Recently, I had the opportunity to review the Blink Outdoor, one of Amazon’s many smart security cameras. Without spoiling the rest of my thoughts, a standout feature was the “early notification” option found in the Blink app. This triggers alerts the instant motion is detected, at least within your sensitivity settings. The technology is so quick that if you’ve got a steady connection and you’re already looking at your phone, you can often catch seconds-long events while they’re still in progress.
This contrasts with most security cameras — whether from Ring, Nest, or others — which often take a few seconds to deliver a notification, much less open a livestream. The gap may be small, but it can mean all the difference in situations where it’s important to act fast, such as scaring away a thief or catching an accident before it happens. Security cameras are most valuable when they deter problems rather than just provide a record of them.