Nest Cam IQ Indoor Review

Promised Features

Right from the start, the box the camera came in emphasized the Nest Cam IQ Indoor’s most impressive features.

• Integrated with Google Assistant, meaning you can verbally command your camera
• Familiar face alerts with a Nest Aware subscription
• Person alerts
• 1080p HD video display
• Audio seven times more powerful compared to Nest Cam Indoor
• Night vision powered by twice as many LED lights as Nest Cam Indoor
• 24/7 continuous streaming 
• Incredible zoom capabilities
• Three-hour snapshot history– you’ll see key photos of the last three hours of activity in the Nest app
• Cloud storage

Sure, the Nest Cam IQ Indoor is shaping up to be an impressive camera based on those features, but let’s take a step back and actually open the box.

First Impressions

The Nest Cam IQ Indoor is a very sleek little camera. It has a round white base with a thin stem, leading up to its shiny black camera framed in white plastic. The entire camera is only a little more than five inches high, which is great because it doesn’t take up too much space.

Inside the box, the camera came with a power adapter, power cable, and an installation guide. It’s great that the camera plugs in because that means you won’t have to worry about changing any batteries. It’s a bonus that the cord is thin and white so it’s practically unnoticeable.

As for the camera’s design, it reminds us of the original PIXAR desk lamp animation but much more minimalist. The camera’s head rotates up to 180 degrees and it has a hinge that allows you to tilt the camera up and down up to 160 degrees. Those are little things, of course, but they go a long way when deciding where to place the camera.

Necessary Features

If this were a beauty pageant, the Nest Cam IQ would be crowned queen. However, looks aren’t everything when it comes to cameras. We at Security.org put every single security camera through our necessary features test, and the Nest Cam IQ is no exception.

Nest Cam IQ Indoor Video

Of course, the Nest Cam IQ’s video quality is 1080p HD, the industry standard. Its field of view of 130 degrees diagonally also impresses, but what we’re most excited about is the camera’s zoom. It can zoom in 12 times digitally, which is the highest zoom I’ve seen from a security camera. This feature will come in handy if you ever have an intruder and need to identify them with the police. All in all, the video display sets the standards for home security cameras.

Nest Cam IQ Indoor Night Vision

With a whopping 16 infrared LED lights, it’s safe to say that the Nest Cam IQ’s night vision is top-notch. We prefer night vision powered by infrared LED lights over bright white lights because with infrared, the intruder won’t be aware that they’re visible in the recording. The scene will still remain completely dark, as the camera captures footage that’s clear as day. Kudos to the Nest Cam IQ for raising the bar in night vision.

Nest Cam IQ Indoor Audio Quality

According to Nest, the Nest Cam IQ has a speaker seven times more powerful than the Nest Cam Indoor. The camera also comes with noise and echo suppression, creating crystal-clear audio. Like the Nest Indoor, the Nest Cam IQ has two-way audio which allows you to communicate with whoever you’re recording.

Nest Cam IQ Indoor Storage

Like all of the Nest cameras, if you want cloud storage, you’re going to have to purchase it through Nest Aware. All of the storage plans come with 24/7 continuous recording, intelligent alerts, clips and time-lapses, and Activity Zones, which we’ll discuss more in the “Extras” section.

Unfortunately, there is no way to backup your files locally. While cloud storage is the norm these days, we still prefer having some sort of local backup in case of internet interruptions. Sadly, the Nest Cam IQ Indoor can only record when it has an active internet connection.

Nest Cam IQ Indoor Smart Platform Integration

The Nest Cam IQ integrates well with both Google Assistant and Alexa, but being from a Google company, we’d say that the Google Assistant integration is much more seamless. Here’s a fun fact: You can talk to Google Assistant through the Nest Cam IQ Indoor. This feature was added a few years after the Nest Cam IQ launched, but it’s a welcome addition to its features.

Nest Cam IQ Indoor Artificial Intelligence

The Nest Cam IQ Indoor has person detection, meaning it can tell the difference between people, animals, and other moving objects. This feature may seem obvious, but most cameras don’t have it. With person detection, you’ll only receive notifications that matter- after all, there’s no need to know every time the old lady down the street drives by your house. Instead, you’ll get smarter, more specific notifications.

If you purchase Nest Aware, you’ll also get “familiar face alerts,” which take person detection a step further. They can tell the difference between familiar faces, like your family and friends, and unfamiliar faces, possible intruders. Picture this: you’re grinding away in your cubicle when you hear your phone chime. You find an “unfamiliar face” notification that shows live footage of a stranger in your home. From there, you can use two-way audio to scare him away or call the police. These distinct notifications are worlds more helpful than simple motion alerts.

Nest Cam IQ Indoor Convenience

Nest cameras are known for being extremely easy to set up, and the Nest Cam IQ Indoor is no exception. After plugging in and turning on the camera, all we had to do was add it to the Nest app. From there, we decided to place it on a flat surface (wall-mounting is also an option), adjusting its view to optimize its coverage.

Nest Cam IQ Indoor Value

Overall, the Nest Cam IQ is a fantastic camera in terms of what you get, although it is a bit on the expensive side. If you’re looking for truly superior video, audio, and night vision, this camera might be right for you. However, in terms of affordability, this camera does fall short.

Extra Features

With Nest Aware, you’ll get activity zones, which basically allow you to mark important areas for your camera, like a baby’s crib or a window. You’ll get special alerts when something happens in the activity zones. Plus, the Nest Cam IQ is so smart (hence the name) that it can even make activity zones for you. Pretty cool, right?

Activity Zones

With Nest Aware Plus, you’ll get activity zones, which basically allow you to mark important areas for your camera, like a baby’s crib or a window. You’ll get special alerts when somethings happens in the activity zones. Plus, the Nest Cam IQ is so smart (hence the name) that it can even make activity zones for you. Pretty cool, right?

24/7 Continuous Recording

With Nest Aware, you’ll get 24/7 continuous recording, which is pretty self-explanatory. You’ll also be able to review your entire video history in the Nest app and share it with the world (or maybe just your Facebook friends).

Clips and Timelapses

One of my friends has a vintage camper up in the mountains, and she loves to record video of her grounds, especially at night. You can’t believe all the funny bear footage she catches and shares on social media! Nest Aware allows you to create clips and time-lapses from your footage. You can use them either to help the police find the perp or just to create cool videos of your life.

Video Review

The Nest App 

We had a good experience with the Nest app, and it looks like other users are enjoying it as well. Both the Android and iOS apps have ratings of over four stars.

Let’s talk about the app’s capabilities. First, it controls all connected Nest devices, including smart thermostats, cameras, video doorbells, and even smart speakers and displays. Second, the app provides useful notifications. From the Nest Cam IQ, specifically, it lets you know if it sees a person or a familiar face (if you have Nest Aware). You can also livestream, record clips on-demand, and share recordings.

Controlling multiple devices is also easy with Home and Away modes. You can set multiple devices to trigger different actions when set to either mode. For example, in Away mode, you can set your thermostat to power down, your cameras to arm their motion sensors, and your Nest Aware to watch for intrusions.

Overall, the Nest app is one of the best smart home security apps out there.

Comparisons

Sure, the Nest Cam IQ sounds fantastic. But how does it compare to its competitors? We’re comparing the Nest Cam IQ Indoor to its predecessor, the Nest Cam Indoor, as well as the Canary All-In-One, an indoor camera with similar features.

Nest Cam Indoor

Both the Nest Cam Indoor and the Nest Cam IQ Indoor have 1080p HD video and fields of view of 130 degrees, but the Nest Cam IQ can zoom in a whopping 12 times, four more than its predecessor. Both cameras have excellent night vision but again, the IQ wins out- its lights are twice as bright as the original Nest Cam Indoor. Again, as far as audio, the IQ wins again- its speaker is seven times more powerful than that of the Nest Cam Indoor. Both cameras, of course, have two-way audio.

As far as storage goes, both cameras offer cloud storage through the same Nest Aware subscription plans (see above). Both cameras integrate with Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Philips Hue lightbulbs. Obviously, both cameras use the same Nest app and are set up the exact same way.

Clearly, the Nest Cam IQ is the better camera, as it expands upon the Nest Cam Indoor in terms of video, audio, and night vision. Of course, the IQ costs $100 more than the Nest Cam Indoor, so your choice really depends on how much you care about the improvements.

Canary All-In-One

The Canary All-In-One is another excellent indoor camera choice. Like the Nest Cam IQ, it has 1080p HD, the industry standard. While it doesn’t match the IQ with a three times field of zoom, it does have a wider field of view at 147 degrees, making the overall video category somewhat of a draw.

The Nest Cam IQ has four more infrared LED lights than the Canary-All-In-One, giving it superior night vision.  As Canary makes two-way audio part of its paid subscription package, the IQ wins again, offering two-way audio included with the camera.

Neither camera has local storage, which is a shame, but as of a recent update from Nest, their options are cheaper. 30 days of cloud storage will cost you $6 a month or $60 a year with Nest but $9.99 a month or $99 a year with Canary, about 33% more.

Both the Canary All-In-One and the Nest Cam IQ have integrations with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, which is awesome. The IQ wins by a hair, however, due to its integrations with Philips Hue lightbulbs. Again, the IQ wins when it comes to artificial intelligence. Both cameras include person detection, while with the Nest Cam IQ, familiar face alerts are available for an additional monthly fee. I didn’t have issues setting up either camera, so that’s a definite tie.

The Canary All-In-One and the Nest Cam IQ Indoor are both great options, but we must say that the IQ is better- if you’re willing to pay about 30% more. It’s your bank account!

For more info, read our Canary All-In-One review.