T3 Awards 2020: Arlo Pro 3 is the top smart security tech of the year

(Image credit: Arlo)

published 9 June 2020

Smart security is a wildly popular area for a simple and obvious reason: great smart security gives you improved peace of mind, and we could all do with some of that. What we like to see is something that makes comprehensive security easy, with a light touch for setting up, and that's why the Arlo Pro 3 is our T3 Awards 2020 winner for Best Smart Security.

This smart security camera system is easy to start with, and doesn't ask for any difficult setup from you, either technologically or physically. The cameras are totally wireless (including being battery powered), but connect to a dedicated hub rather than your Wi-Fi, so are trivially easy to set up all in one go – and you can have a big suite of cameras, if you choose.

That simple setup unlocks a world of powerful security features, though: these cameras have better-than-HD sensors with HDR capture for clearer images, they have colour night vision plus a spotlight for seeing in the dark, they have motion detection that can differentiate humans from vehicles from animals from parcels, they can detect audio and even whether an alarm is going off inside the house, and even more besides.

• Read our full Arlo Pro 3 review

The key thing is that is that all these features are pretty easy to set up and use, and can largely be customised and combined by those who want to dig deeper, giving you even more control options.

The sum is that this isn't just a camera system, it works as a broader security setup (each camera actually has an alarm built in that you can trigger), but also as part of a smart home setup too – the motion detection can be used to trigger your smart lights, for example. It's compatible with Apple HomeKit, as well as Amazon Alexa.

The way the sprawling feature list is wrapped up in an understandable app and actually quite pretty physical design, making something complex impressively accessible, is why the Arlo Pro 3 is a worthy T3 Awards 2020 winner for Best Smart Security.

• Check out more of our T3 Awards 2020 winners!

Matt is T3's former AV and Smart Home Editor (UK), master of all things audiovisual, overseeing our TV, speakers and headphones coverage. He also covered smart home products and large appliances, as well as our toys and games articles. He's can explain both what Dolby Vision IQ is and why the Lego you're building doesn't fit together the way the instructions say, so is truly invaluable. Matt has worked for tech publications for over 10 years, in print and online, including running T3's print magazine and launching its most recent redesign. He's also contributed to a huge number of tech and gaming titles over the years. Say hello if you see him roaming the halls at CES, IFA or Toy Fair. Matt now works for our sister title TechRadar.