SwitchBot Smart Video Doorbell review: simple, smart and now a serious bargain

Delays in notifications, difficulties setting up the app, and poorer than expected quality all led me to conclude I was going to have to give it a pretty shoddy evaluation.

However, after a few updates, SwitchBot's latest piece of home security tech has really blossomed, and it's now a credible contender in the world of high-end video doorbells.

On the face of it, there's nothing remarkable about the doorbell. It's a silver plastic slab that sits on your door, giving you a 2K view of your driveway. There's a reasonable 165-degree field of view, it has a reasonably good 5,000mAh battery, reasonably-sized 4GB on-board storage through an included SD card, and reasonably good motion detection.

I was excited to test this one though, largely because of a clever monitor that comes with it.

This monitor acts as a hub and a display for the doorbell. Mount it or sit it somewhere in your house, and as soon as the doorbell goes, you get an image of the caller.

You can then use huge buttons to talk to the person at your door, or you can just watch them like some sort of creepy stalker.

Although it could be argued that this sort of display system could be replicated with a smart display from Google or Amazon, SwitchBot is the first company to create one dedicated to the device. And it's an absolute doddle to use, thanks to its brutally simple button layout.

And that gives it quite a USP. If you've got relatives who maybe aren't all that tech savvy, who perhaps don't even own or want a smartphone, this is a straight-forward unit that will give them a way to "vet" their caller before they decide whether or not to open the door.

However, while I like the fact there's a way to tap into your video doorbell's feed from this display, which is quite useful, I couldn't find a way of getting the display to alert you and flash up a feed whenever it detected human motion - which would have been very useful.

That said, your smartphone will alert you, and your alerts can be configured with various safety and AI parameters, so the functionality is there at least, if only through the SwitchBot app.

That app, incidentally, goes from strength to strength, and it's another solid reason to choose the SwitchBot doorbell over its competitors. It makes setting it up incredibly easy, it's quick and easy to review footage, and it's just a pleasure to use compared to some companion apps on the market. And, I'm sure you can imagine, the countless ways you can integrate the SwitchBot lock with an existing SwitchBot ecosystem, if you happen to have other devices in your house.

I also like the battery life. It seems to last for ages, especially if you turn down the motion sensitivity a few notches - and you can even rig up a solar panel (sold separately) to effectively keep it running indefinitely.

The cheapest way to buy one of these at the moment, is through Amazon, which is offering the doorbell and display for £109.99. That's a decent saving over the standard £159.99 price.

But even if you miss the deal, it's a competitive price for a product that genuinely offers something other doorbells don't. And, of course, it's worth factoring in the fact you don't have to pay a monthly fee for cloud storage.

Of course, if you're not bothered about the display, then there are cheaper doorbells out there with 2K footage and a decent field of view - but given the strong battery, the quick response time, the integration capabilities, and the sheer simplicity, I'd still suggest you take a look at this one. It's really very good.