Vivint has been busy in 2026 so far, with two big hardware releases that represent a big jump in security and a major quality-of-life improvement for Vivint customers. The company has also deployed a major app overhaul that brings the app and hub more inline with each other for a more cohesive experience overall.

The third-generation Outdoor Camera Pro was launched in February of this year and has better behavior detection, ensuring that threats are accurately identified. Then in July, Vivint launched the Vivint Smart Hub Pro 2 — a major upgrade to the in-home interface that lets you keep your phone in your pocket when controlling your system.

If you're new to Vivint, these will be offered up as options when you build your smart home security system . If you have a system already, you can buy or finance your equipment to add to or replace your current hardware.

Outdoor Camera Pro (Gen 3)

The previous-generation Outdoor Camera Pro was already an excellent performer. With a speaker, optional built-in spotlight, onboard video storage, and algorithm-powered behavior detection, it was smart and powerful (even if it was frequently confused by the palm fronds that would throw shadows on my driveway).

Vivint's Gen 3 Outdoor Camera Pro brings takes the benefits of the previous model and pushes them forward with radar sensors and AI-based behavior based detection. The camera uses the company's Smart Deter system to detect suspicious behavior, such as lingering near vehicles. It then employs a wide variety of on-device and app-based alerts both to actively deter activity and let you know that your attention is needed.

The camera connects to the cloud for storage but also has more storage on-device so that even when your WiFi network is down, you can still access and view clips locally from your hub. The camera uses all that storage since the resolution is improved, with a 4k image sensor and 1080p, full-HD clarity, even when zooming in over 5 times. The night-vision clarity is better as well. It makes threat detection more reliable as well, eliminating false-positives.

While I found the camera to be a little “noisy” the first few days of the install, the behavior-based detection settled down to more accurately detect suspicious behavior (which amounts to people parking in my driveway, but I’m OK with that). In fact, unlike with the Gen 2, instances of dog-walkers and delivery vans triggering alerts have dropped to nearly zero. It’s helpful because you know that, if you get an alert that the camera sees something, it's actually worth your attention.

Speaking of, linger near a vehicle for a period longer than you've specified in the app and you'll likely get a face full of spotlight and an alert chime from the camera. The vehicle protection algorithm is improved to switch over more quickly when it detects threats.

In all, it's a solid performer that you mostly won't have to think about but you can rely on to get the job done. You can include it in a new package or buy it outright from Vivint for $399 .

The original Smart Hub has needed a generational upgrade for a long time. While the first generation panel was certainly functional, I often defaulted to the ( recently updated and greatly improved ) app when doing pretty much anything other than disarming the system. The lag time was too great on the Gen 1 panel for things like doorbell alerts to be actionable, the app always beat it when it came to live video.

The Smart Hub Pro 2 changes that. Now, video displays on the panel just as quickly as in the app. And the panel is always on, rather than the auto-dimming Gen 1 panel. So I don't have to waste time waking it up (Vivint tried this briefly with the Gen 1 panels before walking the update back). The dynamic display also shows the time and local weather.

The Pro 2 has all the things that you’d expect from a smart-panel hub for your security system: you can see video feeds, arm and disarm your system, even use the two-way communication functions of your camera. The hardware also includes battery backup and cellular connectivity like the original. In a nice change, the counter mount is more readily available for the new hub, so you don’t have to mount it on your wall.

The massive processing power boost of the new panel is what makes it such a desirable upgrade over the Gen 1 panel. It can serve up alerts like package protection that are actually actionable in real time and things like CO2, smoke alarm, and glass breakage detection. You can even modify the display so that you see only those feeds and actions that you need quick access to.

The improved speed is also apparent when reconnecting your cameras and sensors to the new panel. While sensors are imported right away, you (well, your install tech) will need to hook up your cameras again. While I'm used to this taking a considerable amount of time, it became apparent that the limiting factor in previous installations was the panel itself. It was only about an hour before my system was back up and running on the new Smart Hub Pro 2…and that's only because I have older hardware that Vivint supports but is no longer maintaining.

Speaking of, if you bought in to Smart Lighting when Vivint was experimenting with it, you might want to think carefully about upgrading. While the bridge and bulbs can be connected to the new panel, they don't seem to stay connected. My installer spent a considerable amount of time getting it to work, only to have it fail after he left. After having run through re-pairing the bridge and all the lights myself a couple of times, I've given up on trying to fix it. It's a disappointing end to what had been a promising solution.

The Smart Hub Pro 2 is a pricey upgrade at $599 but unlike year-to-year generational updates, this makes an appreciable difference in how you use your system and eliminates some of the frustration you may feel while trying to simply use the panel to control your system.