Photograph: Nicole Kinning
The flexibility comes with some limitations: The battery doesn’t last all day, so if you’re using it off its charger, you’ll have to turn it off when not in use to keep it running. I found that on most days, when I put my daughter down for a nap at 10 am, if the device is left on and unplugged, it will turn off almost before she goes to sleep around 7 pm.
clarity check
In most situations, Nanit’s video quality is solid. My personal litmus test is whether I can see my daughter’s eyes in night mode, and from a standard view at home, the answer is yes. Zooming in reveals some pixelation, and the fixed floor-stand height means you can’t fine-tune the frame as much as you’d like. But parents check in a dozen times a night for quick check-ins that maintain clarity.
The live feed is responsive with no noticeable delay or buffering, which I’ve found important in determining whether certain sounds are crying or just sleepy gurgling. The display also shows the room temperature and humidity levels, which is a nice touch as we enter Midwest winter.
The sound is clear as day. When set to do this, the home monitor will ping when crying or motion is detected, and I have yet to receive any alerts while sleeping. The only problem came when the device was lying flat on my desk; Since the speaker is on the back, the audio was quite subdued. Luckily, the built-in kickstand solves this, so it’s an easy problem to avoid.
screen time
The reason why you’re all here – touchscreen monitors. Its home screen is a mix of widgets: live feed, your baby’s status (when was the last time they were groomed, how long they’ve been sleeping, etc.), a nightly summary, and environmental conditions (temperature and humidity). The interface of the live feed very closely mimics that of the Nanit app, with controls for microphone, nightlight, audio monitoring, breathing detection, and camera power below the live view.
Something to note: The screen is very bright. Even with the brightness turned all the way down in the settings, it was still bright enough to disturb my sleep. Pressing the power button once enters standby mode – your audio remains on, and you’ll get sound and motion pings, but the screen remains dark. (Sometimes you need a second to prepare your eyes for the blast of blue light first thing in the morning.) There’s one problem: If you’re on a live stream view, the screen won’t automatically go off and stay illuminated. On any other tab, it dims after 30 seconds as a screensaver displaying the time, date, and notifications, similar to the phone lock screen.
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