Arlo Pro 4 Review

The Arlo Pro 4 has an adjustable field of view, onboard spotlight, color night vision, and a host of sophisticated alerts. It's also easy to set up and operate. However, the camera's video and sound quality are disappointing, particularly in light of the camera's price.

Performance Comparison

Recorded Video Quality

The Arlo Pro 4 performed about average for its class in the recorded video quality assessment. While the camera boasts 2k resolution, we were surprised to find that the camera records in HD. The downloaded video quality is average, with colors remaining accurate and the quality staying consistent even when subjects are in motion. However, when set to the widest field of view setting (160º), features are slightly muddled and appear far away. On the upside, the recorded video does not have the overexposure issue we have observed in other Arlo products.

The Pro 4 has color night vision that produces decent renderings of background details. However, we were not pleased with the lack of visible details where human faces were concerned. That said, we like that the unit offers an adjustable field of vision (160º, 125º, 110º) because it allows users interested in motion detection alerts to narrow the area of interest or expand it for tight areas such as a stoop.

Monitoring Performance

Unlike the recorded video quality metric, monitoring performance focuses on real-time video and sound quality. The Arlo Pro 4 performed poorly in these assessments. The main reason that the camera scored so low is that it has a pronounced latency of ~3 seconds between actual events and their depiction on screen, and there is also a slight lag between the video and audio.

The results were not all bad for the Arlo Pro 4. The camera offers viewers a smooth video feed that is unaffected by fast movements. The audio is smooth and crisp as well, with no background noise. Additionally, the speaker on the camera is loud and produces an 81.8 dB alarm.

Ease of Use

The Arlo Pro 4 is a bright spot in our appraisal when it comes to ease of use. The camera's app is very easy to navigate, the settings readily accessible, and tons of useful notifications are available to the user. However, we were disappointed that local data storage required the purchase of an accompanying base and that the cloud storage required a paid subscription. Special features like the first responder notification also require a subscription.

Perhaps our favorite thing about the Pro 4 is its settings and alerts. The camera's app allows users to set motion alerts for people, vehicles, animals, and motion in general. The camera will also alert you to the arrival of a package. Video clip previews are also available in notifications if you want them. The camera can also detect and alert users to the presence of smoke and carbon monoxide indoors. Finally, the Pro 4 comes with a sturdy magnetized base that serves as a wall mount (hardware included).

Value

While the Arlo Pro 4 offers many features and it's easy to use, it failed to live up to the standards for video and sound quality set by more competitively priced models. As such, we do not see this product offering a good value to consumers.

Conclusion