Local storage is no substitute because some people don’t own the base unit allowing it and for those who do, the feature was only designed to retrieve files by removing a USB drive and connecting it to a PC or Mac to view them. You will not be able to view recordings remotely through the app as you can now. For example, if a package is delivered to your front door, you cannot view the clip while at work too see if it was Fedex or a family member who dropped it off. If you’re on vacation and want to know when a package was delivered or a burglar broke in, there is nothing you can view until you return home, pull the USB drive and search the files on your computer.

You will notice the End of Life announcement from Arlo fails to address any transition or deficiencies using local storage. Many of the products slated to be bricked at the end of the year, were still being sold brand new three years ago at Best Buy and Costco. Is that fair to consumers to brick a security system after only four years.

Remember when Apple was fined millions in the UK for crippling features on older iPhones under the false claim of preserving battery life? Before the same issues were heard in US courts, Apple reversed course and offered battery replacements for those iPhones at a significant discount. The outcry was that a company can’t intentionally cripple the function of a product to coerce customers into upgrading or buying nee products. Arlo and CEO Matthew McCrae should be ashamed and publicly vilified for this.