My Favorite Budget Camera Brand Is Finally Getting 4K Plus and a Mile-Long Range

Amazon’s Blink is one of my go-to security brands for long battery life and affordability. It also sports one of the easiest security camera apps to learn and has one of the lowest subscriptions if you want to add cloud or AI features. But those benefits come with restrictions, and Blink has focused on only a few camera lines with relatively few choices. Today, that changed.

Blink has announced five new security cameras that significantly expand its current offerings. Not only are they all available for preorder right now, but they include features Blink hasn’t dabbled in before. Prices may be a bit higher than usual for this new tech, but they’re still affordable compared to alternatives, and I can’t wait to test them all out. Here are the features I’m most interested in trying.

4K resolution at last

Blink only recently updated its cameras to 2K resolution, but now it’s time for another leap. The Blink Mini 4K Plus ($80) is made for both indoor and outdoor use, packing in more detail than any other Blink camera. It has a 115-degree field of video and two-way audio, too. Most major security companies have at least a couple of 4K models available for those seeking better visuals, and now Blink joins them with a cam more compact than most high-resolution offerings.

The Mini 4K Plus is still larger than the other Blink Minis I’ve tested and a bit more expensive, as well. That’s one change these fine cameras have in common — prices that push most of them out of the budget range, although these are still generally affordable compared to many similar alternatives.

Extra long-range models for Wi-Fi worries

Another significant evolution comes with Blink’s two new XR Plus cameras, made to be used with a Blink Sync Module XR Plus hub to reach extra-long distances beyond your usual Wi-Fi range. The first is the Fronter XR Plus ($200), with a shape similar to Blink Outdoor cams but with an antenna and optional trunk strap for mounting on a tree. It can reach a range of up to 7,000 feet in the right conditions.

Accompanying the Fronter XR Plus is a new Blink Outdoor 2K XR Plus ($150). It’s a more compact version with a lesser 2,700-foot range, but it is still able to connect to watch areas standard Wi-Fi can’t reach, like the end of long driveways or detached sheds and garages.

Chris Liguori, general manager at Blink, told CNET, “With XR, we’re extending that same approach beyond the reach of ordinary home Wi-Fi. The Frontier XR Plus brings a new option to the trail camera category, combining extended-range connectivity with the features and experience customers expect from Blink.”

It’s interesting Blink is calling the Frontier model a “trail camera” since this usually makes people think of viewing wildlife or mountain trails in remote areas. But the brand makes it clear this cam is focused on more property-oriented tasks. If your property entrance is half a mile away at the end of a road, the Frontier could keep an eye on it. It could also watch distant activity on farms or monitor a remote job site, as long as the XR Plus hub is placed correctly.

A compact and completely wireless spotlight camera

While Blink has dabbled in floodlight cameras before, it’s now releasing its first spotlight cameras, the Blink Spotlight Cam 2K Plus ($110), with a unique design unlike any spotlight model I’ve seen. This cam is entirely wireless, so you can mount it nearly anywhere without worrying about junction boxes or outdoor outlets.

Blink didn’t give any info on the total lumens of this spotlight model, but the brand did say the spotlight is controlled via the motion detector. If it’s like the floodlight versions, you’ll be able to control the brightness, motion sensitivity and other settings to change how the lights work.

However, I really want to test this model to see what the battery life is like, since LED lights can drain batteries quickly. Frequent activations of Ring’s new Spotlight Cam, for example, quickly brought battery life down, which is why I was glad that model came with room for two battery packs. Blink doesn’t appear to have any design changes made to mitigate battery loss.

Pan/tilt features on a particularly versatile camera

Finally, Blink is releasing a pan/tilt camera, the Blink Mini Pan-Tilt 2K Plus ($50), the most budget-friendly of this new crop with an indoor/outdoor design and 350-degree panning plus 115-degree tilting for more coverage. Like many pan/tilt cams these days, it autotracks when it picks up significant movement, like following a figure across the yard.

I like this coverage solution much better than the awkward, unnecessary experiment with the dual-cam Blink Arc. Note that outdoor use requires an outdoor adapter, which isn’t included in the sales price.

If you’re interested in any of these new camera preorders, you should know Blink’s cloud storage plans start at $4 per month, or you can spend a few dollars more if you want AI features, like video descriptions. Blink does sell certain types of Cync Modules you can connect to flash drives or microSD cards for local storage, although I’m not sure this approach is compatible with the XR Plus models. Finally, as an Amazon company, Blink has excellent compatibility with Alexa but typically doesn’t offer support for Siri or Google Home.

I’ll let you know what I think of these new cameras and details like these when I get a chance to test them out.