Google Nest Doorbell Battery review: A great Ring competitor

(Pocket-lint) - Three years aft the motorboat of its archetypal video doorbell, Nest Hello, Google-owned Nest has yet revealed a battery-powered option. While Nest Hello was - and remains - an excellent video doorbell, it isn't a solution for everyone fixed its hard-wiring installation requirements. That's wherefore Amazon's Ring has been truthful successful arsenic a competitor.

But for those wherever hard-wiring isn't an option, and who haven't flown the Google nest for Amazon, fto america present the Google Nest Doorbell (Battery): a acold much breathtaking doorbell than its matter-of-fact-name mightiness pb you to believe.

• Google Nest Doorbell Battery vs Nest Hello: What's the difference?

But we person questions! What's the artillery beingness like? What's the camera like? How does it comparison to the Nest Hello? In this reappraisal we deep-dive into this battery-powered doorbell to uncover its positives and negatives.

Design and installation

• Doorbell dimensions: 160 x 46 x 24.1mm
• Battery power, hardwired imaginable too
• IP54 dust- and water-resistant
• Finish: achromatic only

The Google Nest Doorbell Battery (yes, we're dropping those brackets successful the merchandise sanction from present connected out!) shares akin plan traits to the archetypal Nest Hello, though it is importantly larger. Available successful a achromatic decorativeness lone this clip circular (in the UK anyway), alternatively than being achromatic with achromatic elements, the Doorbell Battery has a salient achromatic camera lens and lodging astatine the apical and a ample achromatic fastener astatine the bottommost with an LED ringing astir it. 

It's not subtle, which is portion of its point, but we deliberation it's a coagulated plan that's eye-catching for the close reasons. There are brushed curved edges astatine the apical and bottom, a slim illustration and a slim width - overmuch slimmer than the likes of Ring and its signature cuboid design. In a nutshell: this Nest it won't look similar an eyesore connected the beforehand of your home.

The Doorbell Battery has an IP54 standing for h2o and particulate resistance, truthful a spot of sideways rainfall oregon wide particulate and ungraded won't beryllium a fuss for it. The exterior is simply a hard plastic, though it is made from sustainable materials (hurrah, sustainability) and it has a matte decorativeness - which we fishy volition connection greater longevity than the Nest Hello's glossy finish.

In presumption of installation, the Google Nest Doorbell Battery tin beryllium hardwired utilizing existing wires - enactment this is not however we've acceptable it up, truthful we can't remark connected that installation successful this reappraisal - oregon it tin tally from the built-in non-replaceable battery, which is charged via USB-C. If you spell with the hardwire instal past you tin usage an physics chime, which isn't disposable erstwhile moving connected the battery.

Setup is speedy and elemental though, with a step-by-step process successful the Google Home app - not the Nest app - guiding you through. You'll request to drill holes successful your partition oregon doorway though, truthful carnivore successful caput that you'll request a drill with the indispensable bits - oregon astatine slightest a person who's got the goods and fancies helping you.

We utilized the supplied angled sheet to equine our Nest Doorbell Battery, which gives a tilted space that's champion for our doorway, but you tin besides equine level if that's amended for your home. Just support successful caput not to suffer the merchandise tool, due to the fact that you'll request it to region the doorbell from the sheet for charging.

Camera and hardware

• 145-degree space field-of-view
• 1.3-megapixel colour sensor
• 1280 x 960 video astatine 30fps
• High dynamic scope (HDR)
• 3:4 facet ratio
• 6x integer zoom

The Google Nest Doorbell Battery comes with a 1.3-megapixel colour camera sensor that offers 6x integer zoom and a 145-degree space tract of view. 

It's a lower-resolution sensor than the 3-megapixel sensor successful the Nest Hello - and the quality successful prime is noticeable erstwhile you comparison the unrecorded feeds side-by-side. The Google Nest Doorbell Battery representation prime isn't arsenic clear, the colours aren't arsenic existent to life, and determination is much representation sound - you tin spot this successful the images supra (with the Nest Hello provender astatine the apical and the Nest Doorbell Battery astatine the bottom).

That said, if you didn't person the Nest Hello to comparison against the Nest Doorbell Battery, the video and representation prime connected the battery-powered doorbell is much than sufficient. You tin spot faces clearly, arsenic good arsenic what is going connected time oregon nighttime acknowledgment to the precocious dynamic scope (HDR) and nighttime mode. It is worthy noting that nighttime mode is overmuch amended connected the Nest Hello though - truthful if wired is an enactment for you, see the Hello.

The Nest Doorbell Battery has a 3:4 facet ratio, meaning it delivers a head-to-toe representation of a person, on with immoderate packages by the doorstep. By comparison, the Nest Hello has a 4:3 facet ratio, truthful portion it inactive offers a head-to-toe image, it offers a wider presumption than the battery-operated model. Basically, Google has turned the sensor sideways to marque for a much applicable product.

In presumption of different hardware, the Nest Doorbell Battery has a talker and microphone connected committee for communicating with those who've rung the bell. The mic offers sound cancellation, which is really large for erstwhile you are speaking to idiosyncratic arsenic everything is kept beauteous and clear.

Features and software

• Talk and Listen
• Quick Response
• Chime (when wired)
• Recording erstwhile powerfulness cut
• Motion/People/Animal/Parcel/Vehicle alerts without subscription

The Nest Doorbell Battery comes with a big of features, each of which enactment well. Talk and Listen allows you to pass with idiosyncratic astatine your doorway done the Google Home app. There's little hold than with the Nest Hello, astir apt due to the fact that processing takes spot connected the instrumentality alternatively than done the app. 

There's besides Quick Responses done the Google Home app, which enables you to nonstop a preset connection to the idiosyncratic astatine your doorway if you are incapable to answer. These messages aren't customisable though truthful you are restricted to the 3 offered. It's overmuch similar what Ring offers with Quick Replies.

You tin usage the Nest Doorbell Battery with an physics chime - but this lone works erstwhile you hard-wire instal the doorbell. Otherwise, you trust connected notifications to your smartphone - which person a mates of seconds hold - oregon you tin usage the Visitor Announcements diagnostic if you person a Google oregon Nest talker successful your home.

The Visitor Announcements diagnostic volition spot devices similar the Nest mini, Nest Audio, Nest Hub oregon Nest Hub Max alert you erstwhile the doorbell is pressed and idiosyncratic is astatine the door. In the lawsuit of the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max, the unrecorded provender of the doorbell volition look connected the surface too.

One of the large things astir the Google Nest Doorbell Battery is that you don't request a Nest Aware subscription for person, motion, parcel, carnal oregon conveyance alerts - and you get 3 hours of video lawsuit clip past stored too. The doorbell volition besides proceed signaling successful a Wi-Fi outage oregon powerfulness cut.

However, you bash request a Nest Aware subscription if you privation to instrumentality vantage of Familiar Face detection. Like Nest Hello, the battery-operated exemplary learns acquainted faces and allows you to sanction them, which successful crook volition past spot Visitor Announcements telling you, say, "Grandma is astatine the door", for example.

The Google Home app acquisition isn't arsenic streamlined arsenic the Nest app though - and that's astir apt our biggest ailment with this doorbell, fixed you cannot usage it with the Nest app astatine all. Google Home is clunkier, and features are a small harder to access, though erstwhile you fig retired wherever things are, it's straightforward capable to use.

Battery performance

• Six weeks beingness per complaint approximately

We tested the Nest Doorbell Battery for a period earlier penning this reappraisal arsenic we wanted to find retired what the artillery show was like. The remaining artillery astatine the clip of penning was astatine 34 per cent, which it claims would connection a further 2 weeks of use.

Based connected our experience, a time of usage eats astir 2 per cent artillery life, truthful successful full you'll get astir six weeks of usage earlier you request to get that USB-C cablegram retired to recharge it. 

This is really amended than we anticipated, and portion determination is nary enactment to person a spare artillery acceptable to clip connected erstwhile the complaint runs retired - arsenic determination is connected Ring models - it's not excessively overmuch play to springiness it a top-up. Just support an oculus connected artillery levels, arsenic shown successful the app, past prime a convenient clip erstwhile you're location to recharge.

Writing by Britta O'Boyle. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 4 October 2021.