Most of the smart baby monitors we test these days are essentially just security cameras that connect to an app on your phone to show you a live video stream of your little one. For $159, the Motorola ConnectView65 Plus delivers a sharp 1080p stream to your phone, but it also comes with a dedicated 5-inch monitor for when your phone isn't handy or you're using it for something else. It doesn't offer many of the advanced features you get with our top pick baby monitor, the Nanit Pro, such as breathing monitoring, growth tracking, and sleep assistance, but the Nanit costs twice the price, starting at $299. That makes the ConnectView65 Plus an excellent alternative for anyone who is trying to save money or simply prefers a handheld monitor.

Multiple Ways to See

The ConnectView65 Plus is a 1080p camera with a 120-degree field of view and night vision. In the box, you get the camera itself, which is powered by a 5V power block, and a handheld monitor with a 5-inch color screen powered by a matching adapter, so you don't have to panic if you mismatch the plugs.

There's a small magnetic stand to place the camera in for tabletop or wall-mounted use; it's very well designed so you can move the camera to view almost any angle. In the mount, the camera measures 3.25 by 3.25 by 5.5 inches (HWD). For mounting it over the crib, you also get an overly complicated floor stand that includes a hefty set of clamps to grab the side and bottom of the crib.

The video monitor has a range of 1,000 feet, which proved to be just fine in my home. It has enough battery power to last overnight, though you'll want to charge it in the morning. Screen resolution isn't specified, but it looks fairly low; you won't have any trouble identifying what you're seeing, but if you're looking to get the sharp 1080p image the camera is capable of, you'll want to view the stream through your phone. There's a ring on the back of the monitor not only for holding it, but to act as a kickstand to keep it upright as you do other things during naptime.

Setting Up the ConnectView65 Plus

The setup process was a bit complicated, as the provided link sent me to the wrong iPhone app (called Hubble for Motorola Monitors), which wouldn't complete the connection with the ConnectView camera. It wanted me to scan a QR code in the app, but I couldn't find one...until I discovered there's a newer app called HubbleConnected. Thankfully I didn't have to set up a totally new account; with the same credentials I used in the older app, I logged in and completed the setup.

HubbleConnected works with a lot of devices, like thermometers and even a prenatal heartbeat monitor, so it asks what kind of product you want to register. I picked Baby Monitoring and got a list of 12 cameras to choose from. I selected ConnectView65 and was asked for my Wi-Fi password. I was then instructed to hold down the Pair button on the camera, and once prompted, given a QR code for the camera to scan.

Interestingly enough, once I got the camera connected to Wi-Fi and visible on the HubbleConnected app, it also appeared in the older app as well. Another thing worth nothing: The camera was listed in the app for my TP-Link mesh network with the name Binatone, which will be plenty confusing until you learn that Binatone is actually the company that makes this camera, not Motorola.

ConnectView65 Plus App, Camera, and Audio

I connected the camera to an iPhone XS for testing. The image is clear and bright in the sun, and the infrared LEDs make for an easy-to-see night-vision mode. Being able to set the bitrate for video on the app is a nice feature that can save bandwidth, with streaming options for 100 (lowest), 300, 600, or 1,000Kbps (best).

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If only it looked as good on the handheld monitor. Not only does the video seem uglier and full of artifacts, it looks like it has a lower frame rate. That said, the delay in the stream in the smartphone app appears to be almost a full second behind the monitor, so the monitor has the benefit of being faster.

The handheld monitor is also a bit difficult to master; the interface requires learning how to use the buttons and D-pad to the right of the screen to cycle through menus and change settings. Some of them are easy (like changing the temperature from Celsius to Fahrenheit), but others (such as trying to pick a sound file) felt like an exercise in torture. The app interface is nicer all around, with options for setting the streaming quality, using the two-way audio option, taking a snapshot of what's happening (which saves clips to the storage on the app, not the cloud), and more.

The camera has a built-in sensor that measures room tempeature, but it seems to run hot; I constantly got a 75-degree Fahrenheit rating in a room that was probably closer to 68 degrees. Not only that, but it said 75 degrees in the app, but simultaneously 77 degrees on the mobile monitor.

Background audio—important for listening in for crying—works in the app even if you turn off your phone screen. You can do the same on the handheld monitor with a single button push to power off the screen. Volume controls on top make it simple to raise, lower, or mute the audio.

The camera comes with sounds you can activate from the app or monitor, including five instrumental lullabies that repeat, five bits of noise like bird song and sea waves, 10 audiobooks you've probably never heard of read by people with British accents, and the ability to record your own audio to play back on a loop. You can only record audio on your smartphone, not the video monitor. A recording is limited to 2 minutes and 30 seconds, and you can only store one at a time. The loop plays on repeat until you click stop in the app. No matter what you play, it all sounds pretty tinny coming through the camera's speaker.

There are a few features that require a subscription, such as Sleep Diary (which is essentially a motion-activated video clip of the previous night's tossing and turning), multiple days of cloud storage for motion-triggered clips, support for multiple monitors (up to 15), and a SmartZone for motion detection of, for example, just the crib mattress and not the surrounding area.

The plans start at $29.99 per year for five days of storage and one camera (with no Sleep Diary), and go to $99 per year for 14 days of storage and 10 cameras, then $149 per year for 30 days and 15 cameras. The pricing isn't too far off from what Nanit provides for its Insights subscription services.

A Capable Choice for Traditionalists

Aside from some setup hiccups, there's plenty to like about the Motorola ConnectView65 Plus. The price, in particular, is half that of our Editors' Choice winner, the Nanit Pro. And while the included monitor isn't nearly as sharp as a phone screen, it's nice having the option to toggle back and forth between the two. Ultimately, the Nanit Pro remains our top recommendation for nervous parents who want to know more than the fact that their child is asleep. But the ConnectView is a strong alternative if you're looking for a more traditional baby monitor.