Review: Arlo Pro 5

There is plenty to consider when you shop for a security camera. But two things elevate the best outdoor security cameras: video quality and notifications. Arlo’s latest Pro camera has been our top pick for the past couple of years because it always nails both. Crisp picture quality and graceful handling of different light levels, combined with rich notifications based on accurate detections, are a recipe for security success.

The Arlo Pro 5 takes everything I loved about the Arlo Pro 4 and throws in longer battery life and enhanced color night vision without the need for a spotlight. You'll pay a premium for Arlo’s wares, and an Arlo Secure subscription is essential, but if you want the best, this is it.

Arlo via Simon Hill

The Arlo Pro 5 can record or stream video at up to 2,560 x 1,440-pixel resolution. It is crisp and detailed, offering the option for up to 12X zoom, making it easy to identify subjects or focus in on other details. The HDR is excellent, and you can tweak the brightness level in the Arlo app. Even with direct sunlight, the Pro 5 picked up details in the darker areas without blowing out the brighter patches. It has a 160-degree view, which is almost enough to take in my entire garden with a single camera.

One of the main improvements in the Pro 5 over earlier models is the enhanced color night vision. As camera sensors grow larger and software improves, we are seeing major advances in this area for the same reasons smartphone night photography has improved. Color night vision in the Pro 5 is among the best I’ve seen, though moving subjects can appear blurry. There is still the option of a spotlight or black and white for night recordings.

Another big upgrade is the jump to a 12-bit sensor, up from 10-bit. The improvement in color accuracy also makes video look much sharper. But a strong internet connection is vital to run the camera at top resolution, maximum width, and with HDR on. All these settings can be dialed down to save battery and bandwidth, but then you’d miss out on this camera’s strengths.

Speaking of connectivity, the Arlo Pro 5 supports 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands, but you need to connect to 2.4-GHz for the setup. Arlo sells Base Stations separately, and you will need one if you want to record video locally or use Apple HomeKit, but the Pro 5 can also connect directly to your router. I have been testing with a couple of different mesh systems, and the camera connects to the nearest mode on the 5-GHz band, which allows for faster streaming and better responsiveness. It is crucial that you have a strong signal in your chosen camera spot.

Arlo via Simon Hill

Apart from the image quality, the other reason I like Arlo cameras so much is the notification system. First, the motion detection is top-notch. Like the Pro 4, the Pro 5 never misses an event. But with the option to set up to five activity zones, tweak motion and audio detection with sensitivity sliders, and filter by people, pets, vehicles, and packages, you can reduce the noise, cut out false positives, and get only the alerts you want. The camera is also adept at auto-zoom and tracking to focus on subjects.

Notifications come through to your phone or smartwatch swiftly. The rich alerts on Android are the absolute best because you get a small close up of the person and can expand the notification to see a few frames of the video. With the iPhone, you must touch and hold the notification to see the subject highlighted. That’s usually enough to identify them and decide whether you need to tap through to watch the video. Tapping takes you straight into the Arlo app and plays back the video close to instantly.

The Arlo app has changed recently, so it may take a beat to set it up the way you want. It was generally quick and reliable, consistently loading the live feed in around four seconds. Occasionally, such as when I was away from home, connected via a mobile network, it took a little longer. You can also filter your video feed by event type (motion, people, vehicle, animal, package, and a few more). And you can favorite, share, or download videos from the cloud.

There is support for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT, and Samsung SmartThings out of the box. The live feed was usually quick to load with a voice command on my Nest Hub. If you want to use Apple’s HomeKit, you must buy an Arlo Base Station, and you need an Apple home hub and an iCloud+ subscription to use HomeKit Secure Video.

Audio is often a weak spot for security cameras, and microphones tend to distort sound, especially if your camera is in a windy spot, but the Arlo Pro 5 is as good as I’ve heard. Two-way audio is duplex, enabling you to talk and listen simultaneously. Lag can sometimes cause problems with conversations.

Accessing all the best features and 30-day cloud storage requires an Arlo Secure subscription, which starts at $5 per month for a single camera or $4 per month ($48) if you pay annually. If you aren’t willing to subscribe, look at alternative cameras. I would not recommend the Arlo Pro 5 without an Arlo Secure subscription.

There is a removable battery inside the Arlo Pro 5, and you can buy extras and a charging station, but they’re expensive. It annoys me that Arlo uses a proprietary charging cable. It attaches magnetically to the bottom of the camera, but I’d prefer a USB-C port in the battery itself. Cables can go missing. If you’re anything like me, hunting through your cable box to find the right one can take a while.

Battery life seems slightly better than the Pro 4, but Arlo’s claim that the Pro 5 can go up to eight months between charges is a stretch. It all depends on the camera settings and how busy your chosen spot is, but three to four months is more realistic for most folks.

The only other security camera that performed as consistently well as the Arlo Pro 5 in my testing was Google’s Nest Cam Outdoor. For rich notifications, accurate detection, and minimal false positives, nothing else measures up. The Nest Cam is similarly priced and also requires a subscription, but it tops out at 1080p resolution, has a narrower field of view, and can’t match the color night vision of the Arlo. One area where Google’s camera does come out on top is frame rate: It records video at up to 30 frames per second compared to 24 for the Arlo. A higher frame rate reduces pixelation or blur on fast-moving subjects.

If you want the best, you may consider jumping up to 4K, and there are a few options, including Arlo's Ultra 2. But beware: Wireless 4K cameras require plentiful bandwidth and storage space. If your budget is lower or you prefer local storage, you can find alternatives in our best outdoor security cameras guide. But the Arlo Pro 5 is the camera to beat right now.