Arlo’s new Floodlight Camera doesn’t need any wiring

Arlo is announcing its newest security camera, the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera, which has a plate of powerful LEDs to better light the area in the camera’s field of view. Unlike other floodlight security cameras, Arlo’s Floodlight Camera doesn’t require any wiring; it can run entirely on rechargeable batteries.

The Floodlight Camera seems to share many of the same features as the Arlo Pro 3, including 2K video with HDR, a built-in siren, color night vision, a 160-degree field of view, and two-way audio. Arlo tells The Verge that the Floodlight Camera is weather-resistant, and we’ve asked if it has the same IP65 certification as the Pro 3.

The Pro 3 had its own spotlight above the camera, but the Floodlight Camera looks as if it can cast a lot more light with its brightly glowing faceplate. Arlo tells The Verge that the faceplate delivers 2,000 lumens of brightness when running on battery power. That’s less bright than the 3,000 lumens Amazon-owned Ring’s Floodlight Camera can produce, but Ring’s camera must be connected to the electrical system in your house. You can also wire Arlo’s Floodlight Camera to your electrical system, and if you do, Arlo says it can shine at 3,000 lumens as well.

Arlo says the Floodlight Camera has an ambient light sensor it can use to automatically turn on when it’s dark outside, and you can specify exactly how bright or dark you want it to be before the light turns on. You can also set the floodlight to cast three different light patterns — constant, flashing, and pulsating — which you can control manually or set to happen when certain automations are triggered. Arlo tells The Verge that the Floodlight Camera may get up to six months of battery life on a full charge.

Arlo says the Floodlight Camera will be available this spring for $249.99. If you buy one, you’ll also get a three-month trial to Arlo Smart, which costs $2.99 per month thereafter. Arlo Smart gives you customizable alerts for when your cameras detect people, animals, vehicles, or packages, as well as access to 30 days of video recordings in the cloud.

If you want to check your recordings from your Floodlight Camera once your Arlo Smart trial is up, though, you will have to pay for the subscription, according to Arlo. If you want to make recordings without paying for a subscription, the company says you can pair the Floodlight Camera with an Arlo base station to back up recordings to a USB drive.

An Arlo Smart subscription also gives you access to the company’s e911 feature, which will contact the emergency services closest to your home when you contact 911 through Arlo’s app, even if you’re not near your home when making that call.