CES 2021: Arlo Highlights Touchless Video Doorbell and Essential Indoor Camera, Adds HomeKit to Wired Doorbell

Home security company Arlo highlighted two upcoming products at CES this year, both of which received Smart Home awards at the event. The Essential Indoor camera and the Touchless Video Doorbell are both new product offerings that will be released in the coming months.

arlo video doorbell
The Essential Indoor camera is designed to let families choose when the camera monitors and records video through a "disarm mode." In disarm mode, recording, motion, and audio detection is disabled and won't be re-enabled until manually done through the Arlo app. Video recording resumes when the camera is placed into arm mode.

arlo camera ces
The Touchless Video Doorbell is a new entry in Arlo's camera-equipped doorbell lineup. It uses Proximity Sensing Technology to gauge a visitor's distance, and when it sees someone approaching, it gives off an audible chime and lights up to let guests know that the doorbell has been virtually "pressed" and that the homeowner has been alerted.

Arlo says that it designed the Touchless Video Doorbell to allow for interaction with limited communal contact, while also keeping the homeowner's front entry secured. Additional details on the Essential Indoor Camera and Touchless Video Doorbell will be provided closer to their launch date, which has yet to be shared.

Along with these announcements, Arlo today appears to have quietly added HomeKit support to the Essential Video Doorbell Wired, based on an updated support document.

The support page lists the Essential Video Doorbell Wired as a HomeKit-compatible device alongside the Arlo Ultra, Pro 3, Pro 3 Floodlight Camera, Pro 2, and more. Enabling ‌HomeKit‌ compatibility requires an Arlo SmartHub or base station with the latest firmware, with Arlo providing instructions on adding ‌HomeKit‌ connectivity.

Tags: Arlo, CES 2021

Popular Stories

Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iOS 26

Apple Continues to Prepare iOS 26.0.1 With Multiple Bug Fixes Expected

Sunday September 28, 2025 1:30 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The account initially said iOS 26.0.1 would have a build number of 23A350, but they now expect the update to have a build number of 23A355. This suggests that the software update will include more bug fixes or changes than initially...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year

Sunday September 28, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next MacBook Pro models will enter mass production soon, according to the latest information shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said he continues to believe the new MacBook Pro models will be released at some point between late 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, meaning they should be available to order by March at the latest. Apple often...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Friday September 26, 2025 6:57 am PDT by
In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...
iphone 17 ceramic shield

Regular iPhone 17's USB-C Charging Speeds Tested With Apple Chargers

Friday September 26, 2025 9:01 am PDT by
The website ChargerLAB has tested the standard iPhone 17 model's USB-C charging speeds with a variety of Apple's chargers, from 18W to 140W. The device reached a peak charging speed of around 27W to 28W with these Apple chargers:29W USB-C Power Adapter 30W USB-C Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Power Adapter 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max...
maxresdefault

Review: A Week With the iPhone 17 Pro

Friday September 26, 2025 12:51 pm PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 models have been out for a week now, so we thought we'd do a longer-term review of the flagship iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max now that we've been able to spend more time with them. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has a Silver iPhone 17 Pro and a Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max, and despite a lot of concern over...

Top Rated Comments

purpleparrotuk Avatar
62 months ago
What’s the point of the touch free one. Isn’t it going to keep sending alerts and chime when a leaflet person puts something through your door. Not everyone who comes to your house needs to speak with the owner. Seems silly.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cknibbs Avatar
62 months ago

Just HomeKit from what I'm seeing. Arlo would *never* give up an opportunity to charge you a monthly subscription fee!

Arlo Ultra vs Logitech Circle, in homekit, there is no comparison - event recording, notifications, and time to load a video stream with Logitech is WAY better. Often times Arlo doorbell would ring, it would take 20 seconds to connect, by that time the person was gone or door was already answered.

Arlo is merely adding low hanging features they should've had for years as a publicity stunt at CES.
Yeah - unfortunately Logitech decided to not sell the circle doorbell in Canada.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marli Avatar
62 months ago
I have Arlo products.They are absolute rubbish.. just Google them.. Rubbish Hardware, Rubbish architecture, rubbish platform. Rubbish solution.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Commodore 64 Avatar
62 months ago
...and what about Spotify integration??
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MarkAtl Avatar
62 months ago
I have a ton of Arlo cameras, and if I wasn’t already invested AND grandfathered into their 10 camera plan I’d drop them (I have 2 Arlo Pro 2 and 8 Arlo Pro cameras). They significantly raised their prices while cutting # of supported cameras in the plans.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Brien Avatar
62 months ago

Just HomeKit from what I'm seeing. Arlo would *never* give up an opportunity to charge you a monthly subscription fee!

Arlo Ultra vs Logitech Circle, in homekit, there is no comparison - event recording, notifications, and time to load a video stream with Logitech is WAY better. Often times Arlo doorbell would ring, it would take 20 seconds to connect, by that time the person was gone or door was already answered.

Arlo is merely adding low hanging features they should've had for years as a publicity stunt at CES.
I guess this is why there are only two that support HSV. They don't get that sweet sweet subscription money.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)