Most video doorbells are very good at showing you who stole your package. SimpliSafe would rather stop them before they get that far.
The company has launched the SimpliSafe Video Doorbell Series 2, a $199.99 wired video doorbell that combines a new 2K camera with AI detection and, if you’re willing to pay for SimpliSafe’s higher-end monitoring plans, a live security agent who can step in when something looks wrong.
That last part is what makes the Series 2 interesting.
When connected to SimpliSafe’s Active Guard Outdoor Protection service, the doorbell can detect a potential threat and alert one of the company’s U.S.-based security agents. The agent can view the camera feed, talk through the doorbell and activate its siren. If things get bad, the agent can also request police dispatch while the system records what is happening.
In other words, instead of getting a notification that someone is standing on your porch and deciding what to do yourself, you’re paying SimpliSafe to have someone else watching too.
That’s a significant change from the basic video doorbell model.
A better camera, too
Even without the live monitoring service, SimpliSafe has given the Series 2 some useful hardware upgrades.
The camera now records at 2K resolution and has a wider head-to-toe field of view. That second part should be especially useful for packages since a conventional doorbell camera can give you a great shot of the delivery driver’s face while completely missing the box sitting a few feet below it.
There’s also up to five seconds of pre-event recording, so the camera can save what happened immediately before it detected an event. Enhanced two-way audio handles conversations at the door, and dual-band Wi-Fi adds support for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks.
SimpliSafe has also added what it calls Smart AI. The system can distinguish between people and packages, with vehicle detection promised soon. Activity Zones let you tell the camera which parts of the image matter so you’re not getting alerts every time somebody walks down the sidewalk or a car passes your house.
The hardware itself has been changed as well. There’s a black face surrounded by a white LED ring, with different status lights showing who’s using the camera. Amber means a SimpliSafe monitoring agent is speaking, while blue means it’s the homeowner.
It’s a small detail but a smart one. If a voice suddenly starts coming out of your doorbell, the person standing outside should probably know whether they’re talking to you or a security company.
Security ain’t cheap
The Video Doorbell Series 2 costs $199.99, but getting its most interesting feature costs considerably more.
Active Guard Outdoor Protection is available through SimpliSafe’s Pro plan at $49.99 per month or Pro Plus at $79.99 per month. That’s $600 or nearly $960 a year before considering the cost of the hardware.
You also can’t simply buy the Series 2 and stick it on the door. It requires a SimpliSafe Base Station and Keypad, plus an existing wired doorbell setup with a compatible transformer and mechanical or digital chime.
The doorbell can still be used as part of a SimpliSafe system without professional monitoring, but at that point you’re losing much of what separates it from the growing pile of smart doorbells already on the market.
Still, SimpliSafe is making a good point about where home security cameras are heading. Recording a thief walking away with your package is useful evidence, but it’s not particularly good security.
The Series 2 tries to move the camera from recording an event to actually responding to it.
Whether having a human security agent living somewhere inside your doorbell is worth $50 to $80 a month is another question. When it comes to protecting a $1,000 TV Amazon just delivered, however, that 50 smackers might be worth it.
