Arlo Pro 6 2K Review

Introduction

The Arlo Pro 6 2k+ is a somewhat familiar-looking device.

In fact, it looks pretty much like every Arlo camera back to the Arlo Pro 3. Don’t judge this camera on its external looks, as there are enough internal changes that make it a worthy successor to the previous generation (the Arlo Pro 5), including easier setup and a denser battery.

With a more powerful cloud subscription service behind the camera, the Pro 6 can form part of a very capable security system, just don’t expect it to be cheap.

Design and Installation

• USB-C Charging
• Wall mountable
• Can connect to Wi-Fi or a Smart Hub

You can buy the Arlo Pro 6 2K in packs of one, two, three or four, with more expensive kits working out cheaper per camera.

Take a look at the Arlo Pro 5, and the Pro 6 doesn’t seem that different: both look the same, have the same resolution, have a spotlight and are controlled via the same app and cloud service.

But, look a little more closely, and there are some clear changes. First, the camera has a USB-C port, rather than the old magnetic connector of the previous model. That’s a good change, as any USB-C cable can be used, and you don’t have to worry about losing the proprietary connector. In my experience, the USB-C cable seems to charge the battery slightly faster, too.

Talking of the battery, the new version has a higher-density pack, with 15% more battery life. That should help reduce how often you have to take the camera down for charging, although where it’s pointed and how often recording is triggered.

Bluetooth is a new addition to the camera, too, which speeds up discovery time when installing the camera. Guaranteed, you only need that the once, but I’ll take anything that makes life easier.

This camera can be connected to Wi-Fi directly or to a Smart Hub, if you have one. A Smart Hub also provides offline recording, although you do lose many of the camera’s best features if doing so. 

If you want to go offline and avoid paying for a cloud subscription, something like the EufyCam S4 might make more sense.

The Arlo Pro 6 comes with a fully adjustable wall mount, which is the same as the one the company has used for years. That’s handy, as you can unscrew and older camera and fit the new one if you need to.

If starting from scratch, the mount is easy to attach to a wall and gives plenty of flexibility to point the camera where you want it.

Features

• Needs a subscription to get the most out of the camera
• Custom AI detection with the highest subscription tier
• Flexible object detection

The Arlo Pro 6 slots into the Arlo app alongside any other cameras you might have. It remains one of my favourite security apps, as it’s so configurable. There’s a home screen that lets me select the location’s modes: Arm Away, Arm Home and Standby. 

Just like with a security system, such as the Ring Alarm, these modes let me choose which cameras are active at any time. For example, I have my outdoor cameras record when set to Arm Home, and everything turned on when set to Arm Away.

This page also has customisable widgets, so you can have shortcuts to any camera you want, but you don’t have to have previous of all cameras.

As mentioned above, if you have a Smart Hub you can record offline, but you lose out on all of the smart features. Realistically, then, you need to have an Arlo Secure plan, just be prepared to pay a lot for it.

Arlo Secure gives you cloud recording for one camera at a resolution of up to 2K, with just seven days of history (very stingy), plus Person, Animal, Vehicle and Package Detection.

Upgrade to Secure Multi-Cam and you get cloud storage for four cameras, but otherwise the same features as the single camera package. This costs £11.99 a month, which is still expensive but better overall value than the single camera option if you have more than one camera.

The most advanced features come with the Arlo Secure Plus subscription, which upgrades recording to a maximum of 4K (not relevant here, but it is if you have an Ultra camera), 14 days of cloud history and the new AI detection features, which I’ll get into shortly. This costs £19.99 a month, making it very expensive.

With the more basic package, I can easily cut down on alerts by using motion zones to focus the camera on important areas, and then the excellent people, animal and vehicle detection. Get the right mix, and the number of alerts plummets. 

Pay for the more expensive package and you get person recognition (facial recognition, as most people would call it). You can let the camera pick up people and name them, or feed in photos from your photo library to give the Pro 6 a head start.

Oddly, people detection is only available on a single camera in your home, so pick the one that makes most sense; most other systems that I’ve tested run facial recognition across all devices.

Vehicle recognition is another new feature. It’s like facial recognition for cars, in that you can tell the camera to spot certain vehicles. This can run on all cameras.

There’s also Custom Detection, which involves taking two snapshots with something different between them: a gate open or a wheelie bin missing, for example. You can then get alerts when the action is detected, either through motion being triggered, by firing the rule at a set time, or when the mode changes.

I set up one to watch for the back door opening, but this proved to be not very reliable, often triggering when there was any motion. I think that the glass doors, and the distance from the camera, confused the system, so Custom Detection might work better with bigger, more obvious changes.

It’s all very clever, and the system is virtually limitless, provided you can train the system, but it’s a very expensive option to have.

All video is recorded to the cloud (assuming you have a subscription), and is available in the Feed section. This can be filtered by date, by device, and then by event type, of which there are far too many to name here. There’s enough granularity to quickly find a clip, although Arlo doesn’t have the fancy AI search that Ring now has.

Performance

• Sharp 2K video
• Excellent night vision

Arlo has long been towards the top of the quality tables, and the Pro 6 keeps that record up. Footage is very similar to that from the Pro 5, which isn’t a criticism. 

During the day, the footage is exceptionally sharp, and detailed through the frame, with the 160° lens capturing a lot of what’s going on. Colours are excellent and there’s detail through the frame. This is about as good as you can expect from a 2K video camera.

At night, the Pro 6 can use its spotlight to shoot in full colour, and the results are impressive, with almost as much detail as during the day. The only real change is that motion gets a bit blurry, so it takes a bit of hunting to find a clip where someone’s face is clear; those frames do exist. Again, I’ve not seen better from a 2K camera.

Arlo says that the battery can last up to eight months on a single charge, although how that pans out will depend on where the camera’s pointing. I recommend angling any battery powered security camera away from high activity areas, such as a main road, to increase battery life. 

Based on initial testing, I think that I’d get a good five months between charging, if not longer.

Should you buy it?