The Arlo Pro has been highly regarded as one of the best home security cameras available on the market for some time now, particularly due to the fact that it combines cutting-edge capabilities with an easy installation process. Arlo has kept upgrades to a minimum with each successive version of the camera since the company is aware of this fact and has resisted the temptation to make excessive changes to the camera.

This pattern is continued by the Arlo Pro 5S 2K (Arlo product number VMC4060P), which makes only a few modest additions to improve the setup, connectivity, and battery life of the previous model. The camera is the first of its kind to offer compatibility for dual-band Wi-Fi, which indicates that it can run on either the 2.4GHz frequency band of a dual-band router.

Which normally has a larger range but can be busy, or the 5GHz network of a router, which offers a lesser range but is less crowded than the 2.4GHz network. The camera also includes a new low-power mode that, when activated, takes still photographs of motion rather than complete video clips. This mode extends the battery life by around 30 percent. Last but not least, the Arlo Pro 5S is compatible with the Arlo SecureLink technology, which offers a more secure connection to protect your data and further optimizes battery life. This technology is supported by the Arlo Pro 5S.

Arlo Pro 5S 2K Specifications

The Arlo Pro 5S 2K review is important because it shows how the camera works, what features it has, and how easy it is to use. Potential buyers can make good choices about it based on how reliable it is, how good the video quality is, how many advanced features it has, and how much it costs overall for home security and surveillance needs.

Arlo Pro 5S 2K: Build Quality

The Arlo Pro 5S 2K does not appear all that dissimilar to the other models in the Arlo range, particularly to the Pro 4, which was the model that came before it. The Apple Pro 5S is a compact and unassuming white box. The spotlight, microphones, speakers, and camera lens are all contained within the black oval on the front of the device.

The form is almost identical to the case that Apple uses for its AirPods headphones. You won’t be embarrassed to have guests over if they see the Arlo Pro 5S hanging above your front entrance because it has such a modern and elegant appearance. The camera is extremely lightweight; it weighs around 50g less than its primary rival, the Google Nest Cam, which is also very light.

Arlo Pro 5S 2K review: Key Features

The Arlo Pro 5S 2K has some really cool new features, like advanced 2K color video that is always on. That can record in color at any time, day or night. Arlo says the Pro 5S can record 68 billion colors, which is more than 100 times as many as the human eye can see. The Pro 5S 2K can record six times as many colors as the Arlo Pro 4, which it replaced.

The camera also has advanced night vision features. Together with the 12x digital zoom and 2K quality, these make it possible for the Pro 5S to take much clearer “mugshots” of anyone it catches, making it easier for law enforcement to identify them later. To keep thieves away, the Pro 5S has extra features like a spotlight and a sound. The spotlight can shine on faces from up to 7m away, and the camera’s built-in siren can help scare away attackers.

The Pro 5S has up to 30% more battery life than the Pro 4, which is great for security cameras that are often put up in hard-to-reach places. On the Pro 5S, there will be a brand-new low-power mode that can give up to 50% more battery life by simplifying alerts and video previews. For the first time, the Pro 5S will have both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi bands, which will make it work with more routers.

Arlo Pro 5S 2K review: image Quality

The Arlo Pro 5S 2K is of a very high standard. Images are crisp, clear, and well exposed throughout the day, with colors that are true to life and adequate contrast. Even at night, images retain a level of clarity that is satisfactory, with good color reproduction and very little noise. The sensor used in the Arlo Pro 5S 2K has a resolution of 2K (2560 by 1440), and it has a large field of view of 160 degrees.

Even when the lens is zoomed all the way in, the camera is still able to pick up a significant amount of detail from the scene in its field of view. In addition, the Arlo Pro 5S 2K comes equipped with an infrared (IR) illumination that may be used for night vision. Because it has an infrared (IR) illuminator, the camera can see in dim light and up to 8 meters (25 ft) away.

Arlo Pro 5S 2K: Performance

Surprisingly, both the daytime and color night-vision modes of the Pro 5S 2K video I took were great. In the event of a crime, colors are bright and accurate enough to give solid forensic information, like the color of a person’s clothes or car. You can turn off color night vision and use black-and-white night vision instead. This gives you strong light and contrast. As with previous Arlo Pro cameras, you’ll need a contract to Arlo’s cloud service to use most of its features, such as the ability to record 2K video and save it to the cloud.

(You need to buy a separate $100 Arlo Pro Smart Hub if you want to store 2K files locally.) Plans for Arlo Secure, which used to be called Arlo Smart, include a 30-day video history and cloud storage, intelligent person, car, and package detection, audio detection, video object detection and tracking, activity zones, and more. Plans start at $4.99 a month for one camera and go up to $12.99 a month for as many cameras as you want. Each higher tier gives you access to more features.

When you buy the Pro 5S, you get a 30-day sample of Arlo Secure, so I was able to try out most of these features. With its smart detection, the camera did a great job of telling the difference between human, animal, and car movement. It was also easy to adjust the detection to focus on the types of movement I was most worried about. With the camera watching my driveway, I knew when a car pulled in, and the auto-zoom and tracking features let me get a better look at the driver and other information like the license plate number.

Arlo Pro 5S 2K: App Experience

The Pro 5S uses the same Arlo Secure mobile app as other products from the company. This app is available for both Android and iOS. On the Dashboard screen, you can see widgets for each of your Arlo devices, as well as buttons that you can use to quickly apply a set of rules. For example, in the Arm Away mode, you can turn on motion and sound recognition, allow event recording, and turn on the siren. In the other modes, you can turn off some of these features.

At the very bottom of the app, there is a menu with buttons for Dashboard, Feed, Emergency, Devices, and Routines. Wherever you are in the app, the Dashboard button takes you back to the main screen. The Feed button shows you images of all the events that have been recorded on all your devices. Tap the thumbnail of a movie to play, share, download, or get rid of it. Select the “Emergency” button to turn on the alarm and call people on your “Call a Friend” list.

Press the “Devices” button to see all of the Arlo hardware you have linked. Here, the Pro 5S 2K is shown in a separate screen that shows the last still photo taken and a play button that starts a live stream. You can take a picture, directly record video, start two-way talk, mute the sound, and turn on the spotlight with the buttons below the live feed. Tap anywhere on the panel to see thumbnails of event recordings, which you can play, share, download, or remove.

The gear icon at the top of the screen opens the Device Settings, where you can turn the camera on and off, check the battery level, set Wi-Fi settings, and make motion activity zones. In the section for Video settings, you can turn on HDR to get more information in the highlights and shadows, change the brightness, turn on Auto Zoom and Motion Tracking, and adjust the flicker.

Arlo Pro 5S 2K: Pricing

The price of the Arlo Pro 5S 2K is problematic, as it is somewhat high. Because it costs £220 for a single camera, £430 for a package of two cameras, and £570 for three cameras, the Arlo Pro 5S is one of the most cost-effective smart security cameras currently available. Only extremely uncommon 4K cameras, such as Arlo’s Ultra 2 or 2XL models, sell for far more.

Don’t forget that in order to use the camera’s more advanced functions and save video clips in the cloud, you will also be required to pay a monthly subscription for both services. That works out to a minimum of £3.49 per month for one camera, £9.99 per month for an unlimited number of cameras, and £14.99 per month for theft protection. It’s hard to imagine that the Arlo Pro 5S 2K comes with as many capabilities as it does considering how much it costs, but it does.

Arlo Pro 5S 2K: Battery Life

The battery life of the new Arlo Pro 5S has been increased by up to 30 percent as one of the upgrades. By taking still images rather than the more typical brief video clips, a new power-saving mode for the battery can keep the device running for longer. Arlo suggests that you may not need to charge the battery for an additional 2 months after it has been installed.

Your actual experience may be different depending on the location of the camera, the settings of the camera, and the frequency with which it is triggered by events like as packages being delivered or pets running outside your home. Even while operating in this power-saving mode, the Arlo Secure app on the user’s smartphone continued to send timely notifications upon the detection of motion or sound. The video quality is really high, and the use of HDR makes the colors more vivid. And thanks to the built-in flashlight, you can enjoy color even when it’s dark outside.

Final Words

The Arlo Pro 5S 2K is not only one of the most aesthetically pleasing but also one of the very best security cameras that can be purchased right now. The 2K night vision recordings provide an extremely high-quality method of monitoring and protecting your property at home. Because the battery life is longer than it has ever been, users will have to worry about their batteries less and spend less time charging their devices.

The Pro 5S is compatible with all of the major smart home platforms, including the Apple HomeKit, which is infamous for its complexity. The newly redesigned Arlo app is extremely user-friendly and provides quick security notifications in addition to fine-grained management options.

Arlo Pro 5S 2K review: The good and The bad