Step one in a home security starter kit

Home security can be a huge-scale, full-fledged operation, but it doesn’t have to be. It can cost thousands of dollars or a couple hundred. You can call a professional to snake wires through your home to power your outdoor security cameras or spend less than two minutes drilling a couple of holes to put up a battery-powered cam.

Security cameras like the Arlo Essential XL Outdoor Camera (2K, 2nd Gen) are made for the average homeowner who wants to keep an eye on their space without going full-on Inspector Gadget. Arlo is known for its security cameras, but with a battery over double the capacity of many competing cameras and crisp 2K video, this affordable yet powerful option may teach that old inspector—and us—a thing or two.

Price, availability, and specs

The 2nd Gen Essential XL Outdoor Camera 2K retails for $150 and is available through all the same retailers as the non-XL version: Amazon, Arlo, and Best Buy. It’s currently on sale for $100.

What’s good about the Arlo Essential Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen, 2K)

A battery that doesn’t quit and crystal-clear views

Battery life hasn’t always been a huge strength of Arlo devices, but the power in the Essential XL Outdoor Camera is remarkable. I set the camera up to record all motion instances and use the spotlight for the longest duration, and after a week, the camera’s battery dropped by less than 5%. At that rate, the XL’s battery would last me about six months — and that’s with a ridiculously high amount of sensitivity. Average camera settings could very well extend the battery life by at least another month or so.

The XL packs a beefy 18,600 mAh battery, which completely overshadows the non-XL’s 4650 mAh battery; after about a week of intense use (high motion sensitivity, long recordings, etc.), the non-XL battery was over 50% more depleted than the XL’s.

If you’re shopping for a new Arlo camera and can afford to take the small leap from 1080p HD to 2K resolution, you absolutely should do it. The Essential XL 2K Camera outputted some of the best security camera footage I’d seen, etching facial details into its captured images even from 25-30 feet away. And its color night vision is remarkable; I’d expect this clarity out of a $200+ camera.

Arlo’s discernment between different motion types — like people, vehicles, and animals — is commendable, and I won’t take marks away for not performing in a fourth surprise category. Still, sometimes a camera that goes one step further and can identify vegetation would be useful. The Essential XL was installed about 15 feet from a large tree with low-hanging branches that are easily influenced by even the slightest breeze. These swooping tree limbs confused the Essential XL, which often misidentified the swaying branches. This would be impossible to deal with if I were using the XL on a free plan; getting motion notifications and rushing to my live feed only to see a leaf quaking would be maddening.

What’s bad about the Arlo Essential Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen, 2K)?

Savings from an affordable camera are spent on the storage subscription

I have very little to complain about here. I wish Arlo offered local storage for its Essential Outdoor Cameras, but there’s none, either onboard the camera itself, through a smart hub, or even routing footage saved to your smartphone storage. (The XL Outdoor Camera is not compatible with any Arlo base stations, something we may see change this year.) Competing options from TP-Link and Wyze offer local memory built into the camera.

As more of Arlo’s competitors hurry to regain our trust after exposed holes in their security blankets spewed user data and confidence, it would be impactful for the brand to make secure, local storage ubiquitous to all its devices. See it less as a luxury feature and more of a nod to a human’s heightened sense of safety when the footage of their home’s goings-on is kept neatly within the digital confines of their own space, not floating about with other ether-bits, in the murky cyber cloud that we want to put our full trust in but can’t quite take the leap into doing so.

Instead, Arlo Essential XL users rely on cloud storage. Paid cloud storage. Oh, and paid detection between people, animals, or vehicles and paid detection zone customizations. Knowing that older Arlo cameras did have limited (only seven days, but that’s seven more than zero days) free cloud storage just sprinkles salt in the wound.

While I find it well worth the value, it’s worth pointing out that the Essential XL Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen, 2K) is the most expensive device in Arlo’s Essential lineup. Thanks to its outrageously large battery, it has quite a bulky profile, so don’t expect this thing to peek inconspicuously out around the corner of a house. You should also take note that this camera needs to be taken down for charging since its battery isn’t removable.

Should you buy it?

Unless you absolutely must have wired power, yes

All members of the Arlo Essential family are a near-perfect option for homeowners and renters of any scale. But the XL shines as one of the best options for outdoor surveillance, thanks to its stellar battery life, excellent image quality, and 12x zoom.

While it’s still a highly competitive camera compared to competitors, the non-XL 2nd Gen Outdoor Cam is an impossible sell compared to its big sibling, the 2nd Gen Outdoor Camera XL. The two models are identical in every way except the battery and the higher IP rating in the XL, so we’d recommend the XL every time.

The XL’s endurance makes it well worth the extra $50. Problematically, this makes the non-XL not worth it at all unless you’re a shopper on a tight budget. I recommend the Essential XL over its smaller sibling and many similar cameras from other brands. It is an integral part of a smart home security system. The upgrade to 2K video is a recommended splurge; the upgrade to the XL’s expanded battery power, however, is an absolute must.