Nest Cam IQ preview: 4K sensor brings facial recognition and more precise alerts

The Nest Cam IQ is the latest indoor security camera from Google-owned smart home company Nest. It joins the Nest Cam Indoor and Nest Cam Outdoor in the portfolio of security products, both of which continue to be available.

Nest claims the Nest Cam IQ is a new product, rather than a camera that competes in the current space where numerous companies operate including Withings, Netatmo, Panasonic and Samsung. Here are our first impressions.

Nest Cam IQ: Design

• White, polycarbonate body
• Patented hinge for fluid movement 
• Three microphones

The Nest Cam IQ features a newer and more aesthetically pleasing design to the Nest Cam Indoor. It features a white polycarbonate body rather than a black one, allowing it to blend into a wider range of interiors.

Pocket-lint

Following similar design traits to the Nest Cam Outdoor, though on a stand rather than mount, the white body rounds off towards the rear where you will find a speaker and there are also three microphones present on the main body, with two at the front and one underneath.

At the front of this main body is the camera sensor, surrounded by a black glossy ring and a small and discreet Nest logo underneath. Although we didn’t see a working model, a blue LED ring will light up on the outer edge of the black ring to indicate the two-way talking feature, while a small green light is present in the centre at the top to indicate the camera is on and watching. These elements make up the main bulk of the Nest Cam IQ, which is positioned on a cleverly-weighted stem and base, resulting in a sturdy and solid design.

Pocket-lint

A patented hinge connects the main bulk section of the camera to the stem and base, allowing you to move the camera head around smoothly. The movement is slick and the camera is able to point in various positions, offering a good degree of flexibility. Cables are hidden within the stem, offering a clean and seamless finish, while the base has a USB Type-C port hidden on the back for power. The Nest Cam IQ, like others in the field, requires a constant connection to power.

• Nest Cam Indoor review 

Nest Cam IQ: Quality and hardware

• 4K sensor (8MP) with HDR, streaming in 1080p
• 12x digital zoom and enhance
• Six-core processor

The Nest Cam IQ has a 4K sensor with HDR, along with 12x digital zoom and enhance, the latter of which is done in the cloud. It’s worth noting that while the 8-megapixel sensor uses its 4K capabilities for capturing detail, it will not stream or record in 4K.

Instead, the detail is compressed and users will get 1080p streaming instead, saving your bandwidth. We weren’t able to use the new Nest Cam IQ during our briefing, but we will let you know what the quality is like when we have it in for review.

Pocket-lint

There are two 940nm infrared LEDs for night vision on board, said to be higher power than the Nest Cam Indoor for better visibility, while the speaker we mentioned previously in the design section is claimed to offer seven times more power than the 2015 model.

A six-core processor runs the IQ show and there is Bluetooth LE as well as 2×2 MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi on board too.

Nest Cam IQ: Features

• Facial recognition with Nest Aware subscription 
• Supersight feature without subscription 
• Distinguishes between person and thing

The Nest Cam IQ has been designed with the purpose of being able to distinguish between a person and a thing. There are a couple of features that will be available out of the box, while others require you to sign up to the Nest Aware subscription, as was the case with the Nest Cam Indoor.

Pocket-lint

Without the subscription, users will receive an alert when the Nest Cam IQ detects a person rather than a pet or a shadow. Users will also have access to a feature called Supersight which offers a picture-within-a-picture view in the app. The first picture shows the 130-degree view of the camera, while the second automatically zooms in to follow the person and movement.

Signing up to the subscription will offer familiar face and unfamiliar face alerts, with the camera using facial recognition technology to identify, categorise and learn the difference between family and strangers. You’ll also be able to grant access to specific people once they have been tagged, allowing them to disable recording when they return home, for example.

The Nest Aware subscription will also alert users when a person is talking or a dog is barking, as well offer 10-day or 30-day video history rather than just three hours without the subscription.

Pocket-lint

Thanks to the microphones, two-way talking is supported on the Nest Cam IQ and a software update will be arriving this summer that will offer a walkie-talkie feature for more fluid conversation using the camera. We didn’t get a chance to see the features in action, despite a demo of Supersight and familiar faces, but we will test all the features and functions of the Nest Cam IQ in our review.

First Impressions

The Nest Cam IQ offers a lovely, solid design that should blend in with most interiors more than its predecessor. There are some exciting new features on board too, including facial recognition and the ability to grant access to specific people so not everyone is recorded when they are home.

Although we don’t know how the Nest Cam IQ performs as yet, we have high expectations and we’re very much looking forward to trying it out to see how it compares to others in the market.

The Nest Cam IQ goes on preorder from 31 May for £299 or $299.