Nest Hello vs. Ring Video Doorbell 2: Which is best?
Which smart ringer should you buy?
WHO’S THERE?
The smart home is getting smarter every day, with new gadgets offering ways to smarten up the most mundane household devices. Even doorbells. What once was a little, nondescript buzzer can now be a window to the outside world, packing in a camera so that you can see who’s there from your smartphone – and even talk to them without opening the door (or yelling through it). The Nest Hello just released in the UK and follows Ring’s upgraded Video Doorbell 2, offering a pair of appealing options that vary significantly in terms of design, installation demands, and overall features. Which is the best connected ringer for your soon-to-be-smarter door? Here’s what we think, based on our reviews.
SLEEK AND SIMPLISTIC
As seen with its smart thermostats, Nest’s calling card is sleek and simplistic in a very Apple-esque manner. So it’s no surprise that the Nest Hello very much embodies the same ethos, albeit for a device slapped onto the front of your door. It’s tall and curvy, featuring a visible fisheye camera at the top and a big button at the bottom to be pressed by visiting fingers. A modest Nest logo and LED sit in the middle, with the latter pulsating and and changing colour when pressed or when it senses motion.
CHUNKY BUZZER
Ring’s Video Doorbell 2 really can’t compete on looks. It’s a bit chunkier and certainly less refined; if you remember the days before smartphones, you might find the Ring’s design reminiscent of the Sony Ericsson T610. The camera sits in the black portion up top, while the glowing button is right above the Ring logo on the lower segment. Your tastes might swing either way, but the Nest Hello has an alluring elegance to it that the more utilitarian Ring 2 doesn’t quite match.
RING RING
The Ring Video Doorbell 2 begins recording when someone presses the doorbell, or optionally, when it senses motion in front of the device – and you’ll get an instant alert on your phone, letting you pop into the Ring app to see what’s happening and chat with whoever’s outside. You can tweak the motion-sensing zones from within the app, in case you’re getting too many false alerts, although you may just have to deal with those if you have a shared walkway or live in a busy area with a lot of pedestrians or activity out front. The Ring 2 also lets you tune into a live view, in case you’re expecting someone or something… or need a bit of entertainment.
ALWAYS WATCHING
Nest’s doorbell essentially starts with that same feature set but then goes deeper. It records constantly if you have a Nest Aware subscription, meaning you can dig back into the footage in case something happens that you didn’t get an alert for. Beyond that, Nest Hello can also tell people apart from cats and dogs (and other creatures), plus with a Nest Aware subscription, it can also recognise people’s faces. Whether that’s friends, family, a roommate, or a trusted delivery carrier, you can get smart notifications and relax knowing that there’s no funny business happening out front.
CRISP VIDEO
The Nest Hello also comes ahead in terms of video quality and reliability. It records at a crisp 1600×1200 (at 15 frames per second) with HDR, delivering clear, lifelike images straight to your device – plus it’s at 4:3 aspect ratio with a 160° field of view, offering a head-to-toe image of whoever might be in view. You can also swipe or tap to change what’s in view. And not only is the image of a higher quality, but as mentioned, it can also learn faces and recognise people over time. That’s handy.
PATCHY PERFORMANCE
The Ring Video Doorbell 2 doesn’t quite match up. It records at a more-than-respectable 1080p at the same 15fps, but doesn’t have the same richness and clarity as the Nest Hello. And it’s at a 16:9 aspect ratio (still 160° field of view), which means you’ll see more to the sides but less up and down. Your call on whether that’s a meaningful difference for your setup or not. That said, we found the performance to be a bit patchy – even with a router mere feet from the doorbell. As our reviewer wrote, “Sometimes, the video quality is fine and I’ll get near instant alerts, but others the feed will degrade into a blocky mess or will simply be too slow to let me see or talk to the person who’s pressed the button.”
VERDICT: HELLO NEST
Overall, while the Ring Video Doorbell 2 might cost you less money, you don’t get as many bonus features. The Nest Hello brings in more perks and abilities inside a more refined package, but you’ll spend more on the device itself, monthly service, and – potentially – installation. Considering the improved video quality and performance, however, we think the Nest Hello warrants the added investment. The Ring 2 is mostly solid, but the day-to-day reliability left us wanting. We didn’t have those issues with the Nest Hello, and it’s really a more appealing device and experience overall.
