Adobe’s AI video model is here, and it’s already inside Premiere Pro
Adobe’s Firefly Video Model can generate a range of styles, including ‘realism’ (as pictured). | Image: Adobe
Adobe is making the jump into generative AI video. The company’s Firefly Video Model, which has been teased since earlier this year, is launching today across a handful of new tools, including some right inside Premiere Pro that will allow creatives to extend footage and generate video from still images and text prompts.
The first tool — Generative Extend — is launching in beta for Premiere Pro. It can be used to extend the end or beginning of footage that’s slightly too short, or make adjustments mid-shot, such as to correct shifting eye-lines or unexpected movement.
Clips can only be extended by two seconds, so Generative Extend is only really suitable for small tweaks, but that could replace the need to retake footage to correct tiny issues. Extended clips can be generated at either 720p or 1080p at 24 FPS. It can also be used on audio to help smooth out edits, albeit with limitations. It’ll extend sound effects and ambient “room tone” by up to ten seconds, for example, but not spoken dialog or music.
Image:Adobe
The new Generative Extend tool in Premiere Pro can fill gaps in footage that would ordinarily require a full reshoot, such as adding a few extra steps to this person walking next to a car.
Two other video generation tools are launching on the web. Adobe’s Text-to-Video and Image-to-Video tools, first announced in September, are now rolling out as a limited public beta in the Firefly web app.
Text-to-Video functions similarly to other video generators like Runway and OpenAI’s Sora — users just need to plug in a text description for what they want to generate. It can emulate a variety of styles like regular “real” film, 3D animation, and stop motion, and the generated clips can be further refined using a selection of “camera controls” that simulate things like camera angles, motion, and shooting distance.
Image: Adobe
This is what some of the camera control options look like to adjust the generated output.
Image-to-Video goes a step further by letting users add a reference image alongside a text prompt to provide more control over the results. Adobe suggests this could be used to make b-roll from images and photographs, or help visualize reshoots by uploading a still from an existing video. The before and after example below shows this isn’t really capable of replacing reshoots directly, however, as several errors like wobbling cables and shifting backgrounds are visible in the results.
Video: Adobe
Here’s the original clip... Video: Adobe
...and this is what it looks like Image-to-Video ‘remakes’ the footage. Notice how the yellow cable is wobbling for no reason?
You won’t be making entire movies with this tech any time soon, either. The maximum length of Text-to-Video and Image-to-Video clips is currently five seconds, and the quality tops out at 720p and 24 frames per second. By comparison, OpenAI says that Sora can generate videos up to a minute long “while maintaining visual quality and adherence to the user’s prompt” — but that’s not available to the public yet despite being announced months before Adobe’s tools.
Video: Adobe
The model is restricted to producing clips that are around four seconds long, like this example of an AI-generated baby dragon scrambling around in magma.
Text-to-Video, Image-to-Video, and Generative Extend all take about 90 seconds to generate, but Adobe says it’s working on a “turbo mode” to cut that down. And restricted as it may be, Adobe says its tools powered by its AI video model are “commercially safe” because they’re trained on content that the creative software giant was permitted to use. Given models from other providers like Runway are being scrutinized for allegedly being trained on thousands of scraped YouTube videos — or in Meta’s case, maybe even your personal videos — commercial viability could be a deal cincher for some users.
One other benefit is that videos created or edited using Adobe’s Firefly video model can be embedded with Content Credentials to help disclose AI usage and ownership rights when published online. It’s not clear when these tools will be out of beta, but at least they’re publicly available — which is more than we can say for OpenAI’s Sora, Meta’s Movie Gen, and Google’s Veo generators.
The AI video launches were announced today at Adobe’s MAX conference, where the company is also introducing a number of other AI-powered features across its creative apps.
The Internet Archive is back as a read-only service after cyberattacks
Image: the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is back online in a read-only state after a cyberattack brought down the digital library and Wayback Machine last week. A data breach and DDoS attack kicked the site offline on October 9th, with a user authentication database containing 31 million unique records also stolen in recent weeks.
The Internet Archive is now back online in a “provisional, read-only manner,” according to founder Brewster Kahle. “Safe to resume but might need further maintenance, in which case it will be suspended again.”
While you can access the Wayback Machine to search 916 billion web pages that have been archived over time, you can’t currently capture an existing web page into the archive. Kahle and team have gradually been restoring Archive.org services in recent days, including bringing back the team’s email accounts and its crawlers for National Libraries. Services have been offline so that Internet Archive staff can examine and strengthen them against future attacks.
A pop-up from a purported hacker claimed the archive had suffered a “catastrophic security breach” last week, before Have I Been Pwned confirmed data was stolen. The theft included email addresses, screen names, hashed passwords, and other internal data for 31 million unique email accounts.
The Internet Archive outage came just weeks after Google started adding links to archived websites in the Wayback Machine. Google removed its own cached pages links earlier this year, so having the Wayback Machine linked in Google search results is a useful way to access older versions of websites or archived pages.
The Optimus robots at Tesla’s Cybercab event were humans in disguise
An Optimus robot at the We, Robot event. | Screenshot: Tesla We, Robot livestream
Tesla made sure its Optimus robots were a big part of its extravagant, in-person Cybercab reveal last week. The robots mingled with the crowd, served drinks to and played games with guests, and danced inside a gazebo. Seemingly most surprisingly, they could even talk. But it was mostly just a show.
It’s obvious when you watch the videos from the event, of course. If Optimus really was a fully autonomous machine that could immediately react to verbal and visual cues while talking, one-on-one, to human beings in a dimly lit crowd, that would be mind-blowing.
Playing charades with the Tesla Optimus robot last night. This is either the single greatest robotics and LLM demo the world has ever seen, or it's MOSTLY remote operated by a human. No in between. pic.twitter.com/vCqzk8DDdO
Attendee Robert Scoble posted that he’d learned humans were “remote assisting” the robots, later clarifying that an engineer had told him the robots used AI to walk, spotted Electrek. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote that the robots “relied on tele-ops (human intervention)” in a note, the outlet reports.
There are obvious tells to back those claims up, like the fact that the robots all have different voices or that their responses were immediate, with gesticulation to match.
It doesn’t feel like Tesla was going out of its way to make anyone think the Optimus machines were acting on their own. In another video that Jalopnik pointed to, an Optimus’ voice jokingly told Scoble that “it might be some” when he asked it how much it was controlled by AI.
Another robot — or the human voicing it — told an attendee in a stilted impression of a synthetic voice, “Today, I am assisted by a human,” adding that it’s not fully autonomous. (The voice stumbled on the word “autonomous.”)
Musk first announced Tesla’s humanoid robot by bringing what was very clearly a person in a robot suit on stage, so it’s no surprise that the Optimuses (Optimi? Optimodes?) at last week’s event were hyperbolic in their presentation. And people who went didn’t seem to feel upset or betrayed by that. But if you were hoping to have any sense of how far along Tesla truly is in its humanoid robotics work, the “We, Robot” event wasn’t the place to look.
The Putt-Putt champions of the internet
Image: Samar Haddad / The Verge
In September of 2023, Danny and Steven Sanicki played a round of minigolf. The Sanickis are twins, are both competitive golfers, and were budding content creators at the time, so of course they filmed the whole round. Danny edited the footage on his phone, recorded a quick commentary track, slapped a scoreboard over top of the video, and posted the tournament as a six-part series on his TikTok channel. Neither brother really expected anything to happen.
The videos went viral. And since then, the Sanicki twins have been posting tournaments every day, bringing new friends into the fold, and building out a Putt-Putt empire all around the web. They built a complex system of tournaments and points, started awarding money to winners, and began planning for how to make things even bigger.
On this episode of The Vergecast, the first in a two-part series we’re calling How to Make It in the Future, we chart the rise of Twin Tour Golf (as they’d prefer to be known) and talk with Danny and Steven about their experience as creators. We talk about the process of deciding to go all in on minigolf, the way they’ve tried to expand their offering without compromising what people like about it, how they split up workflow, how they monetize on various channels, and much more. The Sanickis’ story is a classic creator journey, and they’ve hit so many of the milestones and forks in the road that come for everyone who wants to make it on the internet.
SpaceX launches Starship and catches its Super Heavy booster for the first time
Screenshot: SpaceX livestream
SpaceX launched Starship for its fifth flight test at about 8:25AM ET from its South Texas launch site. The company succeeded in returning the Starship Super Heavy booster to its landing pad, where it was “caught” using arms on the launch tower that SpaceX refers to as the “chopsticks.”
The catch was a first for the booster, which the company hadn’t returned without incident before its previous flight test in June. The company’s next task is to return Starship, which is expected to splash down in the Indian Ocean, as it did before.
Screenshot: SpaceX livestream
Starship’s booster being caught by its launch tower “chopsticks.”
Liftoff was delayed slightly while it cleared boats out of its launch range, pushing the flight test to the edge of its 30-minute launch window. The Federal Aviation Administration gave SpaceX approval for the test flight on Saturday, October 12th. It had originally expected to clear the fifth Starship test in November, but the FAA and its partner agencies reportedly carried out their assessments faster than anticipated.
Now we can all wake up like Mario
Image: David Pierce / The Verge
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 56, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
I also have for you the coolest alarm clock I can remember, a splashy new Bitcoin documentary, a new monster-taming game people love, a tiny but amazing Google Docs update, and much more. Not the busiest and most exciting week of all time, if I’m honest, but still lots of fun stuff to get to. Let’s do it.
(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you playing / reading / watching / baking / steeping in teapots this week? What should everyone else be into, too? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here.)
The Drop
Alarmo. Leave it to Nintendo to build the most charming alarm clock of all time. No, it’s not the high-tech new gadget some people were hoping for. But a super configurable sleep tracking clock that uses Mario noises and retro animations to get your butt out of bed? I’m obviously sold.
Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery. Another day, another splashy reveal that “we’ve found Satoshi Nakamoto!” Color me deeply, deeply skeptical. But even that aside, this doc does a good job of arguing that Nakamoto — and Bitcoin in general — matters.
Microsoft OneDrive. OneDrive has always been, like, fine. But if Microsoft really has made it faster, improved search, and finally shipped a more photos-focused mobile app, it might finally be a worthy competitor to Google Drive and Dropbox. (Low bar, but hey.)
Mastodon 4.3. I’ve found it difficult in recent months to really care about Mastodon, which just seemed like it wasn’t ready to be the next big thing. But I think this update, meant to make the platform easier to use but especially meant to make it easier to find people to follow, is pretty exciting.
Miraibo Go. People keep comparing this open-world monster-taming game to Palworld — because it appears to be super fun and bonkers and also because it doesn’t not look like Pokémon, you know? Either way, I anticipate seeing a lot of people capturing Miras this weekend.
“Forums Are Still Alive, Active, And A Treasure Trove Of Information.” Chris Person, a writer at Aftermath and friend of The Verge, is right: if you want the real real on almost anything, the best place to go is a forum. And he put together a truly epic list of great forums, which I will be spending too much time in for the foreseeable future.
Piece By Piece. Even if you don’t care at all about Pharrell Williams, you should watch a few minutes of this Morgan Neville-directed doc, which is entirely animated with Legos. (If you’re going to do that… maybe wait ’til it hits streaming.) The trailer alone makes me want to watch hours of this style.
Goodnotes. If you’re the write-by-hand type, Goodnotes is one of the best apps out there. And it’s cool to see the company bring AI to the mix — it’s doing some of the same search, handwriting improvement, and equation-solving stuff that is so cool in Apple Notes.
Dookie Demastered. The silliest, most delightful thing of the week: Green Day took its 30-year-old masterpiece of a record and tried to make it work on, like, an electric toothbrush. Am I willing to pay $79 for a Big Mouth Billy Bass that plays the song “Basket Case”? OF COURSE I AM.
Google Docs tabs. This is one of those tiny organizational things — splitting a Google Docs doc into tabs instead of just a billion pages — that is going to make my life so much easier. Now can Google just make the mobile app good? Please?
Screen share
Out of all the people at The Verge, no one is better at introducing me to new stuff and teaching me how to use that stuff than Barbara Krasnoff. She’s a reviews editor here at The Verge and also does a ton of work on how-tos and roundups and helping tell everyone about all the best technology everywhere. (She recently turned me back onto UpNote, just to name one — and she’s right, it’s delightful.)
So Barbara tries everything, but what does she actually use? I asked her to share her homescreen to find out. Here it is, plus some info on the apps she uses and why:
The phone: It’s a Pixel 6. I know this may go against the tech enthusiast philosophy of “the latest and greatest,” but I tend to hold on to my phones as long as they work (or break — I’ve been known to drop one or two). I believe that Android 15 will be its last OS update, so I’ll probably have to bite the bullet and get a new phone next year when Android 16 shows up.
The wallpaper: This is a photo I took last year in Owego, New York, where a very close friend grew up. It’s the Susquehanna River at sunset.
The apps: Maps, Contacts, Google Voice, Slack, Chrome, Google Home, Google Photos, Google Drive, Files, Google Play Store, Phone, Messages, Gmail, Camera, Assistant.
The icon labeled “LISTEN” goes to a webpage with a recording of Bob Fosse directing Liza Minnelli in the original Broadway production of Chicago, which gives you some idea of the kind of theater nerd I am.
The second screen has all the other apps that I use on a day-to-day basis, divided into groups. (Or used to use — there are some there that I haven’t opened for a long time and really need to delete.) The Tody app was supposed to motivate me to clean my home, but unfortunately, it hasn’t worked as well as I’d hoped. Smart Tools is a bunch of handy apps (like a mirror, a ruler, and a distance calculator) in one neat package.
I’ve got one more screen that has apps I’m currently experimenting with, but that can change on a day-to-day basis, so I don’t think it counts.
I also asked Barbara to share a few things she’s into right now. Here’s what she sent back:
Current media obsessions include Agatha All Along, The Great British Bake Off, and rewatching Doctor Who. We’re just finishing the Peter Capaldi era and haven’t yet decided whether to proceed to the Jodie Whittaker era or go back to one of the old Whos, like Tom Baker. I’m really eager to see the latest season of Slow Horses. I read the book it was based on a couple of months ago, but we don’t currently subscribe to Apple TV Plus, so I’ll have to wait.
I’m almost finished with Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword, which is yet another retelling of the King Arthur legend. Grossman is on my long list of favorite authors, and this is a great example of his skill.
I’m not much of a gaming person, but I have been battling two friends for several years on Words With Friends 2 — we’re pretty much equally matched. And I love crossword puzzles, Wordle, etc. So I guess I’ll have to adjust that to say I’m a word gaming person.
Finally, I’m trying to recover my childhood fluency in Yiddish using Duolingo. Not the greatest experience, because it uses a modern Hasidic pronunciation that is much different than the older Eastern European dialect I grew up with. Still, I’m pushing ahead with it.
Crowdsourced
Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Emailinstaller@theverge.comor message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For even more great recommendations, check out the replies tothis post on Threads.
“Strudel. I’ve used a lot of live-coding languages and frameworks, but so far, this one has worked the best for me. It’s a really fun and immediate way of making music compared to a traditional DAW. It has nothing to do with generative AI, it’s not just a prompt engine, it’s basically just another interface for doing what you’d normally do with Ableton or whatever.” – Tom
“I recently stopped using TickTick, as I’ve been trying to reduce my subscriptions. I wanted to try living off of Apple Reminders. I feel like it’s 90 percent of the way there. Luckily, for the last 10 percent, I think I found the perfect app with GoodTask! It’s only for Apple devices, but it basically supercharges Reminders by adding stuff like customization, a better interface, and a calendar. Best of all, it’s a one-time purchase of $10!” – John
“Superlocal Maps has been a lot of fun and really useful. My favorite feature is Fog of World, which keeps track of where you have and haven’t ‘discovered’ in the world, similar to discovering locations in games like Fortnite but in the real world. Outside of that, it’s got some really cool Perplexity / ChatGPT-like search capabilities for finding places near you, e.g., ‘What are some coffee shops nearby that have free Wi-Fi?’ or ‘What are some dog-friendly parks I can visit in Sydney?’” – Harry
“The new 3-in-1 Ninja Luxe espresso machine has been keeping me overcaffeinated. Weight-based dosing ensures your beans are consistently ground, it evaluates the shots you pull to recommend changes to grind size, and the automated frother makes it easy to get right, too. Great for someone like me who cares about their coffee but isn’t overly fussy about it.” – Scott
“I was looking for a good idle / incremental game to play in down moments, and Idle Iktah has totally fit the bill. I can enjoy mobile games a bit too much sometimes and have to be cautious about getting caught in addictive gameplay loops. Iktah is right in the sweet spot of engaging but not consuming, with charming PNW-inspired pixel art.” – Emmett
“Apple’s native apps have gotten good enough to be your main productivity stack. Forever Notes is an elegant and fresh look at configuring Apple Notes as a sophisticated note program. As a longtime and happy Obsidian user, I’m impressed with how well this configuration works. It’s also very well documented and supported.” – Jim
“I am an old paying Overcast user and can confirm that the new Swift version is finally working fine.” – Gabriel
Signing off
I have to admit something: I have become a spreadsheet person. I’ve avoided Excel, Google Sheets, and anything else that looks like rows and columns for as long as I can remember, but over the course of this year, I’ve worked on an unusual number of big team projects — the sort that require a lot of people to know what’s going on at any given time — and man, you just can’t beat the efficiency of a good spreadsheet. I’m barely scratching the surface, features-wise, but I’m hooked on how easy it is to build a calendar, a project tracker, or just a good ol’ budget system in a spreadsheet. Who needs awesome optimized apps! Give me rows and columns! I hate that I’ve become this person, but I fear there’s no going back.
Also, and I mean this: Send me your awesome-est spreadsheet tips. I am going to be unstoppable.
The Cutting-Edge Hearing Aids That You May Already Own Apple is preparing to turn its AirPods Pro 2 into easy-to-use aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss.
Twitter Banned Them. What Happened When Elon Musk Reinstated Them? Many users who were reinstated by X have continued to share the kinds of false narratives and conspiracies that once got them suspended.
Boeing is cutting 10 percent of its workforce
Photo by Kevin Carter / Getty Images
Boeing will be laying off “roughly” 10 percent of its workforce, president and CEO Kelly Ortberg announced in an email to staff on Friday. That number equates to 17,000 jobs, Reuters reports.
The layoffs will take place “over the coming months” and will include “executives, managers and employees,” Ortberg says. Leadership teams plan to share more information about how the layoffs will affect specific organizations in the company next week.
The announcement of layoffs follows what’s been an extremely difficult year for the company. In January, Boeing 737 Max planes were grounded after a hole blew in one mid-flight. In July, the company accepted a guilty plea deal over 737 Max crashes that happened in 2018 and 2019 and killed more than 300 people. The company’s Starliner spacecraft carried NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in June but returned home in September without any astronauts because of issues with the spacecraft. And more than 30,000 Boeing factory workers have been on strike since mid-September.
“As we move through this process, we will maintain our steadfast focus on safety, quality and delivering for our customers,” Ortberg says. “We know these decisions will cause difficulty for you, your families and our team, and I sincerely wish we could avoid taking them. However, the state of our business and our future recovery require tough actions.”
In addition to the layoffs, Ortberg says that it is pushing back the delivery of the first 777X airplane to 2026.
Here is Ortberg’s full memo:
Team,
Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together. Beyond navigating our current environment, restoring our company requires tough decisions and we will have to make structural changes to ensure we can stay competitive and deliver for our customers over the long term.
We need to be clear-eyed about the work we face and realistic about the time it will take to achieve key milestones on the path to recovery. We also need to focus our resources on performing and innovating in the areas that are core to who we are, rather than spreading ourselves across too many efforts that can often result in underperformance and underinvestment.
With that in mind, today I am sharing some difficult decisions and several program updates:
On the 777X program, the challenges we have faced in development, as well as from the flight test pause and ongoing work stoppage, will delay our program timeline. We have notified customers that we now expect first delivery in 2026.
We plan to build and deliver the remaining 767 Freighters ordered by our customers and then conclude production of the commercial program in 2027. Production for the KC-46A Tanker will continue.
In BDS, our performance on fixed-price development programs is simply not where it needs to be. We expect substantial new losses in BDS this quarter, driven by the work stoppage on commercial derivatives, continued program challenges and our decision to complete production on the 767 freighter. I will be providing additional oversight of this business and these programs.
Along with the above actions, we must also reset our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and to a more focused set of priorities. Over the coming months, we are planning to reduce the size of our total workforce by roughly 10 percent. These reductions will include executives, managers and employees. Next week, your leadership team will share more tailored information about what this means for your organization. Based on this decision, we will not proceed with the next cycle of furloughs.
As we move through this process, we will maintain our steadfast focus on safety, quality and delivering for our customers. We know these decisions will cause difficulty for you, your families and our team, and I sincerely wish we could avoid taking them. However, the state of our business and our future recovery require tough actions.
We will be transparent with you regarding the timing and impact of these steps, and we will be professional and supportive to everyone along the way.
Thank you for all that you are doing through this very challenging time at Boeing. We will navigate through this moment. We will re-focus our company, and we will restore trust with all those who depend on us.
Google appeals judge’s decision forcing app store competition on Android
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge
Today, Google filed its official notice of appeal against the district court ruling and jury verdict in Epic v. Google.Judge James Donato’s ruling earlier this week would force the company to distribute third-party app stores on Google Play and drop requirements that Google Play apps use its billing system, among other competition-friendly changes.
Google had said it would be appealing the verdict. “As we have already stated, these changes would put consumers’ privacy and security at risk, make it harder for developers to promote their apps, and reduce competition on devices,” Google VP of regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland said in a blog post on Monday. “Ultimately, while these changes presumably satisfy Epic, they will cause a range of unintended consequences that will harm American consumers, developers and device makers.”
Donato’s ruling this week said that Google’s changes must go into effect starting November 1st, 2024, and they would stay in effect until November 1st, 2027.
Ticketmaster will start using Apple Wallet’s more useful tickets this month
Image: Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster announced today that it will be the first ticketing company to use Apple’s upgraded Apple Wallet tickets for iOS 18. With the improved tickets, you’ll be able to see event information “such as a map of the venue and parking details, recommended playlists from Apple Music, local forecasts from Weather, and easy access to location sharing to help fans find their friends when they arrive,” Ticketmaster says. Venues and teams will also be able to add links to their app or website.
The first Ticketmaster event to use the upgraded tickets will be the October 19th Los Angeles Football Club game at BMO Stadium. Ticketmaster says the Miami Heat will be “next to debut” the new ticket experience, though the company didn’t say exactly when that might happen. The improved ticket experience will be “more widely available” next year.
We’ve asked Ticketmaster if it can share more details about the broader rollouts.
Metaphor: ReFantazio continues Persona’s great handheld heritage
Image: Atlus
Atlus’ Persona franchise is largely a console series, but it has a strong handheld heritage. There were excellent portable versions of Persona 3 and Persona 4, and Persona 5Royal on Nintendo Switch was great, too. Metaphor: ReFantazio is a new fantasy JRPG from the team behind those beloved Personas. And while the game takes place in a different universe, many of the core elements are present in Metaphor — which means that it’s just as great of a handheld experience.
I might be understating it to say Metaphor is Persona-like. The game’s UI is exceptionally flashy. You’ll spend a lot of time talking with your allies and improving your bonds with them. Days tick by as you navigate sprawling dungeons and spend time with your companions before a looming deadline. The main characters even go through epic transformations where they brutally rip an organ out of their body as a mysterious voice talks in “thous” and “haths.” Once, while taking notes about the game, I called it Persona instead of Metaphor. It’s that similar.
But that means so much of what makes Persona games great portable titles works for Metaphor, too. Battles tend to be quick, meaning if you have a few minutes, you can blast through several to clear a dungeon floor. Doing activities in one in-game day is enough to feel like progress. Some parts of the game feature long bouts of text, but when I’m playing just before I go to sleep, seeing what happens next can feel like an exciting chapter in a great book.
I’m playing Metaphor on the Steam Deck. The game is listed on Steam as Playable instead of Verified, and while it is indeed playable, performance is inconsistent, especially in town areas I’ve visited. (The towns are pretty busy places, with lots of characters and things going on.) I actually capped the game at 30fps in settings, even though it can run higher, just because I didn’t want to deal with varying frame rates.
But fortunately, Metaphor isn’t a game that demands perfect performance. In dungeons, you can attack enemies in real time to try to get the jump on them, but I found that frame rate dips didn’t hinder my ability to pull off a successful barrage. All battles are turn-based, anyway, and some frame drops didn’t make much of a difference to me there.
I’m more than fine dealing with some issues; being able to take Metaphor anywhere I want is amazing. I play the game pretty much every night before I fall asleep, I play it on the couch on the weekends while my new baby naps, and I even took my Steam Deck on two recent business trips just so I could sneak in some sessions when I had spare time.
There’s one more way Metaphor is like the Persona series: it’s absolutely massive. But a game that’s dozens of hours long is a lot more manageable when you can play whenever and wherever you want.
What to expect at Tesla’s ‘We, Robot’ event
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Turbosquid
Tesla is about to reveal its self-driving robotaxi, a purpose-built autonomous vehicle that’s supposed to reposition the company as a leader in AI and robotics.
The new robotaxi will be revealed at Warner Bros. movie studios in Burbank, California, where Tesla has reportedly been collecting fresh mapping data in the lead-up to the event. Tesla has a lot of ground to cover to prove it can launch a driverless vehicle that can compete with robotaxi rivals like Waymo and Cruise. And Elon Musk is expected to outline his vision for the Tesla Network, in which Tesla owners can add their autonomous vehicles to a robotaxi fleet when they’re not using them.
Tesla was originally planning to reveal the robotaxi in August, but Musk pushed the date to October 10th to allow for more time to work on the prototype. The company could also have some surprises up its sleeve. Could a cheaper Tesla be coming? Maybe there’s time being set aside to reveal the rumored “Juniper” Model Y? Perhaps a self-driving van?
Tesla sent out invites to the event with the title “We, Robot,” a reference to Isaac Asimov’s seminal work I, Robot. It could also indicate that we’ll get an update on the company’s humanoid Optimus bot. But we’ll have to watch the livestream to find out, as the company has only invited a limited number of people, including investors and influencers.
When is Tesla’s Robotaxi Event
Tesla’s “We, Robot” robotaxi presentation will take place on Thursday, October 10th, at 10PM ET / 9PM CT / 7PM PT.
Since 2019, Musk has promised that Full Self-Driving-capable vehicles will eventually be able to make money for their owners by operating autonomously on a “Tesla Network” to chauffeur people around. He promised that a “million” robotaxis would be driving around by 2020, but that goalpost kept moving further down the field.
Although Tesla’s Level 2 driver-assist system is pretty capable, it has yet to prove it can go driverless with just a camera-based vision system, compared to existing robotaxi companies that use multiple redundant sensors, including lidar. The robotaxi, which Bloomberg reports will be a two-seater with butterfly doors, will supplement privately owned vehicles that are added to the Tesla Network.
A heavily camouflaged and weirdly shaped yellow car was spied on site that may have more than just cameras. The company did buy a bunch of lidar sensors from Luminar in order to validate its robotaxi testing. Musk has called lidars a “crutch” for autonomous vehicles and insisted that the camera-based Tesla Vision system is the way forward.
A lot is riding on the success of Tesla’s robotaxi. Musk is pivoting the company to robots and autonomous systems just as the company’s EV sales have faltered.
What’s Optimus up to?
Tesla’s humanoid Optimus robot is also likely going to get some time in the spotlight. The robot is supposed to be able to perform “useful tasks” by the end of this year. And Musk said it’ll be a product you could buy by the end of 2025. As with all lofty goals, take it with a grain of salt — but we can expect to see an update to Optimus on Thursday. After all, the event is called “We, Robot.”
New car surprise
Musk has indicated to shareholders that a new and cheaper Tesla is back on the menu after early reports suggested it was being scrapped. A $25,000 Tesla could disrupt the EV market by finally fulfilling the demand for cheaper electric cars and could compete with lower-cost Chinese EVs.
However, Tesla could also release a more affordable Model 3 to fill that market instead of creating a promised cheaper “Gen 3” platform. Tesla recently discontinued the standard range Model 3, which was its cheapest vehicle under $40,000.
The last time Tesla had an Apple-style “one more thing” surprise was the reveal of the new Tesla Roadster at the Tesla Semi event in 2017. The Roadster still hasn’t entered production, but now Musk says that’ll happen next year. We could also just get an update on the expected “Juniper” redesign of the Model Y.
But the robotaxi will be the star of the show. And with so much riding on its success, it will certainly be interesting to hear Musk outline his vision for its future.
Apple TV Plus is coming to Prime Video
It’s no cheaper than subscribing to Apple directly, but it potentially gives Apple TV Plus a wider audience. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Amazon is adding Apple TV Plus to Prime Video, a move that could help bolster the iPhone maker’s languishing streaming service. Apple TV Plus will be available on Prime Video in the US later this month as a $9.99 monthly add-on — the same you’d otherwise pay directly to Apple. The difference now is that Apple TV Plus is being promoted directly to Amazon’s massive video subscriber base.
“What we offer channel partners is hundreds of millions of subscribers around the world,” said Prime Video head Mike Hopkins at Bloomberg’s Screentime conference. “We see a lot more engagement, we’re able to get subscribers for those businesses at a really attractive rate.” Amazon takes a cut of the revenue from streaming subscriptions purchased on its video platform, but the specific terms have not been disclosed.
While Apple TV Plus has been praised for its roster of shows like Severance, Ted Lasso, and Foundation, the service has struggled to gain ground against Prime Video, Netflix, Max, Disney Plus, and Hulu — currently the five most subscribed streaming platforms in the US, respectively. Paramount Plus overtook the service in market share last quarter according to the JustWatch streaming guide, and market research firm Antenna reports that Apple TV Plus has some of the highest subscription cancellation rates among streaming providers.
Having Apple TV Plus available within Prime Video isn’t quite the same as bundled deals like Comcast’s all-in-one Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV Plus offerings, but the goal is the same — to attract more customers and reduce cancellation rates as audiences grow weary of managing an ever-increasing number of subscriptions and apps.
For Amazon, Apple TV Plus joins over 100 streaming service add-ons already available through Prime Video Channels. It’s all part of the company’s plan to become a global “first-stop entertainment hub” according to Hopkins, a goal that Apple once had for Apple TV.
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Brazil clears X for return after a monthlong ban
Image: The Verge
On Tuesday, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the country’s telecommunications agency Anatel to unblock X within 24 hours, writing that it has fulfilled “all the requirements necessary for the immediate return of activities.
However, this won’t mean an immediate return to service for the app. As noted by the Brazilian outlet Poder360, Anatel still needs to notify Brazil’s 20,000 different internet service providers to remove the restrictions, which will vary by the system they use.
Before capitulating in August to “court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil,” the company had withdrawn its legal representative in the country, spurring the ban. Then, Justice de Moraes issued the ban on August 30th, giving Brazilian telecoms up to five days to prevent anyone in the country from accessing X.
In response to the news, X’s Global Government Affairs account said:
X is proud to return to Brazil. Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate.
The platform might have been cleared sooner. It paid its fines last week, but after it requested permission to go live again, the court said X had remitted funds to the wrong bank, delaying its return a few more days while the funds were transferred to the right institution.
Google Docs will let users organize information into tabs
The tabs feature is rolling out now but may take a few weeks to appear. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Tabs are being added to Google Docs to make it easier to organize and find information in longer documents. The feature was originally announced in April, and is now gradually rolling out to all Google Workspace users and personal Google accounts, though it may take a few weeks to appear.
“You can now use tabs to draft and build content in a way that makes it possible for you to find what you’re looking for quickly and stay on task,” Google announced in its latest Workspace update. “Plus, readers can navigate through your document with ease and focus on sections that matter most to them.”
GIF: Google
The new tabs feature makes it easier to jump to specific sections within longer documents instead of creating separate files.
Tabs can be accessed on the Gdocs desktop web editor by selecting the bullet-point symbol located at the top-left corner of the document screen. The symbol, previously labeled as “show document outline” when hovered over, will now display “Show tabs & outlines” and give users the option to add and manage multiple tabs, including subtabs to create customizable categories. For example, Google suggests users could create a “budget” tab that includes subtabs for specific expenses like food and travel.
The feature supports adding up to three levels of nested subtabs, which can be created by either selecting “Add subtab” from the tab options menu or dragging one tab into another to automatically convert it into a subtab. Users can give each tab and subtab an individual label and emoji to quickly identify them. The tab navigation menu will open by default on documents containing two or more tabs, and users can share links to specific tabs by clicking on the three dot menu next to each tab.
Tab editing capabilities like renaming, duplicating, or deleting tabs are only available to users that have editor access to the document. Otherwise, tabs can be viewed and navigated in suggestion mode, but not adjusted.
Samsung apologizes for making just $6.8 billion last quarter
Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images
Samsung, the world’s leading memory chip manufacturer, issued a rare apology after saying it expected to post just$6.78 billion in operating profit for the most recent quarter, about $900 million short of analyst expectations.
“We have caused concerns about our fundamental technological competitiveness and the future of the company due to our performance falling short of the market’s expectations,” reads the statement attributed to Samsung Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun. “Many people are talking about Samsung’s crisis. We, who are leading the business, are responsible for all of this.”
The so-called “crisis” caused the company to instigate a six-day workweek for executives earlier this year after a terrible 2023 created by an increase in competition and an overall reduction in chip demand. But the AI hype cycle was meant to reverse the company’s fortunes as demonstrated by a 15x increase in profits last quarter, with future growth driven by sales of its high-bandwidth memory chips to Nvidia.
But Samsung now says that sales of its high-end HBM3E chips to an unidentified major customer have been delayed, allowing competitors like SK Hynix to fill the void. The company is also feeling pressure from Chinese rivals for the sale of conventional chips used in devices like smartphones.
You can read the full apology as translated by Google below:
To our customers, investors, and employees who have always loved Samsung Electronics,
Today, we, the management of Samsung Electronics, would like to first apologize to you.
The performance that fell short of market expectations has raised concerns about the fundamental technological competitiveness and the future of the company. Many people are talking about Samsung’s crisis. All of this responsibility lies with us who are leading the business.
Dear customers, investors, and employees,
Samsung has a history of challenge, innovation, and overcoming that has always turned crises into opportunities. We will definitely make the serious situation we are currently facing into an opportunity for a leap forward. Our management will take the lead in overcoming the crisis. Above all, we will restore the fundamental competitiveness of technology. Technology and quality are our lifeblood. It is Samsung Electronics’ pride that we can never compromise on. Rather than short-term solutions, we will secure fundamental competitiveness.
Furthermore, I believe that only new technologies that do not exist in the world and perfect quality competitiveness are the only ways for Samsung Electronics to make a comeback.
Second, we will prepare for the future more thoroughly. We will rekindle our unique passion to fearlessly pioneer the future and to cling to our goals until the end and achieve them. We will re-arm ourselves with a challenging spirit to run toward a higher goal, rather than a defensive mindset to protect what we have.
Third, we will reexamine our organizational culture and work methods and immediately fix what needs to be fixed. We will rebuild our traditional organizational culture of trust and communication. If we find a problem in the field, we will expose it and have a heated discussion to improve it. In particular, we will actively communicate with investors whenever we have the opportunity.
Dear customers, investors and employees,
I am confident that if we challenge ourselves fiercely, we can definitely turn the current crisis into a new opportunity. I ask for your support and encouragement so that Samsung Electronics can once again demonstrate its strength.
Thank you.
Samsung Electronics DS Division Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun
Chevy’s cheapest Silverado EV now starts at $57,095
The new midrange LT model gets the light-up Chevy logo. | Image: Chevy
Chevy is lowering the Silverado EV’s starting price for 2025 by adding a new standard range Work Truck (WT) version that starts at $57,095, which includes destination charges but not other fees, and Chevy says the dealer “sets final price.”
Chevy also added several additional versions of the electric truck with varying ranges compared to the outgoing 2024 model with only one version, the RST trim, priced at nearly $100,000. While a top-of-the-line “max range” version is still there, for 2025, Chevy will make a cheaper RST starting at $89,395 that has a shorter 390-mile EPA range.
Image: Chevy
There’s more options for 2025.
Chevy says it will reveal the $57K work truck’s range closer to launch, but there’s also a Max Range version with 492 miles of EPA range for $77,795. Ford similarly offers a “Pro” version of its F-150 Lightning of the F-150 Lightning electric truck that has fewer bells and whistles than the other models, which starts at $54,995 with 240 miles of range.
The version most people will probably see on dealer lots is the new Silverado EV LT, which starts at $75,195 and has an EPA-estimated 408 miles on a full charge. The LT trucks get 645 horsepower, 12,500-pound towing capacity, 1,800-pound payload, and can charge up to 300kW DC speed (there’s no mention about Chevy including a built-in NACS plug for 2025). If you want SuperCruise, however, you’ll need to pay more for the premium package.
Chevy will ship most of the 2025 Silverados to customers later this year — but the cheapest model won’t come until “later in the model year.”
How to tint your app icons in iOS 18
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge
For several years now, it’s been possible to personalize your iPhone screen by creating your own icons, mostly by using Apple’s built-in Shortcuts app (and we have instructions for doing just that). But if you want to do a little customization in a short amount of time, a new feature in iOS 18 lets you tweak the color of your app icons in a matter of moments. Here’s how.
On your iPhone homescreen:
Long-press somewhere on the background so that the icons start to do their little jiggle dance.
You’ll see an Edit button in the top-left corner; tap it, and then select Customize.
Screenshot: Apple
A pop-up menu at the bottom of the screen lets you change the look of your app icons.
Screenshot: Apple
You can add an interesting tint to your apps.
At the bottom of the screen, a pop-up menu will offer you several options: Light or Dark (so that the icons won’t change no matter what mode you’re in); Automatic (where the OS will decide for you when to darken or lighten the icons); and Tinted. This last option is where things get interesting.
You’ll now see two sliders: one that chooses a color for your icons and another that goes from light to dark. So, for example, if you want your icons to be tinted green, move the indicator on the top slider to green and use the bottom slider to decide how dark a green you want them to be. (You’ll see the results immediately.)
You can also use a dropper icon in the top-right corner of the pop-up menu to select a color from the wallpaper to use as an icon tint. Tap on the dropper icon, and the menu will disappear; instead, you’ll see a circle with a grid against your wallpaper. Just move the circle to the color you want your tint to be and lift your finger.
Tired of your tint? Just go back to the pop-up menu and choose Light / Dark / Automatic, and your icons will be their old familiar colors.
The future of Halo is being built with Unreal Engine 5
Master Chief in Unreal Engine 5. | Image: Halo Studios
Microsoft is moving its Halo development to Unreal Engine 5, after more than a year of rumors of an engine switch following a leadership overhaul at 343 Industries, layoffs, and other changes. 343 Industries is now becoming Halo Studios as part of this engine change announcement, hoping to mark a new chapter in the history of Halo.
Halo moving to Unreal Engine 5 is being positioned as the first step of a transformation for Halo Studios to change its technology, structure, processes, and even culture. “We’re not just going to try improve the efficiency of development, but change the recipe of how we make Halo games,” says Pierre Hintze, studio head at Halo Studios.
Image: Halo Studios
Master Chief in Unreal Engine 5.
The team building Halo will move from the studio’s Slipspace Engine to Unreal, after the proprietary engine it built for Halo Infinite became difficult to use and strained development. Halo Studios has had to dedicate a lot of staff to developing the Slipspace Engine, and parts of it are almost 25 years old.
“One of the primary things we’re interested in is growing and expanding our world so players have more to interact with and more to experience,” says Chris Matthews, art director at Halo Studios. “Nanite and Lumen [Unreal’s rendering and lighting technologies] offer us an opportunity to do that in a way that the industry hasn’t seen before. As artists, it’s incredibly exciting to do that work.”
Halo Studios isn’t committing to any release dates or new Halo game announcements just yet, but the team has been building some examples of Halo running in Unreal. Dubbed Project Foundry, the work is “neither a game nor a tech demo,” but more of a research, development, and training tool. It’s also the foundation for how the studio is changing up the way it builds Halo games.
Image: Halo Studios
The world of Halo in Unreal Engine 5.
Project Foundry has been built as if it was a shipping game so that a bunch of it can appear in Halo games in the future. “It’s fair to say that our intent is that the majority of what we showcased in Foundry is expected to be in projects which we are building, or future projects,” says Hintze.
Project Foundry includes more detailed landscapes for Halo biomes, as well as foliage levels we haven’t seen in Halo games in the past. Master Chief’s armor has even been remodeled in this footage, months after I exclusively revealed in Notepad that Microsoft was working on some form of a Halo: Combat Evolved remaster.
Halo Studios is now working on multiple Halo games, while the Slipstream Engine will continue to power Halo Infinite. “We had a disproportionate focus on trying to create the conditions to be successful in servicing Halo Infinite,” says Hintze. “[But switching to Unreal] allows us to put all the focus on making multiple new experiences at the highest quality possible.”
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With a smart video doorbell, your front door’s communication skills go from 1980s landline to a modern smartphone. Combining a motion-activated camera with a microphone, speaker, and doorbell, a doorbell camera sends alerts to your phone to show you who’s calling without you having to open the door or even be at home. Whether you’re curled up on the couch, hard at work in your office, or sunning on a beach in the Bahamas, a smart doorbell camera keeps you in touch with what’s happening on your doorstep.
I’ve tested more than 30 video doorbells, and while there’s no one-size-fits-all — like a smartphone, it’s a personal choice — I have thoughts on which are the best of the best and which work well for specific use cases.
My most important advice is that if you have existing doorbell wires, use them. Wired doorbells are generally cheaper, work better, and are more compact, so they tend to look nicer.
If you don’t have wires and don’t want to pay for an electrician to run them, try using an AC power adapter (Ring and Google Nest sell their own; you can also find generic ones). But if all else fails, I’ve got a couple of recommendations for good battery-powered buzzers. Just plan to pick up an extra battery when you purchase, or factor in removing it from your door every few months to charge it for a few hours.
Best doorbell camera
Video quality:960x1280p, 6x zoom, HDR /Smart alerts:Person, package, animal, vehicle, and facial recognition ($)Aspect ratio:3:4 /Field of view:145 degrees diagonal /Power options:Wired /Wi-Fi:2.4 GHz and 5 GHz /Storage:Cloud and local /Subscription fee:$8 a month /Works with:Alexa, Google, SmartThings
The Nest Doorbell Wired (2nd-gen) is one of only two video doorbells in this list that can record 24/7. Scrolling through a continuous timeline view of everything that’s happened at your front door is super helpful and means you won’t miss anything. This, along with a low price, good video quality, the ability to tell you what and who is at your door, and some free recorded video, make it the best doorbell for most people.
The Nest Wired is also the best video doorbell that works with Google Home, and the best for protecting your packages. Its proactive package watch feature tells you when a package arrives and sends another alert when it’s gone. In my testing, it worked very well.
Unlike many competitors — such as Ring and Arlo — Google doesn’t charge you for smart notifications. The Nest Wired will tell you if it’s a person, package, animal, or vehicle at your door for free. You also get free activity zones to cut down on unwanted notifications, and three free hours of event-based recordings, thanks to its local storage and local processing.
But three hours isn’t enough time to be particularly useful. And the $8 per month ($80 / year) Nest Aware subscription is very expensive compared to some single-camera subs from competitors. However, it does cover all your Google Nest cameras for less than competitor multi-camera offerings and adds 30 days of event-recorded video storage, plus Nest’s excellent Familiar Faces feature that tells you who is at your door, mostly reliably.
If you want that 24/7 recording, you need to up it to $15 per month ($150 / year), but again, this subscription applies to all Google Nest cameras you have — the company has an indoor, indoor/outdoor, and floodlight camera.
The Nest wired has four color options and more discreet branding than most doorbells.
The Nest Doorbell Wired is essentially the same as the Nest Doorbell Battery. It costs the same, has the same tech specs, and looks identical beyond a size difference. But there is one key hardware change: the Nest wired is a true wired doorbell, which means it runs directly off your existing doorbell wiring.
Because it's wired, it can record continuously, which the battery version can’t. The wired power also means it’s faster and more reliable. Plus, as with all true wired doorbells, it catches more footage at the beginning of each event (about three to four seconds) — so avoids the back-of-the-head problem many doorbells suffer from, where the camera takes too long to wake up to catch the visitor as they approach.
On paper, it doesn’t have the best specs; the Arlo and Ring Pro 2 look better technically. But you do get 960 x 1280 pixel resolution and a 6x digital zoom. And video quality is very good, thanks to some digital trickery. A 3:4 portrait aspect ratio and 145-degree field of view meant I could see my porch from top to bottom and a fair amount from side to side.
On-device AI makes the Nest speedy with notifications, and it delivers rich alerts to both your phone and watch. These are interactive, allowing me to press and hold the video to see a clip and activate one of the three pre-set quick responses. It’s also quick to call up live video.
Nest’s doorbells and cameras work with Nest smart displays and speakers to show and/or tell you who is at your door, and with Amazon Alexa smart displays to see and talk to your visitor. Recently, Google also updated its Pixel Tablet so you can use it to pull up a livestream from a Nest video doorbell to see who’s at your front door; they also work with Samsung SmartThings, but there’s no native integration with Apple Home.
There are a few quirks. There’s no reliable way to snooze notifications from the doorbell, and if you use multiple Nest speakers or displays, they’ll all announce your visitors. Not great if you have a Nest Mini in your kid’s nursery. It also doesn’t work with the Nest app, only the Google Home app, but following a big redesign last year, the app handles video playback very well, and you can now use a doorbell press to trigger an automation — such as turning on a light in the hallway.
Video quality:1536 x 1536p, HDR, color night vision /Smart Alerts:Person, package ($)Aspect ratio:1:1 /Field of view:150 degrees horizontal, 150 degrees vertical /Power options:Battery, wired trickle charge, solar /Wi-Fi:2.4 GHz /Storage:Cloud and local (with Ring Alarm Pro) /Subscription fee:$4.99 a month /Works with:Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings
If you have no choice but to rely on battery power, the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is the way to go. At $149.99, it’s still expensive but offers a head-to-toe view and high-quality video resolution, giving you a clear picture of what’s going on at your door.
The Plus also has color night vision and was more responsive than any other battery doorbell I’ve tested. It pulled up a live view in under four seconds, compared with upwards of 10 seconds for most others.
As with other battery-powered doorbells, there’s no pre-roll. If catching people as they approach your door — not just at your door — is crucial for you, you might want to consider the new Battery Doorbell Pro ($229.99), which adds pre-roll and improved motion detection. I am currently testing this and will add it to the guide shortly.
The Ring Plus and the previous Ring 4 look identical, but the Plus has some plusses.
Battery life isn’t great, despite the “Plus” name. It lasted two months with all the features turned on except for extra-long recordings (the default is 30 seconds, but it can go up to 120). This is about the same as Ring’s previous Ring 4 and less than the Eufy Dual. You can tweak settings on either doorbell to reduce power consumption, but then you have to give up features like HDR (which makes it easier to see faces) and snapshot capture, which takes a picture every five minutes to give you a better idea of what’s been happening at your door.
On the plus side, Ring uses swappable batteries. The Plus uses the same $35 Quick Release ones as Ring’s battery-powered cameras. This makes it much easier to keep your doorbell charged — just have a second on hand charged and ready to swap in when you get low (they’re easy to charge with a USB type-A cable, and one is included). Most other doorbells require you to take them down to recharge.
The Ring Battery Plus uses a removable, rechargeable battery.
But — as with all Ring doorbells — there are no animal or vehicle alerts, only people and packages (for a fee). It’s also 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only, which is a disappointment, although I didn’t have any connectivity issues in testing.
Other features include pre-recorded quick replies and the option to set a motion alert schedule, plus live view and two-way audio. You need a Ring Protect Plan for recorded video, as well as people-only mode and package alerts, which cuts down on unnecessary notifications. Both of these were very accurate in testing. A subscription starts at $4.99 a month. Home and Away features are also behind the paywall, which makes it fiddly to automatically turn off your cameras when you’re home without coughing up some cash.
The Plus also works with Ring Edge, a local storage and processing option that requires a Ring Alarm Pro smart hub and a Ring Protect Pro subscription ($20 a month). This also adds cellular backup through its built-in Eero Wifi system, so it can keep your doorbell online if both the power and internet go out.
The Plus can announce visitors on Echo speakers and automatically initiate a two-way audio/video call on an Echo Show. It won’t work with your existing chime unless you wire it (which also trickle-charges the battery), but Ring sells a plug-in chime.
Finally, it’s worth noting Ring recently introduced a new entry-level doorbell camera, the Ring Battery Doorbell. It also runs on batteries and offers a head-to-toe view like the Plus, but it offers lower-resolution, 1080p HD video. You can also can’t remove the batteries. We’ve yet to test the doorbell, but we’ll update this guide with our thoughts when we do.
Best budget doorbell camera
Video quality:1080p /Smart alerts:none /Aspect ratio:16:9 /Field of view:135 degrees horizontal, 80 degrees vertical /Power options:Wired or battery /Wi-Fi:2.4 GHz /Storage:Cloud or local with a Sync Module /Subscription fee:$3 a month /Works with:Amazon Alexa
The Blink Video Doorbell is the best cheap doorbell with the option of no ongoing fees. And while it works as a wired doorbell, it's also a good option for a battery-powered buzzer, as it can go up to two years on two AAs. I don’t love this doorbell, as video and audio quality are not great, but it’s cheap, it gets the job done, and that battery life is phenomenal.
The Blink lacks a lot of bells and whistles (no smart alerts or quick replies, only 1080p video, and a standard 16:9 aspect ratio), but the basics are here — motion-activated recording (with a max of 30 seconds), alerts, live view (with caveats), night vision, motion zones, and two-way audio. If you want to pay $50 (often less) to have a camera at your door and be done with it, get the Blink. If you pay $10 a month for a Blink Subscription Plus Plan, you can also get access to Blink Moments, a neat app feature that stitches together relevant clips from multiple cameras into a single video. That should make clips easier to share and see at a glance, but we’ll share our thoughts on the feature in the coming weeks.
The biggest selling point for Blink is the feature that makes its similarly inexpensive security cameras so attractive: up to two years of battery life on two AA lithium batteries. The company has developed a super energy-efficient chip that will power its cameras longer than any other doorbell I’ve tested. (I managed almost a year with very heavy use).
Uniquely for a battery-powered doorbell, the Blink can also be a true hardwired doorbell. When wired, it will activate an existing chime (something neither the sub-$100 Ring nor Wyze doorbells can do) and provide constant power — not just trickle charge. This means it can wake up faster than a battery-powered buzzer and catch your visitor as they arrive. Wiring also adds on-demand two-way audio and live view (otherwise, you can only see the stream if there’s a motion event at the doorbell or someone presses the buzzer.)
The lack of an on-demand live view on battery power would be a deal-breaker, but I only recommend buying this doorbell with its wireless hub, the Sync Module 2, which also enables on-demand live views plus adds free, local storage. (You can get a live view with a subscription, too, starting at $3 a month). The extra $35 for the Sync Module 2 should pay for itself compared to a monthly subscription, and for a total of $85, this is still less than Ring’s similar offerings (you will also need a USB stick to store the videos on).
The Blink comes in white or black and, because it uses AA batteries, isn’t as huge as most battery-powered doorbells, making it a more discreet option. However, it is a giant pain in the neck to install; make sure to follow the video instructions Blink provides closely to save a lot of frustration.
The biggest drawbacks are lower video quality and poor audio quality (it can be staticky, and it’s push-to-talk — not full duplex), short recording length, and no smart alerts. The app is also a bit tricky to navigate. It doesn’t work with Google Home, but it works great with Alexa, and you can see a live view on Echo Show devices and use any Echo speaker as an indoor chime.
Best doorbell camera without a subscription
Video quality:2K HD, 4x zoom /Smart Alerts:Person and packages, facial recognitionAspect ratio: 4:3 /Field of view:160 degrees horizontal /Power options:Battery, wired trickle charge /Wi-Fi:2.4 GHz /Storage:Cloud /Subscription fee:none /Works with:Amazon Alexa, Google Home
If you don’t want to pay any monthly fees but want a feature-packed doorbell that records footage for free, the Eufy Dual is the best, thanks to a second camera at the bottom that records the doorstep. But it’s expensive.
There’s no charge for smart alerts that spot people and packages, and innovative AI features are free, too. These include facial recognition and “Package Live Check Assistance,” which frames any packages in a blue box and collects recent events around the delivery for quick viewing, and an Uncollected Package alert, which has the doorbell check for packages at a designated time, alerting you if you forgot to pick something up.
Important Note: In late 2022, Eufy suffered some security vulnerabilities, which the company was not transparent about. We temporarily removed our recommendations while the company worked on a fix. While the security flaws appear to have been resolved, the company’s lack of transparency is something to consider before purchasing a Eufy camera. You can read moreabout the issues and Eufy’s solutions here.
However, as a battery-powered doorbell, the Dual has the same problem as others. No pre-roll footage means you may not see the person as they approach your door, only when they’re in front of it or walking away. But its onboard machine learning, AI-powered smart alerts, and motion detection that uses both PiR and radar mean no false alerts. And those two cameras give you a blind-spot-free view of your front door area, one in 2K and the other in 1080P.
Battery life is good, better than the Ring Plus, lasting about three months based on my testing (it claims 3 to 6 months). But you have to take the whole doorbell down to charge, which is a pain.
Best wired video doorbell that works with Amazon Alexa and Ring
Video quality:1536 x 1536p, HDR /Smart alerts:Person, package ($)Aspect ratio:1:1 /Field of view:150 degrees horizontal, 150 degrees vertical /Power options:Wired /Wi-Fi:2.4 GHz and 5 GHz /Storage:Cloud and local (with Ring Alarm Pro) /Subscription fee:$4.99 a month /Works with:Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings
The Ring Pro 2 — previously my top pick — is the best-wired doorbell camera that works with Amazon Alexa and integrates with Ring Alarm and other Ring cameras. It’s more expensive than the Nest Wired — which also works with Alexa — but its video is higher quality and much brighter.
It has an ideal square aspect ratio for a full front porch view, speedy notifications, and impressively accurate motion detection using three separate sensors — radar, video analysis, and passive infrared. It also has a nice slim design and multiple faceplate options to fit your decor. But there’s no free video recording, no option for 24/7 recording, and the smart alerts are limited to people and packages only.
The Ring Pro 2 does work with Samsung SmartThings and while it doesn’t support Apple Home, it can be integrated with extra hardware. There’s no support for Google Home.
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 has a compact design and the option of swappable faceplates for a different look.
A true wired doorbell, Ring Pro 2 has alerts for packages and people (but not for vehicles or animals), color night vision, dual-band Wi-Fi, and smart responses (which let your doorbell talk to your visitor for you). The Ring app is excellent. There are pages of settings you can tinker with, and the timeline view to scroll through your recordings is very good.
The Pro 2 will work with existing doorbell chimes, plus Ring sells a plug-in Chime and Chime Wi-Fi extender that can help boost connectivity while providing a selection of fun doorbell tones. Of all the doorbells I tested, this had the best range and connectivity, and built-in, full-color pre-roll helps ensure you don’t miss any crucial action.
Ring doorbell cameras can stream to Amazon Echo Show smart displays, and show the feed automatically if someone presses the doorbell.
As with a lot of doorbell cameras, the Pro 2 can use Echo smart speakers to announce when there’s somebody at the door. Ring doorbells can also automatically pull up a live feed of your doorbell on an Echo Show or Fire TV-enabled television when someone presses the doorbell. This gives you an instant video intercom in your home — a super handy feature.
The downside is that the Pro 2 is expensive. Although it recently dropped by $20, its subscription fee — the Ring Protect plan — went up to $4.99 a month (or $49.99 a year). This adds recorded footage, smart alerts, and an extra six seconds of pre-roll video, which, in lieu of 24/7 recording, provides plenty of time around motion events to catch all the action. The digital zoom is good, but not the best on offer — Arlo wins that race with a whopping 12x.
The Pro does work with Ring Edge for local storage and processing of videos, plus the option of cellular backup. But you need a Ring Alarm Pro and Ring Protect Pro subscription for this ($20 a month, which includes professional monitoring and recorded video), although compared to $15 a month for just video services with the Nest, it’s a good deal.
Best doorbell camera that works with any smart home
Video quality:1536x1536p, 12x zoom, HDR /Aspect ratio:1:1 /Field of view:180 degrees horizontal /Power options:Wired /Wi-Fi:2.4 GHz /Storage:Cloud /Subscription fee:$7.99 a month /Works with:Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Apple Home (with an Arlo Hub)
If you use more than one smart home platform or are looking for something that’s outside the Google or Alexa ecosystem, the Arlo Essential Wired Doorbell (first-gen) is a great all-around choice with wide smart home platform compatibility. The company recently launched a second-gen model that’s battery-powered with optional wired trickle-charging, but it doesn’t work with Apple Home, so the first-gen is the one I currently recommend.
For less money and with more features than the Ring Pro 2, Arlo’s video doorbell adds native Apple Home support and works very well with Google Home. It’s one of the few non-Google cameras you can view live feeds from in the Google Home app and it also works with Amazon Alexa. But note it doesn’t support HomeKit Secure Video, and you will need to pick up the Arlo SmartHub ($100) to integrate with Apple Home.
If you are already using Arlo cameras or its security system, this is an easy add. It has smart alerts for people, packages, animals, and vehicles, a handy square aspect ratio, and a 180-degree field of view that gets the whole porch. It also has the same video resolution as the Pro 2, and Arlo recently upgraded it with new AI-powered recognition capabilities. Now, the doorbell can deliver personalized alerts telling you exactly who is on your property and send similar alerts for vehicles it recognizes. Arlo is also working on a feature that’ll let you train the doorbell to recognize specific objects or changes around your home you’d like to receive notifications about.
There is also a built-in siren for scaring off a package thief or neighborhood cat and a backup battery (it only lasts for a few minutes). Courtesy of its wired nature, it has a pre-roll that captures your visitor as they approach. Arlo’s wire-free option doesn’t have this and suffers from that back-of-the-head problem.
However, the Arlo is not as fast or reliable as the Nest Doorbell Wired. It isn’t as quick to send alerts or pull up a video feed and struggles when placed farther from the router. If you don’t have a good Wi-Fi signal at your front door, the Arlo isn’t for you. There is no option of a chime Wi-Fi extender as with the Ring Pro 2, and it only works over 2.4 GHz — both the Ring Pro 2 and Nest Wired can use 5 GHz.
A subscription plan is pretty much a necessity since, without it, all you get is a live view. Starting at $7.99 a month ($89.99 annually), Arlo Secure adds smart alerts, automatic geofencing to turn your camera off when you arrive home, 30 days of rolling cloud video storage, interactive notifications, quick responses, and activity zones. (Ring doesn’t charge for activity zones.) But there’s no option for 24/7 recording, which is available on Arlo’s non-doorbell security cameras.
The Arlo is a nice-looking doorbell and comes in all-black or black with white trim. It works with your existing chime and can use Amazon Echo or Google Nest smart speakers to notify you of a visitor; plus, Arlo sells its own plug-in chime with a choice of ringtones for $50.
Finally, a unique feature about the Arlo doorbell I really like is that when someone presses the button, the notification arrives like a phone call — as opposed to a pop-up. This makes it less likely you’ll miss a visitor, plus the doorbell will prompt them to leave a message if you do.
A great wired doorbell camera for Ecobee users
Video quality:1080p, 8x zoom, color & IR night vision /Smart Alerts:Person, packageAspect ratio:3:4 portrait /Field of view:187-degree diagonal /Power options:wired /Wi-Fi:2.4 GHz, 5 GHz /Storage:Cloud /Subscription fee:$5 a month or $50 a year /Works with:Amazon Alexa, Apple Home
The Ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera is a great wired doorbell camera and the only one that can use an Ecobee thermostat as a video intercom — a very neat feature. It sends fast, accurate alerts for people and packages, and thanks to radar detection and computer vision motion detection, it never once sent me a false alert.
The Ecobee has a comprehensive 187-degree diagonal field of view that lets you see top to bottom and side to side and offers decent 1080p HD video. A subscription is required for viewing recorded video, $5 a month / $50 a year, but alerts for people and packages are free.
One quirk is there is no option to get an alert if there is motion at your door, only for people or packages. This does cut down on the number of alerts you get, but I’d like the option to turn motion alerts on, mainly so I can know when my dog has got out and is sitting at my front door (as there are no animal or vehicle alerts). The doorbell does record all motion (if you subscribe) — for up to two minutes. So you can go back and view those events, but you won’t be get notified about them.
The video doorbell works with Apple Home and can ring a HomePod as a chime (as well as your existing chime) and pull up a live view on your Apple TV. But it doesn’t support HomeKit Secure Video, so you have to pay Ecobee’s subscription fee if you want recorded videos. It also works with Amazon Alexa, but there’s no Google Home integration. If you have an Ecobee thermostat in a convenient location, this is an excellent option.
Video quality:1200x1600p, HDR, 5x zoom /Smart Alerts:Person, packages, facial recognitionAspect ratio:3:4/Field of view:178-degrees vertical, 140-degrees horizontal /Power options:Wired /Wi-Fi:2.4 GHz and 5 GHz /Storage:Cloud /Subscription fee:$0.99 a month, iCloud /Works with:Apple Home
The new Wemo Video Doorbell from Belkin is the best doorbell that works with Apple Home and its HomeKit Secure Video feature. This is Apple’s service that stores recorded video securely in your personal iCloud account, so you don’t have to pay any additional subscription fee. You do need an iCloud Plus plan (starting at 99 cents per month) and an Apple Home Hub to view any captured clips.
The Wemo doorbell is fast and secure. It has decent 1200 x 1600 HD video quality, HDR, and a circular view that shows the whole porch (although with a rather discombobulating fish-eye effect). But it’s better than the other wired HomeKit option, the Logitech Circle View.
With rich notifications in HomeKit, you can talk to a visitor from your lock screen.
The Wemo is easier to install than the Logitech. Both share the same simple software setup. (Thanks to relying entirely on the Apple Home app — there’s no compatibility with the Wemo app or any other smart home platform). Thanks to HKSV, the doorbell recognizes multiple motion events (people, packages, animals, and vehicles) and can also identify faces and announce exactly who is at the door on a connected HomePod or HomePod Mini. However, there’s no option for 24/7 recording.
While daytime footage was good, night vision isn’t, and I had some issues with it missing motion events and sending false alerts for people due to its reliance on pixel-based motion detection (others use PIR and radar detection). However, the Wemo was very, very quick, with the speed from a button push to a notification to pulling up the live video being under five seconds. It’s even quicker if you use the interactive notification on your device (through which you can talk to the visitor). And that speed makes up for some of its failings.
All things considered, it’s the best choice for a wired doorbell compatible with HomeKit Secure Video. However, if you don’t mind paying a subscription fee, Ecobee’s video doorbell is a better Apple Home option overall.
Best battery-powered doorbell camera for Apple Home
Video quality:1080p /Smart Alerts:Person, facial recognition and person, facial recognition, packages with HSV, /Aspect ratio:16:9 /Field of view:162-degrees horizontal /Power options:Wired or battery /Wi-Fi:2.4 GHz /Storage:Cloud and local /Subscription fee:7 days free cloud storage or $0.99 a month with iCloud /Works with:Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home
If you don’t have the option of wiring and / or you really want 24/7 video recording, then Aqara’s G4 is a good option for Apple Home users. It’s the only battery-powered doorbell that’s compatible with Apple Home, and it works with HomeKit Secure Video. It runs on six standard AA batteries and can be hardwired to support 24/7 video recording (through Aqara’s app, though, not in Apple Home). It’s jam-packed with features, but it’s probably best suited for those who live in apartments as its landscape aspect ratio means it can’t really see packages at the doorstep, and it’s not very weather-resistant.
At $120, it’s the least expensive HomeKit option and pairs with the Aqara U100 smart lock (which also works with Apple Home and Home Key) for a nice, fully Apple Home-compatible setup on your front door — if you are okay with the black, high-tech look.
The G4 can be powered by wires as a true wired doorbell, or by six AA batteries, or both!
The downsides of this doorbell include a 16:9 aspect ratio (a problem if you want to see packages on your porch), no HDR imaging, which delivers pretty bad video quality, and a finicky Chime box that has to be plugged in inside and near the doorbell. That Chime also houses a microSD card, which is required for 24/7 recording. Unfortunately, the G4 can’t ring an existing electronic chime, but the Chime box is plenty loud, and you can customize the heck out of the sounds,
The G4 shares all the same HKSV features as the Wemo, including smart alerts for people, packages, animals, and vehicles, facial recognition, and the option to announce who is at the door on a connected HomePod or HomePod Mini (you need an Apple Home hub to use this in HomeKit). It responded just as fast as the Wemo to doorbell rings and motion alerts, but I’ve had some connectivity issues. Plus, occasionally, I got an overheating warning while testing in May — and that was before the heatwave we experienced in South Carolina this summer.
A benefit over Wemo and the other HomeKit Secure Video options is that Aqara has its own app, which has a ton of innovative features, including custom ringtones for different people, a voice changer, and the option to have your smart home devices react depending on who is at the front door.
The Aqara app is also where you access 24/7 video, a really nice feature to have, especially for free — Nest charges $15 a month for it. The implementation here is spotty, and video quality is not great, but it will do in a pinch.
The Aqara doorbell works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, unlike the Wemo, which can only be set up through the Apple Home app. Aqara has said it will be updated to support Matter when (and if) the new smart home standard works with video cameras.
The Netatmo, Arlo, Logitech, and Wemo video doorbells are among the doorbells I’ve tested.
I’ve tested dozens of video doorbells, and many popular models didn’t make the cut because they rely on battery power. Doorbells that can’t be hardwired tend to start recording too late, so you see a lot of back-of-the-head shots. The standard Ring Video Doorbell (second-gen) — which was recently replaced with the longer-lasting Ring Battery Doorbell — misses those first few moments and has to be removed to charge. The same goes for the Google Nest Doorbell Battery, which had connectivity issues that were a major pain point in testing.
The Wyze Video Doorbell Pro has some impressive features for its price, and if you hardwire it, you do get pre-roll video. However, a five-minute cooldown period between recordings, unless you pay for a subscription, is an inexcusable amount of time that negates its offer of “free recording.” Plus, Wyze has had some major security issues in recent months (and years).
I also tested the Arlo Essential Video Doorbell Wire-Free, which does have a removable battery but doesn’t work with Apple Home, unlike its wired counterpart, and takes too long to wake up to catch the visitor as they approach.
As for other wired options, the Ring Video Doorbell Wired is a budget buzzer at just $60, but it won’t work with your existing chime and doesn’t draw the same amount of power from those wires as the Ring Pro 2, making it generally less reliable. Without HDR, its video quality is spotty, and its sister brand Blink beats it to the Best Budget spot in terms of features — including better battery life and free local storage options. Granted, the Ring can record for longer than 30 seconds and has package detection, but you have to pay for those features.
The Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell has some interesting features, including entirely local storage (to an included microSD card) and free person recognition. It also works with Apple Home (but not HomeKit Secure Video), but a weirdly narrow field of view and poor video quality let it down — not to mention that $300 price tag.
Other Apple Home options we tested include the Logitech Circle View Wired, which, while fast, is expensive, only works with Apple Home and frequently dropped off my Wi-Fi network.
There are also doorbells built into smart door locks. I’ve tested the Lockly Vision Elite and the Eufy Security S330 Video Smart Lock, and both are very expensive and work better as door locks than doorbells. But if you have a specific need for this device (e.g., you have nowhere else to put a doorbell camera), then they are useful for at least seeing up the nose of whoever is at your door, if not much beyond that.
Doorbell cameras I’m currently testing
One of Ring’s newest video doorbells — the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro — brings the company’s excellent radar motion detection to its battery-powered doorbell for the first time — which should cut down on nuisance notifications compared to the Battery Doorbell Plus. The $229 buzzer has all the important features of the wired, top-of-the-line Ring Pro 2, including dual-band Wi-Fi, color pre-roll, color night vision, and noise-canceling audio, but in a battery package. It’s looking like a great alternative to the Pro 2 if you can’t use wires. Read about all the Doorbell Pro’s features here.
The Arlo Video Doorbell (wired/wireless) is the second generation of the Arlo doorbell included in this guide. However, the new doorbell doesn’t have the option of wiring only; instead, it’s a battery doorbell you can wire to trickle charge the battery. You can choose between a 1080p ($79.99) or 2K ($129.99) resolution, and it features a 180-degree field of view and an integrated siren. This price gives the Blink a run for its money with the added option of vehicle, animal, and package alerts. But these require a paid subscription ($7.99 monthly), and there’s no local storage or continuous recording. It does work with both Google Home and Amazon Alexa but not Apple Home.
The $60 Kasa Smart Doorbell (KD110) from TP-Link comes with a plug-in chime and 2K video quality, free person detection, and the option of local storage to a microSD card. It’s a wired doorbell with a 160-degree viewing angle and works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
The Reolink Video Doorbell is a wired doorbell with the option of POE and local storage to a microSD card or FTP server. Starting at $99, it offers 2K video, comes in black or white (with two different fields of view, horizontal or vertical), and includes a plug-in chime. Free person detection, pre-roll, dual-band Wi-Fi, and no subscription fees are great features, and it works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa.
Reolink also recently introduced the Reolink Battery Doorbell, the company’s first battery-powered option. The company says its 7,000mAh battery should last five months with “typical usage,” but you also have the option of connecting it to wiring or using it with existing door chimes. It offers head-to-toe footage, records 2K video at 15fps, and captures footage locally to a microSD card up to 256GB in size, meaning you don’t need to pay any subscription fees for cloud-based storage.
FAQ: Smart doorbell cameras
Most doorbells can be wired to existing doorbell wiring, but only true wired doorbells are powered by your home’s electricity. Battery-powered doorbells are just trickle-charged when wired.
Wired vs. wireless doorbell cameras: what’s the difference?
Wired video doorbells use existing doorbell wiring attached to a doorbell transformer and chime box to provide continuous power, so they don’t need to be recharged. Most won’t work when the power goes out, but some have small batteries to keep them going for a few minutes in the event of a power outage. If you don’t have existing wiring, you can use an AC power adapter (Ring and Nest sell their own; you can also find generic ones).
Battery-powered doorbells, also known as wireless doorbells, are powered by a rechargeable battery. Because they don’t have continuous power, they have to wake up first when they detect motion before starting to record. This often results in a clip only catching the back of the person’s head as they walk away, which is not super helpful if you’re concerned about porch pirates. True wired doorbells don’t have this problem, and most will reliably catch all the action.
Many doorbells that advertise themselves as wireless and run on a battery can also be hard-wired to your existing doorbell wiring. But these are not “true” wired doorbells. Your home’s electrical power isn’t powering them. Instead, in almost all cases (Blink being the only exception), the battery is being “trickle charged” by the power from the doorbell wiring. This means that without any extra features, they simply don’t react as quickly as true wired doorbells. It’s science, people.
The Blink Video Doorbell has a 16:9 aspect ratio.
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 has a 1:1 aspect ratio.
What is aspect ratio on a doorbell camera, and why is it important?
Aspect ratio is arguably more important than video resolution when it comes to video doorbells. This spec tells you what shape of video you will get, whether it’s top-to-bottom or side-to-side, whether you’ll see your doorstep and the whole of the visitor or just a head-and-shoulders shot. Common aspect ratios include 4:3, 3:4, 16:9, and 1:1.
Aspect ratios are always written with the horizontal number first. If the first number is smaller than the second number, then the image will be taller than it is wide, or “portrait orientation.” If the first number is larger than the second (as in 16:9), then the image will be wider than it is tall, or “landscape orientation.” If both numbers are the same, as in 1:1, it will be a square view.
My recommendation is to go for a square view when possible, but if you have a wide porch area — and would like to see people approaching from the left or right, as well as straight on — a 4:3 or 16:9 might suit you better.
Installing a wired video doorbell camera involves connecting a chime power kit to your indoor chime box to help power the camera.
How to install a video doorbell camera
Battery-powered doorbells are easy to install and generally just require screwing the mounting bracket to the area around your door. Some come with the option of tape strips, so you don’t even need to get out the screwdriver.
Wired doorbells require a bit more effort. And while you can choose to pay around $100 for a professional to install it, if you have existing doorbell wiring, it’s a simple job.
Locate your indoor chime and connect the chime power connector that came with the doorbell (this helps to facilitate power to the new doorbell)
Remove your old doorbell
Attach the mount for your new doorbell using screws or double-sided tape (some have the option of an angled wedge to get a better view of the person in front of the door)
Attach the doorbell wires to the connector screws on the doorbell
Attach the doorbell to the mount, either with screws or by snapping it on
Turn the power back on
Pro tip: Before installing any doorbell, download the manufacturer’s app and check the instructions — some cameras need to be paired to the app before mounting them.
Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Update, October 6th:Adjusted pricing and added a mention ofAmazon’s forthcoming fall Prime Day event.
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