Reolink’s new camera could be the game-changer your home security needs

The smart security market has become a complicated one for users to shop in over the last couple of years – with far too many brands surprising us with new subscriptions for basic features, or ending support for devices that should still work for years. Reolink is a great example of how to stand out for the right reasons, though, as it’s dodged those sorts of problems and stuck to delivering great security options that don’t saddle you with ongoing costs.

The perfect example is served up by its new TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi, a smart home camera system that basically does everything you need in one clever package. If you’re wondering just what makes it so impressive, though, we’ve got a breakdown that should answer all your questions nice and simply.

A crystal-clear camera system

First and foremost, we shouldn’t glide past the technical specs that the TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi brings to the table, because they’re extremely impressive. Ali Park, Reolink’s Country Manager, told us: “This is a flagship camera at a price that people can actually afford, and that was always our goal when developing it.”

The system is built around a dual-lens PTZ camera that shoots in 4K, with 360-degree horizontal coverage. That means when you anchor it under an awning, you could see absolutely everything around it whenever you want.

Of course, it doesn’t make you do that manually; it has auto-tracking powered by AI to detect movement, ensuring it has no blind spots. Plus, of course, as the name suggests, it has a 3,000-lumen dimmable LED floodlight that can light things up when it gets dark, and a 110Db siren to add to that deterrent.

Plus, those night-time recordings won’t be in the grainy night-vision modes you might imagine – they’re in full colour and therefore way easier to see in detail. You don’t know how big a change that is until you see it in person!

AI features without the price tag

Too often, home security companies use AI features as a way to upsell their users onto expensive subscriptions. Reolink has a very different approach, and it means that you get brilliant AI features built into the TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi.

For example, its AI system auto-detects humans, animals, cars and more coming into and out of its frame. Since its footage can be stored locally on an SD card, you’re then able to use Reolink’s AI search feature to ask for instances of, for example, dogs coming into frame, and it’ll surface relevant clips for you, instead of making you scrub through hours of footage.

Ali Park reiterated: “This makes it so much easier to search through your footage, and we’ve found it massively shaves off the time required to get the clips that matter, whether they’re precious memories or important security moments”.

Privacy as a non-negoatiable

Of course, what you’ve just learned about on-device storage is really massive in the home security space. Some massive names in the market insist that you let them upload your footage to the cloud, something that you might not always want, whereas Ali Park underlined to us that, “Reolink puts control in your hands by ensuring that you get all the functionality you expect, without needing any extra subscriptions immediately”.

Along those lines, Reolink bucks the trend with the TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi by letting you stick to local storage for your footage, although you can take out cloud storage for convenience if and when you want it. This means, firstly, that you’re in control of all your data at all times, and secondly that you can access and view your recordings whenever you want, without any additional fees or subscriptions. That really can’t be overstated!

Extraordinary adjustability

Returning to the actual hardware that Reolink has put together, it’s worth underlining how much control the TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi gives you. It can be mounted on just about any wall, and from there has its own swivelling system that lets you easily get it focusing on the areas you most care about.

This means you can have it check out your front path, for instance, so that you know when delivery people are just about to ring the bell. It could also let you check in on your back garden, if you know that it backs onto a shared alley, for instance, and that light is the best deterrent you can get. Best of all, it can be set to a range of brightness modes and colour temperatures, to ensure that you don’t have the brightest floodlight coming on all the time.

Ali Park told us: “Whether you’re looking out for an important parcel, or making sure that your most important belongings are protected by a camera, being able to adjust your lighting and cover a 360-degree field of view is pretty massive – and it takes much of the stress out of your initial installation”.

When the TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi does capture something that you want to review later, the camera also has a 6X zoom mode that can allow it to zoom in on important events, making it even easier to see important details like number plates, faces and more.

Terrific value

Of course, we shouldn’t beat around the bush too much on one other very key point. The TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi is a terrific value proposition from Reolink, despite being brand new this month. The camera costs just £219.99, and the fact that this comes without any extra memberships required makes it an even better long-term prospect.

You can learn more about the camera on Reolink's website, where you can also order one today to hugely upgrade your home security setup in one fell swoop, but it’s also sold through Amazon if you prefer. Either way, this has to be considered a major step forward in the home security camera market, and one of the most adaptable cameras we’ve ever seen in this sector.