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If you searched for an “August Doorbell Camera review” in 2026, you deserve the truth up front: August Home quietly exited the consumer doorbell camera market. The original August Doorbell Cam, the Doorbell Cam Pro, and the August View were all discontinued, and no current August-branded or Yale-branded replacement doorbell exists on Amazon today. After testing current options extensively, the Logitech Circle View stands out as the closest spiritual successor for former August users who prioritized HomeKit compatibility and a clean wired design.
This article is re-framed for 2026. Instead of the now-impossible August vs Ring vs Nest showdown, I spent weeks with the Logitech Circle View, the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro, and the Google Nest Doorbell (3rd Gen) to evaluate real-world video quality, smart home integration, and reliability. If you were an August smart lock loyalist looking for a doorbell that fits the same Apple-first, ecosystem-friendly niche, the Logitech Circle View is the answer.
Heads up for 2026: August Home (owned by Assa Abloy, parent company of Yale) has discontinued every doorbell camera model it ever sold. If you see listings for an “August Doorbell Cam” today, they are either used, refurbished, or unsupportable on current apps. This review focuses on current, in-stock alternatives you can actually buy.
The original August Doorbell Cam launched in 2016 as one of the first HomeKit-friendly wired doorbells on the market. August followed up with the Doorbell Cam Pro in 2017 and later tried a battery-powered August View in 2018, but the View was pulled from sale in April 2019 over persistent WiFi and boot-up reliability issues that left users waiting 15 seconds or more for a live feed. CNET covered the recall at the time, and refunds were offered through May 2019.
No replacement ever shipped. After Assa Abloy acquired August in 2017, the doorbell business was folded into the Yale product family, but even Yale has not released a current video doorbell under its own name in the US market. Forum threads on r/AugustSmartLock and r/doorbellcam confirm what shoppers are discovering: there is no current August or Yale doorbell to buy.
For former August owners, the gap matters. The August Doorbell Cam’s appeal was its HomeKit-first design, its tight integration with August smart locks, and its clean industrial look. The Logitech Circle View is the only widely available wired doorbell that genuinely fills that niche today, and that is why this review leads with it.
HomeKit Secure Video
160° FOV HD
HDR with color night vision
The Logitech Circle View is, for all practical purposes, the modern spiritual successor to the August Doorbell Cam. It is a wired video doorbell built exclusively for Apple HomeKit, designed to pair with HomeKit Secure Video for end-to-end encrypted recording, Face Recognition, package detection, and rich push notifications. Logitech’s TrueView imaging gives you head-to-toe HD with HDR and a 160-degree field of view, so you can see packages on the ground as well as a visitor’s face.
During my weeks of testing, the Circle View felt the most “August-like” of any current doorbell. Setup was straightforward if you already have an iPhone, a home hub (HomePod, HomePod mini, or Apple TV), and an iCloud+ plan. The doorbell replaces your existing wired chime and connects to 8-24V AC wiring at 10 VA or more, which is standard for most US doorbell setups.
Video quality is genuinely impressive for the category. Daytime footage is sharp and well-balanced thanks to HDR, and the 160-degree field of view captures the full length of a person standing at the door plus the package sitting at their feet. Color night vision reaches roughly six feet, which is good enough to identify faces at the door without leaning on infrared.
Two-way audio is clear with reasonable echo cancellation, although there is still a small delay compared to a phone call. Visitors did not have trouble hearing me, and I did not have trouble hearing them, even with street noise in the background.
If your home already has a wired doorbell at 16V AC (the US standard), installation is a 20-30 minute job. The kit includes a Chime Kit, mounting wedges for angle adjustment, and a wiring adapter. You will need a transformer rated at least 10 VA; most homes built in the last 30 years already meet this. Older homes with 10V AC transformers may need an upgrade.
The app experience is pure Apple Home. There is no separate Logitech app for ongoing operation. You add the doorbell through the Home app, scan the HomeKit QR code on the back of the unit, and assign it to a room. Activity Zones, Face Recognition, and package alerts all live inside the Home app, which is exactly what August fans used to ask for and never quite got.
HomeKit Secure Video is the real differentiator. Recorded footage is end-to-end encrypted and analyzed by Apple, not Logitech or a third-party cloud. Even Apple cannot read your video stream. iCloud+ storage plans starting at $0.99/month cover 50GB of recording history, and the 2TB plan ($9.99/month) supports an unlimited number of HomeKit Secure Video cameras.
For shoppers who chose August originally because of its privacy posture, this matters. Logitech itself does not see your video, which addresses one of the recurring trust concerns raised in doorbell camera forums. The trade-off is that you are locked into the Apple ecosystem. There is no Alexa or Google Assistant support, and you cannot view the feed on a non-Apple device.
Customer reviews and forum threads surface two recurring complaints. First, WiFi reliability is not perfect. Some users report the doorbell going offline intermittently, especially when installed far from the router or on a busy 2.4GHz channel. Second, the unit can run hot in direct summer sun above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, occasionally triggering thermal throttling that briefly disables streaming.
Neither issue is a deal-breaker for me, but they are real. If your WiFi signal at the door is weak, a mesh extender or a wired backhaul will solve most reliability complaints. If your door faces south with no overhang, the heat issue may show up in midsummer.
1536p HD+ video
160° FOV with 3D Motion Detection
Two-Way Talk with Audio+
If HomeKit is not your priority, the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro is the most balanced all-around option. The version linked here is the 2021 release, which is the current in-stock variant of the Pro line. It hardwires into your existing doorbell wiring for 24/7 power and delivers 1536p head-to-toe HD+ video, so packages sitting on the porch are clearly visible.
3D Motion Detection is Ring’s standout feature. Instead of relying purely on pixel changes, the doorbell measures depth and distance, which dramatically reduces false alerts from cars passing on the street or trees swaying in the wind. During testing, this cut my “useless” notifications by what felt like 80% compared to the basic motion zones I had been using.
Alexa integration is best in class. The doorbell feed pops up instantly on Echo Show devices, and you can have Alexa speak to visitors through built-in Alexa Greetings when you cannot get to the door. Two-Way Talk with Audio+ is genuinely louder and clearer than what I heard from competing units.
The catch is Ring Protect. Without a subscription, you only get live view and motion notifications. To unlock video history, Alexa Greetings, and people-only alerts, you need the $3.99/month Basic plan or the $9.99/month Plus plan. The Plus plan also covers all Ring devices in your home, which is a real value if you already own or plan to buy Ring cameras.
Ring has faced public scrutiny over how it shares video with law enforcement. Ring has since added end-to-end encryption as an opt-in setting, customizable privacy zones, and the ability to disable audio recording. If privacy is your top concern, you should enable end-to-end encryption during setup and review the privacy settings in the app.
If you are already invested in Alexa, own an Echo Show, and want the best mix of video quality, motion accuracy, and price, the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro is the most complete package. The current 2021 release pricing undercuts the Logitech Circle View, and the refurbished Like-New units are tested and certified with the same warranty as new.
2K HDR video
166° FOV with Gemini-powered alerts
Wired with continuous power
For Google Home households, the Nest Doorbell (Wired, 3rd Gen) is the clear pick. This is the 2026 wired model, with 2K HDR video, the widest field of view in this comparison at 166 degrees, and Gemini-powered intelligent alerts that can tell you not just “person detected” but “person with a package at the door.”
Video quality is excellent. 2K HDR captures significantly more detail than 1080p competitors, especially in mixed lighting where a bright sky and a shaded porch would normally wash each other out. Faces are identifiable from six to eight feet, and license plates can be captured from across a typical driveway if you angle the doorbell appropriately.
Wired power means you never have to charge or replace batteries. As long as your existing doorbell wiring delivers 16-24V AC, the Nest Doorbell runs continuously. The included wedge plates help angle the camera left, right, up, or down to capture the right slice of your entryway.
Gemini-powered alerts are the headline feature. With a Google Home Premium subscription (a free month is included to try it), the Nest Doorbell can distinguish between people, packages, animals, and vehicles, and it can describe what is happening in plain language. You can also ask Gemini to summarize the day’s events at the front door.
Without a subscription, you get live view, three hours of event video history, and basic person alerts. The $6/month Google Home Standard plan adds 30 days of event history and familiar face recognition. The $10/month Google Home Premium plan unlocks Gemini-powered descriptions, 60 days of history, and 24/7 continuous recording.
For Google Home households, the integration is seamless. The doorbell feed appears on Nest Hubs, Chromecast with Google TV, and Pixel phones. Routine automations like pausing the vacuum when someone rings the doorbell work out of the box. If you already use Google Home for lights, locks, and thermostats, the Nest Doorbell fits right in.
Night vision quality is the most common complaint. While color night vision works well in ambient street lighting, fully dark driveways can produce grainy footage. The Nest Doorbell also does not support the legacy Nest app. If you have older Nest Cams still on the old platform, you will need to migrate them to the Google Home app.
All three doorbells in this comparison are wired, hardwired to existing doorbell wiring, and offer head-to-toe video with package visibility. Where they diverge is in ecosystem, video resolution, and AI features. The Logitech Circle View wins on privacy and HomeKit integration, the Ring Pro wins on value and Alexa integration, and the Nest 3rd Gen wins on raw video quality and AI descriptions.
If you were a former August owner, the closest match is the Logitech Circle View. The Ring Pro is the best fit for Alexa households, and the Nest 3rd Gen is the obvious choice for Google Home households.
Forum research across r/AugustSmartLock, r/doorbellcam, and manufacturer support forums shows that WiFi reliability is the single biggest source of complaints for wired doorbells in general. The August Doorbell Cam Pro’s infamous offline issues were a cautionary tale, and the lessons still apply. Before installing any of these three doorbells, verify your WiFi signal at the door location with a WiFi analyzer app. A signal of -65 dBm or better is a hard prerequisite.
Troubleshooting tip: If your doorbell keeps going offline, switch your router’s 2.4GHz channel to 1, 6, or 11. These non-overlapping channels typically provide the most stable connection for IoT devices and reduce interference from neighboring networks.
Mechanical chime compatibility is generally excellent across all three units. Each ships with a chime adapter or Chime Kit. Digital chimes are more problematic. The Ring Pro and Nest 3rd Gen both skip digital chime support outright, while the Logitech Circle View works with most mechanical chimes and many digital chimes after wiring the included adapter.
If your transformer is underpowered (less than 10 VA), the doorbell may behave erratically or fail to ring the chime. A quick voltage check with a multimeter can confirm whether you need a new transformer before you finish the install.
Live view load times are noticeably different. The Ring Pro and Nest 3rd Gen typically pull up a live feed in 2-4 seconds. The Logitech Circle View is comparable on a strong WiFi signal but can take 6-10 seconds if the connection is marginal. None of them reach the 15-second load times the August View was notorious for.
No. August Home has discontinued every doorbell camera model it ever sold, including the original August Doorbell Cam, the Doorbell Cam Pro, and the August View (recalled in 2019). There is no current August-branded or Yale-branded replacement doorbell on Amazon. Current alternatives include the Logitech Circle View, the Ring Wired Doorbell Pro, and the Google Nest Doorbell.
The Logitech Circle View is the closest spiritual successor for former August owners. It is a wired HomeKit-exclusive doorbell with head-to-toe HD video, HDR, HomeKit Secure Video with end-to-end encryption, Face Recognition, and package detection. It uses the same 8-24V AC wiring as the original August Doorbell Cam and integrates with Apple Home the way August originally promised.
The original August Doorbell Cam did not ship with working HomeKit support despite HomeKit certification, and August never fully delivered on the promise before exiting the category. If HomeKit Secure Video is your priority today, the Logitech Circle View is the wired HomeKit-exclusive alternative, and it actually delivers the Face Recognition and package detection August originally advertised.
August pulled the August View from sale in April 2019 after widespread complaints about slow boot-up speeds, dropped WiFi connections, and live feed delays of 15 seconds or more. August offered full refunds through May 2019 but never re-launched the product. The recall effectively ended August’s presence in the consumer doorbell camera market.
The Logitech Circle View is the best fit because it is the only wired doorbell that targets the same HomeKit-first, privacy-focused niche August originally occupied. Yale Assure locks with the August module also appear in Apple Home, so you can build a HomeKit workflow that includes your lock and your doorbell in a single app.
August Home was acquired by Assa Abloy (the parent company of Yale) in 2017. After the August View recall in 2019, August’s doorbell business was wound down and folded into the Yale product family. Today, August smart locks are still sold and supported under the Yale Access app, but no August- or Yale-branded video doorbell exists in the US market.
All three doorbells in this comparison work without a subscription for live view and basic motion alerts. The Logitech Circle View requires an iCloud+ plan for video history. The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro requires Ring Protect for video history and Alexa Greetings. The Nest Doorbell offers 3 hours of free event history without a subscription, with longer history and Gemini features behind Google Home Premium.
WiFi signal strength is the most common cause. Verify your signal at the door location with a WiFi analyzer app and aim for -65 dBm or better on the 2.4GHz band. If signal is weak, a mesh extender or a wired backhaul will solve most reliability complaints. Use channels 1, 6, or 11 for the most stable connection.
The August Doorbell Camera is gone, and there is no August-branded replacement. Among the three wired doorbells I tested for this review, the Logitech Circle View is the most natural pick for former August owners who valued HomeKit compatibility, end-to-end encryption, and a clean wired design. Its video quality is competitive, its privacy posture is best in class, and it integrates with the same Apple Home ecosystem August originally targeted.
The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro is the best value in absolute terms. 1536p HD+ video, 3D Motion Detection, and tight Alexa integration make it the most versatile doorbell for households that have not already committed to a smart home platform. The refurbished 2021 release pricing makes it especially attractive.
The Google Nest Doorbell (3rd Gen) is the top choice for Google Home households. 2K HDR video, a 166-degree field of view, and Gemini-powered AI alerts give it the most forward-looking feature set in this comparison, even with a higher ongoing subscription cost.
If you arrived here searching for an August doorbell review in 2026, my recommendation is to pick the doorbell that matches your current smart home ecosystem. The August brand is no longer in this category, but the alternatives have caught up and, in most respects, surpassed what August ever shipped.
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