Quick Answer: The Nest Cam Outdoor (wired) is Google’s hardwired outdoor camera at $149.99 list, shooting 2K HDR video at a 152° diagonal field of view with an IP65 weather rating and a permanent 18ft outdoor-rated power cable, per Google’s own spec sheet. The one thing worth knowing before you search for it: it’s still the 2nd generation, not the 3rd — Google renamed only the indoor camera to “3rd gen” during its October 2025 refresh, so searching for a “3rd gen” Nest Cam Outdoor won’t turn up a real product. It also has zero local storage (no microSD slot) and no Apple HomeKit support, per a cross-check against smarthomecompared.com’s published specs.
This camera is this site’s own “Best outdoor” pick in the best Nest camera roundup and the top outdoor choice in best hardwired security camera, and it’s named across a dozen other guides — but it has never had its own dedicated review here, and several of those mentions incorrectly called it “3rd gen.” Here’s the camera’s actual generation, specs, and price, sourced directly from Google’s own documentation.
Nest Cam Outdoor (wired) at a glance
| Spec | Nest Cam Outdoor (wired, 2nd gen) |
|---|---|
| Price | $149.99 list (2-pack $249) |
| Resolution | 2K HDR (2560×1440), 30fps |
| Field of view | 152° diagonal, 6x digital zoom |
| Night vision | Black-and-white only, up to ~20ft (two 850nm IR LEDs) |
| Weather rating | IP65, rated -4°F to 104°F operating range |
| Power | Wired only — permanent 18ft outdoor-rated power cable |
| Wi-Fi | Dual-band (2.4GHz + 5GHz) |
| Local storage | None — no microSD slot, all history is cloud-based |
| App | Google Home app only — not compatible with the Nest app or home.nest.com |
| Smart home | Google Home, Gemini for Home, Alexa, SmartThings — no Apple HomeKit, no Matter, no RTSP |
| Use case | Outdoor only, fixed lens with magnetic mount, no pan/tilt |
By the numbers
- One generation behind its indoor sibling, by design, not by accident. Google’s own store pages list this camera as “Nest Cam Outdoor (wired, 2nd gen)” even after the October 2025 refresh that renamed the indoor model to “3rd gen” — the two cameras don’t share a generation number, so a shopper (or, in our case, a writer) assuming they’d both jump together will come up with a product that doesn’t exist.
- IP65 weatherproofing with an 18ft cable, confirmed on Google’s own spec sheet. That’s a wider temperature range (-4°F to 104°F) than most battery-powered outdoor cameras this site has reviewed, and the permanent cable removes the recharge-cycle question entirely — there’s no battery to run down in the first place.
- Zero local storage, same as the Indoor 3rd gen. Per a cross-check against smarthomecompared.com’s published spec sheet, there’s no microSD slot and no hub option — every clip beyond six hours of free event previews requires a Google Home Premium subscription, same as this site’s Nest Cam Indoor (3rd gen) review already found.
What holds up
Nest Cam Outdoor (wired, 2nd gen)
- IP65 weather rating and a wide -4°F to 104°F operating range for genuine year-round outdoor use, not just a mild-climate porch camera.
- Permanent 18ft outdoor-rated cable means no battery to recharge and no weak-signal battery drain to monitor.
- Dual-band 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi and Samsung SmartThings certification — a broader smart-home reach than some of this site's other reviewed outdoor cameras.
- Person, animal, and vehicle alerts plus Activity Zones are included free, no subscription required for basic alerting.
Need a replacement fast? A free 30-day Prime trial gets a swap camera to your door in two days instead of waiting on standard shipping if your Nest Cam Outdoor ever needs a replacement.
The 152° field of view and 2K HDR sensor hold up well against this site’s other reviewed outdoor hardwired cameras, and the magnetic mount makes aiming it during install straightforward without tools. Because it’s permanently wired, there’s no battery-drain troubleshooting to deal with later — a real advantage over the battery-powered outdoor cameras this site has covered, which all eventually need a recharge cycle.
What holds it back
Two limitations worth knowing before buying, both confirmed against Google’s own documentation. First, there is no local storage path of any kind — the same zero-microSD design as the Nest Cam Indoor (3rd gen), meaning the $149.99 hardware price is really a down payment on a Google Home Premium subscription if you want more than six hours of rolling event previews. Competing wired outdoor cameras on this site, like Reolink’s Argus 4 Pro and Lorex’s E893, both let buyers skip a monthly fee by recording locally; this camera cannot do that under any configuration. Second, no Apple HomeKit, Matter, or RTSP support — a cross-check against smarthomecompared.com’s spec breakdown confirms all three are unsupported, despite the camera’s otherwise broad Google Home/Alexa/SmartThings compatibility. If native HomeKit integration matters to your household, see our best HomeKit security camera guide for alternatives.
How it compares
Against this site’s other Nest picks, the Outdoor sits one generation number behind the Nest Cam Indoor (3rd gen) and the Nest Doorbell (3rd gen) — a naming quirk worth knowing, not a sign the hardware itself is dated, since all three cameras share the same 2K HDR sensor, zero-local- storage design, and Google Home Premium subscription structure. Against non-Nest competitors with local storage, eufy’s SoloCam S340 and Reolink’s Argus 4 Pro both skip the monthly fee entirely — the trade-off our best security camera without subscription guide covers directly. See the full Nest lineup in our best Nest camera guide.
The bottom line
The Nest Cam Outdoor earns its “Best outdoor” spot in this site’s Nest roundup on weatherproofing and a permanent power cable that removes battery anxiety entirely. Just go in with the generation number straight — it’s the 2nd gen, not a 3rd-gen match for the newer indoor camera — and know that there’s no way to record locally and skip a subscription, the same trade-off as its indoor sibling. For a no-fee alternative, our best security camera without subscription guide covers the cameras that record locally instead.