reach and require a ladder to switch batteries out. And if your cams activate all the time, batteries run out even faster. I don't mind leaning out to grab the video doorbell for a quick recharge, but for other outdoor cameras, it turns into an unwanted and inconvenient task.
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