Some smart home security cameras can start recording whenever a loud noise occurs. This is all thanks to a feature known as “Sound-Activated Recording.” Are Blink cameras activated by sound or noise as well?
You see, Blink cameras are some of the most popular choices for smart home security cameras in North America. This is all thanks to their cheaper price points, reliability, user-friendliness, and the fact that they come from Amazon, one of the most well-known companies in the world.
But despite their fame, some buyers would first want to know whether or not these cameras have the ability to detect sound and start recording. For this specific category of buyers, this is an important consideration in deciding to purchase the camera(s) or move on to another choice(s).
Unfortunately, it seems that Blink cameras do not have this capability, so they are not activated by sound. In short, these are not sound-activated smart home security cameras. Instead, they are motion-activated smart home security cameras.
That means if you need an audio-triggered smart home security camera, Blink cameras are not the right choice for you. Some of the best products you can choose instead are Nest, Arlo, Wyze, and Eufy as these smart home security cameras offer exactly what you are looking for: sound-activated recording.
Speaking of which let’s take a closer look at each of these alternative smart cameras.
4 Smart Home Security Camera That Have Sound Activated Feature
1. Nest
Google makes Nest smart cameras. Their Nest smart camera lineup consists of indoor and outdoor cameras. Some of these cameras are wired(connected to a power source and the internet mostly by a cable) whereas others are wireless(powered by batteries and connected to the internet over Wi-Fi. You can check out these products on Google’s landing page.
According to Google, Nest smart cameras’ sound-activated recording works by listening for alarming sounds such as a smoke alarm and a dog bark. This is made possible by some advanced algorithms developed by Google that enable the cameras to pick out these unusual sounds to enable the camera to alert you.
2. Arlo
Arlo Technologies, an American company, is the one that makes Arlo smart cameras. The company has about eight products in its smart camera lineup. These include cameras designed for indoor usage and those designed for outdoor use. Notably, most of these cameras are wireless except for the Arlo Essential indoor camera even though it’s connected to the internet over Wi-Fi.
The beauty of Arlo smart cameras is that they come with an all-in-one sensor that offers several types of detection functions at once including;
- Motion detection.
- Sound detection.
- Water leak detection(alerts you whenever there’s a water leak from a leaky pipe or another fitting).
- Temperature detection(alerts you about unraveling extreme temperature conditions so that you can do the necessary).
- Light detection(monitors and detects unusual behavior of your light(s), alerting you whenever there’s cause for alarm).
3. Wyze
Wyze smart cameras are a creation of Wyze Labs, Inc, a subsidiary of a Chinese company known as “Hualai” even though the former is based in Seattle, Washington. The company offers more than ten smart camera products that are different in nature. For example, some cameras are indoor ones whereas other cameras are outdoor ones. Similarly, some cameras are wired whilst other cameras are wireless.
When it comes to sound detection, Wyze has done a great job. The company’s AI team has done a wonderful job to develop a reliable and intuitive Sound Detection technology that allows the cameras to understand what they hear. As such, they can distinguish different sounds and alert you whenever necessary. For instance, alarming sounds like a cry, a dog bark, an alarm system sound, and so on will trigger them, causing them to record.
4. Eufy
Eufy smart home cameras come from a Chinese electronics company called “Anker Innovations.” The company is located in Changsha, Hunan, China even though it also has a presence in California, USA, and it has been selling the cameras since 2011. They have an extensive lineup of indoor and outdoor smart home cameras with varying aspects including wired and wireless designs.
One of the aspects that make these cameras appealing to homeowners is sound detection, which complements motion detection, which all smart cameras have. If your dog starts to bark at night because there’s someone in the bark yard, you’ll get an alert. Similarly, if the alarm goes off because there’s an intruder, smoke, or carbon monoxide in your room, your Eufy camera will let you know.
Why Do Blink Cameras Lack Sound-Activated Recording?
It’s unbelievable the fact that Blink cameras lack sound-activated recording when many less popular alternative smart cameras actually do have this feature. And you might wonder why.
Unfortunately, Amazon hasn’t addressed this issue. My theory is that maybe the company isn’t yet aware of this feature that its competitors are capitalizing on or perhaps it’s working on adopting it. It remains to be seen whether we are right or wrong.
Are The Above Alternative Smart Cameras Better Than Blink Cameras?
Honestly, the answer depends on what you care about as the buyer. If you care about sound detection among motion detection and other things, you’ll not find Blink cameras as useful as the alternative cameras above.
If sound detection isn’t an important consideration, you’ll find Blink cameras as valuable as the latter. However, don’t forget that Blink cameras have a long battery life, and they produce high-quality video footage (even at night) alongside crystal-clear audio.
Also, these Amazon Inc cameras let you customize your settings further, allowing you to watch over your property more conveniently.
Final Thoughts
Other than the fact that they lack sound detection unlike some of their competitors like Nest, Arlo, Wyze, and Euphy, Blink smart cameras are reliable and worthwhile home surveillance cameras. Not only do they work as expected, but they also come with a great after-sales service that allows you to access technical assistance from the company whenever you have a problem with your camera(s). As such, we recommend these cameras just as we do the above alternative smart cameras, especially if you don’t mind this minor drawback.
