The BMini is Amazon’s cheapest security camera yet

Blink’s $ 35 mini camera is the best on the brand affordable home security camera to date. In addition to its reasonable price, this power supply is tied in Indoor camera has decent features and performance – but lacks it free cloud storage. It’s £ 35 in the UK but not available in Australia. I like the BMini as a budget option, but the $ 20 Wyze Cam costs less and offers more for free, including two weeks of video clips stored. My voice still goes to the Wyze Cam, but the BMini is also a great choice if you don’t mind paying for cloud storage – or waiting for the company’s BMini-compatible local storage device to plug in later goes on sale this year (more on this in a moment).

The BMini has a reliable 1080p HD live video feed, responsive motion alarms, and two-way conversations that were perfectly clear when my husband and I quarantined him on day 3,982 of our home Coronavirus pandemic. It also has motion detection zones that successfully block motion activity in the areas I have specified and an extensive settings area in the Bapp with lots of customization options. Your options include adjusting the length of the clips captured, adjusting the intensity of the infrared LEDs for night vision – and adjusting the sensitivity of the motion sensor.

This camera is supposed to work with Alexa-enabled smart speakers and displays, but I didn’t test that because We don’t have smart speakers or displays. In theory, you should be able to use a smart display to view a BMini’s live feed or saved clips, and a smart speaker (or display) to activate the camera for motion detection and disable it. The BMini does not support Google assistant or Siri about Apple HomeKit.

Bstarted in 2014 after a successful Kickstarter campaign for the Original Bindoor camera. While the first generation camera was a bit more affordable at $ 100 (compared to what most DIY retail security cameras were for Too many features were missing at the time for me to recommend. An iteration of this model is still selling for $ 80 today with some improved features and functionality.

The company was purchased from Amazon in December 2017, introducing an outdoor version of the Bindoor camera – the $ 100 BXT2. The BXT2 is a battery-operated weatherproof camera that claims to have a battery life of up to two years. I’ve spent nine months testing this battery life (So far, so good).

Both the BIndoor and the BXT2 offer free video clip storage via a required second piece of hardware, the BSync Module. That comes with your $ 80 BIndoor or $ 100 BXT2 purchase. Additional, standalone indoor and XT2 cameras sell separately for $ 70 and $ 90, respectively.

Sync modules extend the battery life of the Bcameras, but also offer free video clip storage.

The BMini does not come with a sync module because the BMini-compatible Sync Module 2 won’t be available until later this year for an additional $ 35. In the meantime, the company is temporarily offering its cloud service free of charge until December 31, 2020. After that, you’ll have to choose between no cloud service and paying for the subscription starting at $ 3 per month (or $ 30 per month) – or purchasing a BSync Module 2 to access the local storage option. In the UK, the plan costs £ 2.50 per month per camera or £ 8 per month for unlimited cameras.

Overall, the BMini is a good camera that lives up to expectations, especially given its low price. I still prefer the Wyze Cam, but it’s a good addition if you’ve already decided on the Bplatform.