Nest announces the $499 Nest Secure, its new alarm system
Nest announced a number of new security products today that all aim to keep your home safe from burglars and others you’d rather keep out. In addition to its new Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, the company also launched Nest Secure, its new, fully featured security system.
The system consists of three hardware products that can also be integrated with the company’s cameras: Nest Guard, the hub of the alarm system with a backup battery and a motion sensor, as well as the Nest Detect, a sensor that checks if a door or window has been opened. Like competing system, the Guard features a siren and cellular backup (for $5 per month) in case your WiFi is down. There’s also a standard keypad on top of the Guard for arming the system.
There’s also the Nest Tag, an NFC chip that can be used to turn alarms on and off as needed (or, you can, of course use your phone to do so, too). The chips are meant for your family members or occasional guests that you want to give access to your house — and you can program them to only work for a certain amount of time or specific times and days of the week. You connect the tags with the central system through the Guard’s built-in NFC reader.
As with similar systems, you can add multiple Nest Detects to your setup to secure your various entryways and windows. The Nest Detect features two years of battery life, a magnetometer, light sensor, accelerometer, motion sensor and magnetic door open detection. One nifty feature here is that you can push a button on the Nest Detect to turn it off.
As with all of Nest products, we’re not just talking about hardware but also a comprehensive software suite that connects to the Nest mobile apps to alert you whenever something odd happens. If something goes wrong, you can call the police right from the app, but in addition, you can also add 24/7 professional monitoring. Nest isn’t doing this itself, though. It’s working with Moni, which has years of experience in this business.
It’s also worth noting that Nest is partnering with third-party vendors and their smart locks.
The Nest Secure starter pack with one Nest Guard, two Nest Detects and two tags will cost $499. Individual Nest Detects will be $59 and tags are $25. There will also be a bundle with the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor for $598. The system will be available in the U.S. in November and in Europe and Canada in early 2018.