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In the last few years of testing home security cameras, I've come to the conclusion that it's better to choose a brand and its ecosystem than to pick a particular camera. But the most important part of the ecosystem is making sure they have a solid smart doorbell you can add to the system.
Reolink has just announced its second generation of video doorbell, and it has some significant improvements over the original.
The Video Doorbell 2nd Gen is the newest member of Reolink's Power-Efficient Series, joining the Argus MagiCam launched a few weeks back. Both run on Qualcomm's QCC730 micro-power Wi-Fi chip, which Reolink says delivers up to 50 percent longer battery life than a standard Wi-Fi camera.
That means you'll get up to 10 months on a single charge, based on five minutes of recording a day, double what the first-gen doorbell managed.
Reolink is pitching this directly at victims of package theft. Recent Finder research found nearly one in five Australians lost a parcel in the past year, with 4 percent reporting theft straight off their property.
To counter this, the 2nd gen doorbell offers a 4MP, 2048 by 2048 square sensor with a 150-degree field of view, wide enough to capture a visitor and whatever they're holding from head to toe, plus on-device AI that tells people, vehicles, animals and packages apart without sending anything to the cloud.
"With the Video Doorbell 2nd Gen, we wanted homeowners and renters to have more flexibility without compromising on performance," said Nick Nigro, Vice President Sales, Australasia at Reolink. "This flexibility is particularly relevant in the Australian market, where doorstep theft has become a genuine concern for many households, and simply knowing who's at the door goes a long way toward peace of mind."
That flexibility extends to installation. You can run it fully wire-free, or hook it into existing 8 to 24VAC doorbell wiring to trickle-charge the battery, or wire it to 16 to 24VAC power for always-on, 24/7 recording.
Footage stays local too, recorded to a microSD card up to 512GB with no monthly fee attached, a point of difference from doorbells like Ring that lean harder on cloud subscriptions.
New tamper-alert and voice-masking features round out the privacy side for two-way audio calls. It also plays nicely with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT and Home Assistant through a compatible Reolink Hub, plus Reolink's own Chime 2.1 and Chime Plus for indoor alerts.
| Sensor | 4MP, 2048 x 2048 (1:1 square), HDR |
| Field of view | 150° horizontal, 150° vertical, 180° diagonal |
| Detection | On-device AI: people, vehicles, animals, packages |
| Power | Wire-free battery, trickle-charge (8-24VAC), or wired (16-24VAC) for 24/7 recording |
| Battery life | Up to 10 months per charge (5 min/day recording) |
| Storage | Local microSD, up to 512GB, no subscription required |
| Privacy | Tamper alert, voice masking on two-way audio |
| Smart home | Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT, Home Assistant (via Reolink Hub), Reolink Chime 2.1 / Chime Plus |
Pricing and availability
The Reolink Video Doorbell 2nd Gen is available now for $229.99.
You'll find it at Reolink directly and through Reolink's official store on Amazon.
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