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Google Nest Doorbell in the test: This doorbell knows who pressed it

2021-09-04T15:47:30.748Z


The smart doorbell is supposed to use a camera to recognize who is standing in front of the front door, whether someone is leaving a package or just a cat is walking by. Can a bell be that smart? We tried it.


Enlarge image

Can ring and watch: Google's Nest Doorbell (with battery)

Photo: Matthias Kremp / DER SPIEGEL

A doorbell is actually a simple thing: when pressed, it closes a circuit and the doorbell does what it was designed to do: it rings.

At least that's how it used to be.

The new Nest Doorbell from Google that I tested for this article can, if it has to.

But it can also be different.

But let's take a closer look: The correct name is "Nest Doorbell (with battery)".

This is important, because there is also the older "Nest Doorbell (with cable)" and it not only looks completely different, but also works differently, namely - you guessed it - wired.

The new model, on the other hand, also works without a cable, only the bell does not ring, but other things, but more on that later.

First of all, let's talk about the differences between the old and the new version: The “with battery” model is initially cheaper, costs 199 instead of 279 euros.

It's also bigger and looks better for my taste.

However, at 960 × 1280 pixels, their video resolution is significantly worse than the 1600 × 1200 pixels of the old model.

This is hardly noticeable in everyday life, you usually watch the video on your mobile phone when you are out and about, the lower resolution is enough.

However, the cameras of the wired doorbell also cover a 160 degree wider viewing angle than the new model, which only sees 145 degrees wide.

Know what's moving

From my point of view, however, the most important difference is that the doorbell with battery contains a chip that is optimized for machine learning.

This makes Google's bell a little bit intelligent.

In any case, more intelligent than the cable model.

Because, no matter how good the picture may be, it can recognize people, but is otherwise stupid and can only report movements and loud noises in general.

But she doesn't care whether the movement comes from a branch in the wind or a neighbor's cat.

If it runs on battery power, Google's doorbell predicts two months of running time before it needs to be charged

Photo:

Matthias Kremp / DER SPIEGEL

The battery bell can also perceive undefined movements.

But she also knows how to distinguish whether the movement was triggered by a person, a car or a neighbor's cat and can even inform me if someone drops a package in front of my door.

In any case, it worked in the test, but not in practice, because parcel carriers tend to put the boxes under my doorbell and not in front of it.

Nevertheless, this ability of the bell to distinguish whether a person, animal or tree is moving in front of its camera is worth gold to me.

In the Google Home app, you can specify that it should, for example, only react to people and not to animals or movements that are not clearly defined for them.

Since I activated this, the number of false positives has decreased dramatically.

If desired, the bell can also recognize the visitor

In return, Google speakers and smartphones can now let me know when someone is at the door - and sometimes also who.

But only if you want to.

The face recognition has to be activated actively in the app, otherwise nothing works.

And if it is running, then only in the bell itself, the data does not end up in the cloud.

However, you should be careful with this function and observe legal requirements, Google also points this out. Adding family members to your face database may be okay, but ask the postwoman or neighbor before subjecting their picture to such digital processing. Or simply not include them in the database, because you have to enter the names of the faces yourself.

It is also important to choose the viewing angle of the camera carefully.

For data protection reasons, it should rather not be aimed at the neighbors' front door or the path in front of the house, where it would constantly film strangers.

If you wanted to use it as a doorbell in an apartment building, it gets particularly tricky if you don't have the top floor apartment with no neighbors on the floor.

You don't have many options for changing your perspective.

The camera can look forward or can be tilted 20 degrees with a wheel chock.

dogs and cats

Ready-made quick answers in the home app

Photo:

Matthias Kremp / DER SPIEGEL

The ability of the Google bell to recognize people and pets, however, has limits.

Burglars would only have to dress up as horses in order to pass the doorbell camera unnoticed, because it only recognizes dogs and cats, their chip has not yet been trained on other animals by Google.

The same also applies to the new surveillance camera from Google, the "Nest Cam (outdoor or indoor | with battery)".

For them, like the doorbell, you can use their microphones and speakers to speak to people who come into the camera's field of vision.

This can be used to drive a stranger off the property with a loud "I know where you parked".

In the case of the doorbell, however, the function is more intended to instruct messengers what to do with the respective delivery.

Far too many bell wires

In practice, however, that never worked for me.

By the time the message of the doorbell ringing from my WLAN via the Internet and cellular network arrives on my cell phone, I react to it, unlock the cell phone, notice who is there and how I could react, at least parcel carriers have long since disappeared.

They don't have time for such gimmicks.

What you should take a little time for, however, is installing the Nest doorbell.

For example, I didn't want to just run on battery and announce visitors over Google speakers.

She should also let my old electromechanical bell ring and thereby satisfy her power needs from the bell wires.

And there was the problem: My house system simply has too many bell wires.

If you don't want to get involved in such adventures, you should leave the installation to a professional.

Google promises to be able to provide so-called "Nest Pros".

In practice, however, Google's system had no such "pro" in all of Hamburg.

If in doubt, you should leave that to the electrician you trust.

Conclusion

👍 Good video quality

👍 Good recognition of people and pets

👍 Local face recognition

👎 Installation is not always easy

👎 The viewing angle can hardly be changed

A doorbell button can hardly be much smarter than Google's Nest doorbell (with battery). You can simply screw it on and charge it every few months or supply it with power via the bell wires. The high-tech gadget then makes it possible to see who is ringing the doorbell and to speak to that person in the office or on the beach. At least if that person waits patiently enough to get their cell phone out.

And if someone tampered with at the front door, you will also notice - if only because she suddenly stopped making a sound.

Because it is particularly difficult not to block it, for example with a hammer blow or simply with a piece of adhesive tape.

If you want to defend yourself against burglars with such a device, you should therefore rather place a second camera in a less exposed location.

Background: Product tests in the Netzwelt department

Which products are reported on in the Netzwelt section? Expand

We decide for ourselves which products we report in the Internet world and which we test or not. We do not receive any money or other consideration from the manufacturer for any of the test reports.

For various reasons it can happen that we do not report on products even though we have corresponding test products.

Where do the test products come from? Expand

We usually get test devices and review copies of games from the manufacturer free of charge for a certain period of time, sometimes even before the official release.

In this way, our test reports can appear in good time or shortly after the product is published.



We only test pre-release versions or devices from pre-series production in special cases.

We usually wait until we can get test devices or game versions that are identical to the retail versions.

In some cases we also buy products ourselves at our own expense if they are already available in stores or online.

Are the Netzwelt editors allowed to keep the products?

As a rule, test devices are sent back to the manufacturer after the end of the test.

The exception are review copies of games and so-called permanent loans: For example, we have game consoles and smartphones in the editorial office that we are allowed to use for a longer period of time.

For example, we can report on software updates, new accessories and new games or make long-term judgments.

Can companies invite the Netzwelt editors to travel?

DER SPIEGEL always bears the costs for travel to events, regardless of whether they take place in Germany or abroad. This also applies if, for example, a company takes over travel planning due to short-term appointments.



Events to which we travel at our own expense include the Ifa, CES, E3 and Gamescom trade fairs as well as events from companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft or Nintendo.

At conferences such as the Chaos Communication Congress or the re: publica, like other press representatives, we usually get free press tickets because we report on the conference and are not traditional participants.

What about the Amazon ads in some articles?

Since December 2016, Amazon ads containing so-called partner links can be found in some Netzwelt articles. If a user visits Amazon via such a link and buys online there, DER SPIEGEL receives a share of the sales in the form of a commission. The ads appear in articles regardless of whether a product test is positive or negative.

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2021-09-04

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