Review of the Blink Mini 2: An Affordable Wired Camera with Outdoor Functionality

Security cameras are a personal preference; understandably, many people don’t like the idea of potentially being watched in their homes. But these gadgets do offer useful features such as checking in on pets, monitoring your house when you’re away, or catching someone prowling in your backyard after dark.

The new Blink Mini 2 ($39.99) is a solid inexpensive wired security camera that can be used indoors or outdoors to handle all of these scenarios. While there are a couple of wired cameras at this price point with more features, Blink’s latest offering, which just launched this week, ticks a lot of boxes. It’s especially good if you have an Amazon Alexa smart home or are already invested in Blink’s affordable battery-powered camera lineup.

Amazon Blink Mini 2

$39.99

The Good

• Inexpensive and very small
• Indoor / outdoor
• Now with a spotlight
• Person detection ($)
• Option of local storage
• Improved 1080p HD video
• Works with Alexa, IFTTT

The Bad

• Adding local storage more than doubles the price
• Staticky audio
• Color night vision is grainy
• Blink app is clunky
• Subscription required for cloud video and person detection
• No rich notifications
• Not compatible with Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Apple Home

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Blink made its name with its inexpensive battery-powered cameras, which can last up to two years on two AAs. The company now offers three mains-powered models: the Blink Mini (1 and 2); the Blink Wired Floodlight Camera; and the Blink Video Doorbell (which can be wired or battery-powered).

Blink’s custom-built chip sets it apart from many other manufacturers. The company has developed super energy-efficient silicon, and a recent upgrade added on-device computer vision (CV). This enables person detection, which is found on the company’s newer cameras: the Floodlight; the Mini 2; and the new Blink Outdoor 4 ($120) battery-powered camera. (Person detection requires a Blink subscription).

The Blink Mini 2 can sit on a flat surface with or without its stand, which can be mounted to a wall or ceiling. However, the Mini 2 doesn’t work with the Blink Mini Pan Tilt mount.

The Mini 2 is a follow-up to the Blink Mini, which took over from Amazon’s indoor Cloud Cam in 2022 after the retail giant bought Blink in 2017, and it brings more to the table. Upgrades include indoor / outdoor compatibility, a new spotlight, on-device person detection, and USB-C power.

There’s a wider field of view over the original Mini (143 degrees versus 110), enhanced image quality, better low-light performance, and a sleeker design. Plus, there’s still the option of local storage by adding with a $50 Blink Sync Module 2 and a USB stick (the module is not required to use the camera, only if you want local storage).

Footage from the Blink Mini (left) and the Mini 2 (right) show the larger field of view and improved image quality.

A teeny, tiny camera, the Mini 2 can fit pretty much anywhere. I tested it out in my chicken coop at the end of my garden, on my back patio, and in my office and kitchen, and it delivered clear, crisp video in all locations during the day. Infrared night vision was fair, but the spotlight-enabled color night vision was very grainy.

The Mini’s motion and people notifications are super speedy, but there are no rich notifications, which is a shame. Blink says this is due to its Early Notification feature, designed to alert you as quickly as possible so you can drop in on a live view while the action is still happening. Personally, I prefer rich notifications with a snapshot of the action.

Two-way audio is still slightly staticky, an issue with all Blink cameras I’ve tested. But it’s much improved over the original Mini.

Blink Mini 2 specs

• Price: $39.99 ($49.98 with 13-foot outdoor power cable)
• Power source: plug in
• Field of view: 143 degrees diagonal
• Image quality: 1080p HD, 30fps
• Night vision: infrared or full color with integrated spotlight
• Weather resistance: IP65
• Size: 51 x 51 x 40mm
• Operating temps: negative 5 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit
• Connectivity: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi
• Compatibility: Amazon Alexa, IFTTT

Blink has a great mounting system, and the ball and socket base on the Mini 2 makes it simple to adjust the camera’s angle and position even after you’ve screwed its base to a wall or ceiling. I could also just pop it on a flat surface without the base, which meant I could fit it everywhere I wanted to. It’s the smallest camera I’ve tested by far.

The Mini 2 is also one of the least expensive security cameras you can buy, both out of the box and for cloud storage (just $3 a month — Ring is now $5 a month, and Arlo and Google Nest start at $8). The addition of weather resistance (IP65 rated) makes it infinitely more useful, but you will need to pay extra for the Blink Weather Resistant Power Adapter, which is a sizable 13 feet long. It’s sold separately or in a bundle with the camera for $49.98.

The Blink Mini 2 mounted using its side mounting option and outdoor cable in the chicken coop.

The Blink Mini 2 works with the Blink app with features such as customizable privacy and activity zones and two-way talk. The app is fairly basic but has plenty of customization options and schedules that let you arm and disarm your cameras (something you have to pay for with Ring).

The camera’s motion sensitivity is good — almost too good. Without enabling person detection, I got alerts when the lights on one of my smart light strips changed color in my office. Adjusting the sensitivity helped a bit, but you need person detection if you don’t want to be inundated with notifications. Helpfully, you can snooze motion alerts.