This story is part of Amazon Prime Day, CNET’s guide for everything you need to know and how to find the best deals.
For years, Arlo’s lineup of battery-powered outdoor cameras have enjoyed regular placement among our running list of the best security cameras you can buy — but at hundreds of dollars a piece, they’ve never come cheap. The Arlo Essential Spotlight Cameras were a step in the right direction as far as value is concerned, bringing the cost per camera down to $130. Now, for Prime Day 2022, you can score a 3-pack of those weather-proof, outdoor security cameras for just $250.
That’s not quite as good a deal as we last year for Black Friday, when the 3-pack was briefly marked down to $199 as a holiday doorbuster, but it’s still a very good deal on some perfectly decent cameras. The Arlo Essential Spotlight Cameras come with the same strong features that you’ll find with the fancier Arlo Pro models — excellent 1080p livestreaming capabilities with reliable, customizable alerts and color night vision, as well as additional advanced features via the optional Arlo Smart cloud service. As for smarts, the cameras can sync up with Alexa or the Google Assistant to stream the live footage on your smart display of choice. The cameras support Apple HomeKit, too, but you’ll need a compatible Base Station or SmartHub.
The only real tradeoff is the fact that you don’t get detachable battery packs, meaning you’ll need to take each camera inside to recharge it whenever the built-in battery runs low. That’s a minor hassle, though, and one that you can put up with at this price, especially given that the Arlo Essential 3-pack rarely drops below $280.
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Shop around, and you’ll find other Arlo deals live now on Amazon, too. If you just want a single Arlo Essential Spotlight Cam instead of the 3-pack, you’ll find it marked down to $100, saving you $30. Meanwhile, the “XL” version of the Essential Cam, which adds in a longer, 12-month battery life per charge, is $20 off, bringing the cost down to $130. If you’d rather go with Arlo’s fancier models with detachable battery packs, you can score an Arlo Pro 4 2-pack for $318, saving you a little over $60, or a single Arlo Ultra 2 for $250, saving you $50. Between all of them, I think the Essential 3-pack is the best deal of the bunch.
