Peering through petite peepholes and keeping an ear out for any distant door knock may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a premium new digital doorbell – the aptly named Nest Hello. Designed by Nest, a California-based security solutions firm best known for producing home security devices, the high-tech bell is said to not only replace existing analogue visitor chimes, it also comes with an expansive array of Digital Age door-display doohickeys, including HD-quality video, continuous recording and cloud streaming connectivity, all of which allow you to see who has penetrated your porch, whether you are nodding off in front of Netflix or netting a narwhal in Greenlandic fishing territory.
In a bid to appeal to the more horror film-fixated homeowners, it even comes with built-in facial recognition software, allowing you to easily distinguish between a shopping-laden sister-in-law and a chopping-minded stalker or two. What’s more, it can even tell the two apart whether it’s day or night, as long as they both don’t have a thing for ski masks.
A word of caution, though – the Nest Hello device can use up to 600GB of data per month, so make sure your Internet bandwidth is up to it. Assuming Internet usage isn’t a concern, though, smart home savants might find this sleek US$199 gadget an apt addition to their Google Home network.