Nest has announced a new smart home security camera to its line-up in the form of the Nest Cam IQ. The new device brings several advancements over the Nest Cam Indoor, though it also adds a few pounds to the price tag, which could make the decision between the two a little tricky.

Here is how the Nest Cam IQ compares to the Nest Cam Indoor to help you work out which could be the better fit for your home.

Nest Cam IQ vs Nest Cam Indoor: Design

  • Nest Cam IQ offers more appeasing design
  • Cables more hidden on Nest Cam IQ
  • Both have 3M long cables

The Nest Cam IQ features a similar design to the Nest Cam Outdoor with a white polycarbonate body. It measures 125mm tall, 73.7mm wide and 73.7mm deep, with a hinge connecting the main body to a stem hiding the cables and a base with a USB Type-C connector for power.

The Nest Cam IQ weighs 357g and it has a total cable length of three metres. A speaker can be found at the back of the main body, the camera sensor at the front and three microphones are also present, with two at the front and one underneath.

The Nest Cam Indoor has a less streamlined design to its successor. It too sits on a base but the hinge isn't as flexible, the power cable goes into the main camera body rather than the base and that main camera body isn't as refined as the Nest Cam IQ to look at, with a fussier design overall.

The 2015 model measures 71.1mm wide at its base and 114.3mm tall, with the main camera body measuring 58.4mm from the front and 45.7mm from the back. It is powered via Micro-USB, there is one microphone on board rather than three and like the Nest Cam IQ, the power cable is three-metres long.

Nest Cam IQ vs Nest Cam Indoor: Hardware and specs

  • 4K, 8MP sensor with 12x digital zoom and HDR on Nest Cam IQ
  • 3MP sensor with 8x digital zoom on Nest Cam Indoor
  • Both offer 1080p recording and 130-degree field of view

The Nest Cam IQ has a 1/2.5-inch, 8-megapixel 4K colour sensor with 12x digital zoom and enhance, as well as HDR. It offers a 130-degree field of view and it will record video up to 1080p at 30fps.

As we mentioned, there are three microphones on board, as well as a speaker that is claimed to be seven times more powerful than the one in the Nest Cam Indoor. The Nest Cam IQ also features an LED light ring around the outer edge of the main camera element, as well as an LED status light, and there are two 940nm infrared LEDs for Night Vision.

The Nest Cam Indoor has a 1/3-inch, 3-megapixel sensor offering 8x digital zoom. Like the new model, there is a 130-degree field of view and it will record up to 1080p at 30fps, but there is no enhancement or close up tracking like the Nest Cam IQ.

An RGB LED is present to show status, though no LED light ring, and there is one microphone and a speaker on board too, as we mentioned above. In terms of night vision, the Nest Cam Indoor has 850nm infrared LEDs.

Nest Cam IQ vs Nest Cam Indoor: Features

  • Both offer 24/7 live video with motion and sound alerts
  • Nest Cam IQ has person alerts and close up tracking view without subscription
  • With subscription, Nest Cam IQ will offer familiar faces alerts

Both the Nest Cam IQ and the Nest Cam Indoor will offer 24/7 live video streaming, motion and sound alerts, talk and listen, and 1080p video. The Nest Cam IQ should offer a clearer picture and clearer audio than the Nest Cam Indoor though.

The Nest Cam IQ also offers a feature called Supersight, which uses the 4K HDR sensor to offer a close up tracking view of the person or persons seen by the camera in the app. It will also provide person alerts without a subscription thanks to its ability to tell the difference between a person and a thing.

With the Nest Aware subscription, the Nest Cam Indoor will provide person alerts, while the Nest Cam IQ will offer familiar faces and unfamiliar faces alerts. The subscription also means users will be able to see 10-days of video or 30-days of video, rather than the three hours offered without a subscription, as well as Activity Zones for personalised alerts.

Nest Cam IQ vs Nest Cam Indoor: Price

  • Nest Cam IQ more expensive
  • Nest Aware subscription price the same for both

The Nest Cam IQ is currently available for pre-order, with shipping expected at the end of June. It costs £299 or $299.

The Nest Cam Indoor remains available and it costs £159 or $199.

The Nest Aware subscription costs £8 a month or £80 a year in the UK.

Nest Cam IQ vs Nest Cam Indoor: Conclusion

The Nest Cam IQ offers a number of improvements over the Nest Cam Indoor, even without a subscription. You'll get better video recordings and audio, person alerts and the ability to see a close-up tracking view of someone if they are in your home in the camera's field of view.

Pay for the subscription and you'll also get familiar faces alerts with the new camera, which in turn allows you to grant access to particular family members.

The new Nest Cam IQ is quite a bit pricer than the original Nest Cam Indoor though so the decision between these two devices will come down to whether you're buying a smart home camera just to keep an eye on your dog, or whether you want it for security purposes.