Our favorite budget video doorbell gets an upgrade – see what's new with Amazon's Blink

ZDNET’s pick for the best budget-friendly video doorbell is now getting an upgrade, as Amazon has announced the launch of a new generation of the Blink Video Doorbell. The second-generation Blink Video Doorbell is being released four years after the first; it comes alongside the new Blink Sync Module Core and, unfortunately, sports a price increase.

The new Blink Video Doorbell is available now for $70, a $20 price increase compared to the first model, which cost $50 when it was released. 

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However, the higher price brings some upgrades. The new Blink Video Doorbell has a 150-degree field of view, which gives you a bigger picture of people from head to toe and any packages that may be on your porch. This is an increase from the older model’s 135-degree horizontal field of view (Blink never specified the vertical field of view for the first model).

Night vision is also getting enhanced. The new model features HD infrared night vision, a bump up from the standard IR night vision that the older Blink Doorbell offers. The Blink Video Doorbell uses three AA lithium batteries, up from two in the previous model, and offers up to two years of battery life. 

The Sync Module Core is Blink’s new hub, enabling the doorbell’s advertised two-year battery life. Each Sync Module Core is a redesigned version of the older Sync Module and can support control for up to 10 Blink devices. 

This new Blink Video Doorbell now uses computer vision to discern when it’s capturing people instead of animals or objects. Blink has offered smart notifications with person detection within its subscription plan, but the company upgraded the computer vision technology for the new Video Doorbell. This feature will remain part of a Blink Subscription Plan, which is purchased separately from the doorbell. The Blink Subscription is available in a Basic Plan, which costs $3/month and covers one device, and the Blink Plus Plan, which costs $10/month and covers an unlimited number of Blink devices.

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Aside from person detection, both plans offer 60 days of cloud storage, video sharing, photo capture, and. live view recording. The Plus Plan also offers Blink Moments, which let you see a single event in a string of videos taken from multiple Blink devices, the ability to snooze notifications, an extended warranty, and 10% off Blink devices.

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