“Finally a doorbell for the pandemic era,” we remarked when Alarm.com unveiled its sub- $ 200 Touchless Video Doorbell yesterday. But what was once a curiosity has now become a trend: the Netgear spinoff Arlo now also has its own Touchless Video Doorbell, to the same product name.
Arlo does not have a price, release date or even a photo of the new doorbell, which made me think: why should it be different from the doorbells that Arlo (and Google’s Nest and Amazon’s Ring, etc.) offer today? on?
Here’s how Arlo describes the idea:
The Arlo Touchless Video Doorbell utilizes precise Proximity Sensing Technology to determine the distance of a visitor. After the gas is detected, he hears an audible sound and sees a visible light, indicating that the doorbell has been pressed and that the homeowner has been warned – all before coming into physical contact with the device.
Most smart doorbells already have cameras with some form of motion detection. Some even let you fine-tune motion detection zones, and many already have lights and sounds that let visitors know when they hit the button.
Why not just turn off a software update for existing doorbells, which automatically rings doorbells when the camera detects a visitor? It can also play an audio message such as ‘We are ringing the doorbell for you, please wait a moment’. Arlo’s video doorbells already support sending pre-recorded audio messages.
The humble webcam became the most important device in 2020 when the pandemic occurred, and most DSLR and mirrorless camera manufacturers responded to the shortage of webcam by releasing software so that you can make it in webcams as well. Do the manufacturers of doorbells think they can attract enough people to buy a brand new doorbell for this, at a time when people do not have to go to each other’s homes? If I am right and existing cams can do it, it may be more effective to try to sell more of the existing models by building goodwill.
Arlo introduced its first doorbell with batteries at the end of last year.