Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera offers night vision without the bridge

Arlo has a new wireless security camera, but unlike its predecessors the new Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera doesn't need a base station in order to work. Promising Full HD video streaming, the wireless camera can connect directly to your home's WiFi network rather than requiring a bridge in-between.

Despite that, it still requires no cables whatsoever. Arlo uses a rechargeable battery for easier installation, and the Essential Spotlight camera is also weather-resistant so that it can be mounted indoors or outdoors.

As the name suggests, there's a built-in spotlight at the front. That can be manually switched on via the Arlo app, or set to turn on when motion is detected. Alternatively, there's color night vision for a more surreptitious view of the garden, porch, or whatever else you might point the camera at.

Much the same way, the built-in siren can be automatically triggered or done manually through the app. There's also two-way audio support. Motion detection uses computer vision to filter out the movement of things like trees and wildlife, but still notify you if someone approaches or a car pulls up.

As well as being 1080p resolution, captured video uses a 130-degree field of view lens and supports a 12x digital zoom. The video the Essential Spotlight Camera captures is stored to the Arlo Smart cloud. That comes with a three month trial subscription, of the rolling 30-day clip plan. It's also where custom alerts and notifications can be set up, such as for when people, vehicles, animals, or packages are spotted.

Live streaming is supported to the app, in addition to recorded clips, and there's an e911 feature which can summon emergency services to the camera's location if the situation demands it.

While the camera may work as a standalone WiFi camera, those who already have an Arlo base station – such as the Arlo SmartHub VMB4000, VMB4540, VMB4500, or VMB5000 – can connect the Essential Spotlight Camera to that, instead. The advantage there, the company suggests, is local storage support along with enhanced range and battery life. If you'd rather not worry about recharging at all, there's an optional solar panel.

The Arlo Essential Spotlight Camera is available to preorder from today. It's priced at $129.99 for a single camera in white or black, and is expected to ship from July 13. A three pack of cameras – again, in either black or white – will be $349.99.