Blink and it’s here: Amazon’s affordable home security products are finally coming to Australia

E-commerce giant Amazon has launched affordable home security brand Blink in Australia and New Zealand, offering a more accessible entry point for smart home cameras than premium brand Ring.

Blink originally launched overseas in 2009, and Amazon bought the company in 2017 and is positioning it as a step down from Ring. While the latter offers a wide range of video doorbells, along with much higher resolution cameras and more niche products such as floodlight cameras, Blink’s products are more basic by design, making them an attractive option for renters and people who don’t want to spend too much A lot. a lot about setting up a smart home camera.

Despite being cheaper by design, the Blink camera still offers a surprising number of features. There will only be two Blink security cameras available in Australia at launch – the Mini 2 and Outdoor 4 – but both feature motion detection, Alexa app compatibility and live video streaming directly to your smartphone. They also have a built-in microphone and speaker for two-way communication between you and the person in front of the camera.

Blink twice for cheaper security

Blink Mini 2 used indoors on a countertop

(Image: Amazon)

The good news is that the Blink devices arriving in Australia are the latest devices available in other markets.

The Blink Mini 2 (AU$69/NZ$79), which was unveiled in the US in March this year, is expected to be both an outdoor and indoor camera, with a mounting plate built into the stand (in case it’s on the wall) and a light on the camera lens that illuminates objects in the dark. To use it outdoors, it is recommended to purchase a weather-resistant power supply, although for indoor use you can use the included cable. The Blink Mini 2 is now available for purchase on Amazon, although there is no guarantee that there will be a discount available when the second Amazon Prime Day sale begins on October 8.

If you want to save recordings to local storage, consider also purchasing a 256 GB Sync 2 module. This module connects wirelessly to Blink Mini 2 and saves footage from the camera, which can be transferred to a USB memory stick. You can also use it as a hub for up to 10 Blink cameras, accessible via the Blink Home Monitor app.

The Blink Outdoor 4, on the other hand, seems like a more impressive piece of kit on paper, and we have high expectations for the fourth-generation model, as we quite liked the original in our 2021 Blink Outdoor review. This camera system is designed for outdoor use right out of the box, and Amazon boasts an impressive two-year battery life on two AA batteries. The camera records in 1080p and can be freely switched using the stand and wall mount kit. It enables two-way sound and motion detection, and the included Sync Module 2 allows you to save local video. However, additional features will cost a little more.

As mentioned, these wouldn’t be Amazon products without a subscription. The Blink subscription plan allows you to save and share clips from your Blink devices to unlimited cloud storage, where you’ll have up to 60 days to download or share your clips. People detection, automatic backup to local storage, and the ability to record live views and capture photos are available with a subscription.

The basic tier costs $4.95 per month per device, or $15 per month for the Blink Plus plan, which supports unlimited devices. Annual subscriptions cost $49.95 per year per device for the Basic plan or $150 per year for the Plus plan, again with unlimited devices for the latter.

The unlimited plan also offers a feature called Blink Moments, which combines the highlights captured by your cameras and combines them into one seamless video. It also has the ability to snooze motion-activated notifications and provides the user with a 10% discount on Blink devices.

Batting vs Ring: Which is Better?

Blink Outdoor 4 used outdoors, attached to a fence

(Image: Amazon)

It’s an interesting time for Amazon to launch its brand of budget smart home cameras in the Australian market, with Prime Big Deal Days approaching and gadgets from its Ring home security range currently heavily discounted.

In fact, the Ring Indoor Camera (2nd Gen) is currently priced at $59 (up from $99), making it cheaper than the Blink Mini 2. The Ring Video Doorbell Plus is also discounted to $159 (was $249), which could be attractive over the Blink system for two reasons: first, it works with the wider Ring ecosystem (Blink gadgets don’t work), and second, it adds a doorbell to your home security system (which Blink doesn’t currently offer in Australia at the time of writing text, although a video doorbell model is available abroad).

While brand new tech devices don’t usually get a discount right after release, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if during Prime Big Deal Days both cameras received some kind of discount – both as a way to celebrate the big sales event and a way to celebrate the launch Down Under , but mainly to bring it exactly in line with Ring’s discounted and higher-end alternatives.

However, in terms of price and simplicity, Blink gadgets are quite a competitive option. Personally, I like the Outdoor 4 and its portability, as well as its huge estimated two-year battery life. I can definitely see myself putting one of these in the window of my house to keep an eye on everything.