Arlo Ultra

A high-quality smart camera, but with some caveats

- Nick Odantzis

Smart home security just got a serious upgrade with the release of the new Arlo Ultra. The totally wireless security camera boasts 4K HDR image quality, along with a host of top-notch features, such as smart object detection and a security spotlight.

The basic starter kit gets you a single Arlo Ultra camera and SmartHub that allows you to connect to your camera over your Wi-Fi network. You also get a single battery, specific charging cable and a magnetic wall mount.

Installing the Ultra is easy – just drill a hole in your external wall and, using the supplied wall plug and screw, attach the magnetic mount. The Ultra snaps to the mount securely, and thanks its multi-axis design, can be rotated to the desired position. As the Ultra is battery powered and uses Wi-Fi to relay video, there are no cables to bother with.

Adding the camera within the Arlo app is quick, and if you’re an existing Arlo customer you’ll be able to see all your different cameras here. You can quickly swap between camera modes on the Ultra, turn it on or off, and there’s the option of setting a schedule or using geofencing so it’s only active when you’re away.

Fans of the Home app in iOS will be disappointed to hear that the Ultra doesn’t come with HomeKit support… yet. So, for the time being at least, you won’t be able to control the camera within the Home app, or set up any neat event triggers, such as your smart lights turning on when motion is detected, for example. The camera does support Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant though.