Get peace of mind with the versatile indoor/outdoor wire-free camera that features long lasting battery life, 2-way audio, customizable motion detection, and live-view recording. Works with Amazon Alexa/ Echo Spot/ Echo Show/ Google Assistant – View your live video with a simple voice command, Argus 2 and Blink XT2 are now part of your smart home security system. Which one is better – Reolink Argus 2 vs Blink XT2?
What is the difference – Reolink Argus 2 vs Blink XT2?
Night vision: Much better at night, the Reolink Argus 2 has more Infrared lights and has this starlight future which makes the picture more clear in color at night and black/white feature.
Instant notifications : Blink XT2 only notifies you AFTER its done recording. The lowest time to record I believe is 8 seconds so that means you won’t get alerted for 1-2 seconds after that for your phone to actually receive so like 10 seconds. In comparison, Reolink Argus 2 responds within 1-2 seconds without the delay.
Siren : Argus 2 does have a siren or pre-recorded alarm. Other reviewers/questions said you cannot manually trigger the siren and that its motion activated. You can shut this feature off if you want. However, you can set a pre-recorded alarm and only have it at night like “go away, I am watching you, leave right now” something like that or you can trigger the siren which is like 2-3 seconds and not very loud but in the middle of the night with not much noise it would hopefully spook a bad person away.
Outer skin : Does come with an outdoor “skin” whereas the BXT does not. As I am typing this it sounds like I am just hating on the Blink XT which is kind of true but I am trying to educate as many reviewing “friends” as I can. It has rained like 7 straight days here in New Hampshire and the camera on the BXT keeps getting fogged up/rain droplets on it and the Argus 2 has this protective lip on top of it with the case you can put on it that would solve that problem.
2-way audio : Argus 2 does have 2-way audio. This is mostly going to be used if you use it at your front door as “doorbell camera” I have the Nest doorbell (bought it over the Ring doorbell in case you are interested in one of those as well) For example, if you are at the grocery store or work and the delivery person is your door you can tell the person to leave it. Honestly, I don’t even use this feature because I don’t want to spook the person on the other end but its cool to have it and if you have kids im sure they would enjoy using this feature. I use it to spook my mother in law and sister in law when they come over!!
Storage : Argus 2 does have local storage that I briefly mentioned earlier. Some people are paranoid with their videos going to their cloud. Mine is just of the back door of my house so I don’t care but your storage has to go to a memory card or you can pay for the cloud feature. It was free in beta stage up until very recently.
Summary of the comparison
- Not long lasting batteries – Reolink and Ring both last 1-2 months compared to Blink’s 1-2 years.
- In the future you have to pay for cloud storage, It is used to be free for a year.
- Blink XT2 is slow to open notifications especially not on WiFi.
- You have to look at live view before seeing the recorded clip meaning when you open the app after a motion alert you then have to click the playback button there should be a setting of which one you want.
Reolink Argus 2 vs Blink XT2 – general comparison
| Reolink Argus 2 | Blink XT2 | |
| Field of view | 130° Wide Viewing Angle | 110 degrees diagonal |
| Size | 2.32 x 3.78 x 2.28 inches | 2.8 x 2.8 x 1.4 inches or 71 x 71 x 34 mm |
| Weight | 1.6 pounds | 3.15 oz or 89 grams |
| CPU | Immedia Proprietary – AC1002B, 4 cores / 200 MHz | |
| Power | Rechargeable Battery 5200mAh | 2 AA 1.5V lithium metal (non rechargeable) batteries |
| Battery Life | Equipped with a rechargeable battery, Reolink Argus 2 has long lasting power per charge | Two AA lithium metal batteries last up to two years, based on 53,870 seconds of video events, including Live View, motion-activated recording, and two-way talk. XT2 provides double the seconds of use as the original XT when used exclusively for Live View and motion-activated recording. Battery life will vary based on device settings, use, and environmental factors. Use of two-way talk will reduce battery life. |
| Wireless | Wireless Security: WEP(ASCII)/WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK WiFi Standard: IEEE 802.11b/g/n | Single-antenna Wi-Fi with diversity. Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks that use the 2.4 Ghz 802.11g/n; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks. |
| Connection | 2.4Ghz WiFi | WiFi, minimum 2 Mbps upload speed required |
| Available colors | White and black | Black |
Reolink Argus 2 vs Blink XT2 – technical specs comparison
| Argus 2 | Blink XT2 | |
| Smart phone requirements | iOS 10.3, Android 5.0, or Fire OS 5.1 | |
| App | Reolink app | Blink Home Monitor app |
| Included in the box | 1x Argus 2 Camera including Rechargeable Battery 1x Outdoor Security Mount (with a hook & loop strap) 1x Wall Mount 1x Micro USB Cable 1x White Skin (with a small rope) 1x Quick Start Guide 1x Surveillance Sign Other Accessories for Installation | Blink XT2 camera (dependent on quantity selected), 1 sync module, 2 AA 1.5V lithium batteries (2 per camera), 1 mounting kit (per camera), 1 user guide, 1 USB cable, 1 power adapter |
| Generation | 2nd gen | 2nd generation – 2019 release |
| Camera resolution | 1080p Full HD Video Display and Improved Night Vision | Record and view in up to 1080p HD video during the day and with infrared HD night vision after dark |
| Camera frame rate | Up to 30 frames per second | |
| Audio | Can record audio | Speaker output and 2-way audio recording |
| LEDs | One blue LED to help you know when it’s active (optional) | |
| Support | Click here to view more information on the Blink XT2 support page. |