Reviews You Can Rely On

Blink Mini Review

This camera performed poorly across the board and requires a subscription to boot — it's not worth the money
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Blink Mini Review
Credit: Blink
Price:  $30 List
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Manufacturer:   Blink
By Nick Miley ⋅ Senior Review Editor  ⋅  Apr 18, 2022
47
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#11 of 12
  • Recorded Video Quality - 35% 5.1
  • Monitoring Performance - 35% 4.2
  • Ease of Use - 30% 4.7

Our Verdict

Despite the low cost of the Blink Mini, it still does not pencil out as a good deal relative to other top home security cameras because the camera delivers such abysmal video and sound both in live monitoring and recorded video. Specifically, the video is of such low quality that it makes it difficult to identify the person's face approaching your door in low-light scenarios. Moreover, the camera's limited features are hidden behind a paywall, and it has a super narrow field of view at just 110 degrees, making it best for long shots. We can find few redeeming qualities in this product and thus do not recommend it.
REASONS TO BUY
Inexpensive
1080p video
Night vision
REASONS TO AVOID
No local storage
Requires a subscription
Poor video and sound quality

Compare to Similar Products

 
blink mini
This Product
Blink Mini
Awards  Editors' Choice Award
Best Overall Camera
Best Buy Award
Best Camera On a Budget
  
Price $30 List
$17.99 at Amazon
$40 List
$39.98 at Amazon
$30 List
$16.98 at Amazon
$36 List
$35.39 at Amazon
$30 List
Overall Score Sort Icon
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Bottom Line This camera performed poorly in all of our assessments making it a bad choice regardless of the priceAn exceptional and affordable camera that builds on the success of the previous modelThis very affordable security camera offers exceptional performanceA top-performing camera at a below-average price that doesn't require a subscription to unlock most of its featuresA reasonable, do-it-all camera at an affordable price
Rating Categories Blink Mini Wyze Cam Pan v3 Wyze Cam OG Wyze Cam v3 YI 1080p Home
Recorded Video Quality (35%)
5.1
8.9
8.4
7.5
6.5
Monitoring Performance (35%)
4.2
7.8
7.8
7.8
7.8
Ease of Use (30%)
4.7
8.7
8.7
8.7
8.4
Specs Blink Mini Wyze Cam Pan v3 Wyze Cam OG Wyze Cam v3 YI 1080p Home
Camera Type (Indoor or Outdoor) Indoor Only Indoor and Outdoor Indoor and Outdoor Indoor Only Indoor and Outdoor
WiFi Type 2.4 GHz
802.11g/n
2.4 GHz
802.11b/g/n
2.4 GHz
802.11b/g/n
2.4 GHz
802.11b/g/n
2.4 GHz
802.11b/g/n
Encryption Types AES 128-bit H.263 256-bit encryption
and SSL
AES 128-bit AES 128-bit
Resolutions Available 1080p 1080p 1080p 1080p 1080p
Video FPS Up to 30 FPS 20 FPS Day
15 FPS Night
N/A 20 FPS Day
15 FPS Night
20 FPS Day
15 FPS Night
Wired or Battery Wired Wired Battery Wired Wired
Smart Device Compatability Amazon Alexa Amazon Alexa
Google Assistant
IFTTT
Not Supported Amazon Alexa
Google Assistant
IFTTT
Amazon Alexa
Google Assistant
IFTTT
Siren Volume (dB) N/A 67.6 dB 70.2 dB 67.8 dB 66.0 dB

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Blink Mini is a subpar camera even when considering its low cost. The camera has poor audio and video quality, limited alerts and features, terrible night vision, and you have to have a subscription to record and store data. We recommend looking at the higher-ranking products in our review instead.

Performance Comparison


blink mini - although it may look like a better performing camera, the video...
Although it may look like a better performing camera, the video quality and features do not match up.
Credit: Chris McNamara

Recorded Video Quality


The Blink Mini has extremely poor recorded video quality despite claiming 1080p resolution. The video is easily overexposed in bright light resulting in a whitewash effect. We struggled to make out facial features, too. Additionally, blurring occurred whenever the in-frame subject was moving at a decent rate of speed. Finally, there is a paywall for recording. Given the limitations of the Mini, it's no surprise that its evaluation scored far below average.

The Mini claims to have night vision functionality. However, we found it to be pretty ineffective. The background tends to be blurry, and the subject's facial features are not as clear as we would have liked. The camera also produced an eerie glowing eye effect when subjects looked directly at the camera. Lastly, the camera has a fairly narrow field of view at just 110 degrees.

blink mini - the mini has pronounced "eye glow" and fuzzy details in low light.
The Mini has pronounced “eye glow” and fuzzy details in low light.
Credit: Matt Spencer

Monitoring Performance


The Blink Mini did even worse in the monitoring performance assessment, garnering one of the lowest scores in the class. The camera has a latency of ~1.8 seconds between real events and their appearance on screen. While the video isn't too bad, the sound is terrible. Voices were very difficult to discern due to the amount of feedback that rendered speech fuzzy and staticky.

Another issue we encountered with the Mini is its continuous monitoring — or lack thereof. When trying to watch a live feed as you would do with children, pets, or workers in your home, the Blink only allows you to watch for 30 seconds at a time. In order to continue, you have to select “continue” in the app and repeat that action every 30 seconds. As if that wasn't annoying enough, the camera lacks an alarm despite having an onboard speaker.

blink mini - limited monitoring time is just one of the restrictions that the...
Limited monitoring time is just one of the restrictions that the Mini imposes on users.
Credit: Matt Spencer

Ease of Use


Most cameras do pretty well in the ease of use analysis because they are pretty simple, to begin with, so you have to go out of your way to make them hard to use. However, the Blink Mini manages this feat by hiding its limited functionality behind a subscription paywall.

While the Mini's app is easy enough to navigate, this is largely the result of it not having much to offer users. There is only one type of alert that can be set up (motion), and aside from that, you can turn the camera on and off. The camera lacks local storage unless you buy a separate base to accomplish this basic task, and you can't record any videos without paying to do so. The camera does come with a stand attachment and hardware if you want to mount it to the wall.

blink mini - the mini lacks onboard data storage, requiring users to subscribe to...
The mini lacks onboard data storage, requiring users to subscribe to the Blink cloud to access video recordings.
Credit: Chris McNamara

Value


Despite this camera's low cost, we do not find it to be a good deal. The camera has minimal functionality as well as a paywall to unlock basic features. As such, we deem this camera to be of poor value.

Conclusion


The Blink Mini is an all-around low-grade camera. Compared to other models in the class at the same price point, its performance is dismal. We struggle to find anything redeeming about this product and strongly suggest looking at the higher-performing products in our review.

Nick Miley