New parents have a lot of ways to keep an eye on newborns while they're sleeping. A security camera with two-way talk and night vision, can help them see, hear and communicate with their baby. There are also traditional monitors that come with a camera and display, as well as smart baby monitors, which not only work as a security camera but can also monitor a baby's sleeping and breathing. GearBrain has tested some of these devices from Nanit and Owlet in real homes with young infants. But we recently tested a new smart baby monitor with artificial intelligence from Cubo AI. Here are our findings.

Cubo AI Plus Smart Baby MonitorGearBrain

What is Cubo Ai?

Cubo AI Plus is a smart baby monitor with artificial intelligence that helps track a baby's sleep and activities during the night. Cubo AI includes a security camera, a free app, a mobile and floor stand, cables, a crib stabilizer and a temperature and humidity dongle.

The security camera includes a Sony Starvis CMOS sensor and 1080P HD video resolution with a 135-degree field of view, and can capture five to ten moments per day or night.

The Cubo AI Plus smart baby monitor itself has a microphone, rotatable lenses, night vision using infrared light, and sensors that track the temperature and humidity in the baby's room. The camera also works on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi connections. You can also bring audio into the room, such as white noise, sounds like bird chirping or music, using Cubo AI's free app. And Cubo AI supports up to 8 concurrent login users for each Cubo AI camera, meaning family can tap in as well.

Cubo Ai Plus Smart Baby Monitor: Sleep Safety Alerts for Covered Face, Danger Zone & Sleep Analytics - 1080p HD Night Vision Camera, 2-Way Audio, Cry & Temperature Detection (Incl. 3 Stand Options)

List Price: $299.00

New From: $299.00in Stock

Difference between Cubo AI and other Smart Baby Monitors

Cubo AI uses artificial intelligence to detect if a baby's face is covered or if the baby has rolled over, and allows you to see and record them sleeping as well. People can scroll video back to up to 18 hours, checking to see how a baby slept the night before, and any disturbances. The monitor also has cry detection, and can also notify people if a baby stands up, which we found a unique feature.

Cubo AI App

Through a live view, the Cubo AI app lets parents to talk to their baby. And the app also lets users set up geofencing, which they call danger zones, defining the area they want they AI to watch for motion. The feature is similar to how motion alerts in other smart security cameras like Ring Indoor, Outdoor and Video Doorbell cameras. Cubo AI takes this an additional step notifying people as well if a blanket goes over a baby's face too.

The most essential feature in the Cubo AI app is its sleep analytics. Cubo AI records a baby sleeping in its crib, and also records events, like how many times a parent went in and checked on the baby or when a baby cried or woke up from a nap. The video is then placed in a timeline which can be watched — but a plan is needed if someone wants to go back more than 18 hours. Cubo offers two plans: Cubo AI Plus and Cubo AI Plus with U-Premium.

Cubo AI Plans

The Cubo AI Plus smart baby monitor includes one year of Cubo AI U-Premium service. Cubo AI Plus is a separate free plan that the company offers with every camera, which includes AI safety detection, auto photo and video capture, built-in lullabies, smart home integrations, 10 days of aged based moments, one day of sleep tracking and analytics, plus 18 hour video playback with event tags.

The Cubo AI Plus with U-Premium has the same features as the Cubo AI Plus plan, but also adds 30 days of aged-based moments , sleep tracking and analytics, viewable and downloadable 18-hour playback with event tags. People can also view and download notification events anytime. The cost of the Cubo AI Plus U-Premium plan is $80.00 for 12 months, $45.00 for six months or $8.00 per month. Note, if you buy more than one Cubo AI Plus camera, each camera will need upgrading to the Cubo AI Plus U-Premium plan after one year if you want to continue with the premium features.

Cost

The Cubo AI smart baby monitor costs $299 but is currently on sale for $269 on the company's website. With the purchase of Cubo AI, people receive one free year of Cubo AI U-Premium service, an $80 value.

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Difference between Cubo AI smart baby monitor and Nanit smart baby monitor

Cubo AI smart baby monitor is very similar to Nanit. Both are smart baby monitors with two-way talk, HD video resolution, motion detection, and sleep tracking capabilities. However, Cubo AI comes with three types of stands: a floor stand, a crib stand and a standard shelf stand. With Nanit, people have to choose the type of stand they want, either a floor stand or a wall mount, for their camera unless you buy one of Nanit's Complete Monitoring System. These Nanit systems include either the floor stand or wall mount as well as the table stand and are more expensive.

While both smart baby monitors can monitor a baby in real time — and provide a live view of a sleeping baby — only Cubo AI sends alerts if a baby's face is covered or if they've rolled over and are in a danger zone. Nanit also monitors a baby's breathing while they sleep, if a child is in one of their sleepwear outfits.

In terms of camera performance, we found Cubo AI smart baby monitor outperformed Nanit's camera in terms of picture quality. Cubo AI's picture was clearer and more vibrant. However, the Cubo AI camera comes with a status light and nightlight which is very bright, and we found we needed to turn it off during testing.

Cubo AI also comes with lullabies and white noise, while Nanit also offers white noise and nature sounds. Still, overall, both are very good smart baby monitors. If you have an infant and want to keep an eye on your baby's breathing, Nanit may be a the right choice. But it is an expensive option, requiring parents pay extra for a breathing wearable and a second stand. In contrast, Cubo AI smart baby monitor includes all three stand options, and also helps detect motion, which to us makes Cubo AI more of a safety device.

Night vision from Cubo AI Plus is crisp and clear. GearBrain

Cubo AI Testing - Performance

As we mentioned, Cubo AI's camera was exceptional. The video resolution both day and night was clear, with lullabies and white noise options a nice feature. However, the motion detection, set up in the app, was overwhelming. We kept getting notifications every time the baby turned over or moved. At one point, we were getting too many notifications because our little one was moving a lot but not in any real danger, and ended up turning this feature off. Finally, the backlight on the camera was too bright and distracted our baby tester.

Smart Home Integrations

Cubo AI smart baby monitor works with Google Assistant-enabled devices. You can connect the two and see live video through your Google Assistant smart display, such as a Nest Home Hub or Lenovo Smart Display with Google Assistant. The company has told us they are working on Amazon Alexa-integration, which should be coming soon. Also, if you have a Google Assistant-enabled device, you need to know Cubo AI's Google Assistant integration does require setting up a Cubo AI Plus plan.

Home page of Cubo AI app.GearBrain

Summary

Smart baby monitors have evolved over the past few years. Originally they were closed systems, with a camera and a microphone but not a speaker. These often had monitors with displays, allowing someone to hear a baby but not letting someone talk to an infant, or play music or white noise.

Smart baby monitoring devices have now morphed into health and safety monitoring devices, supporting music playback, sleep tracking, motion detection and monitoring of a newborn's breathing. For the health conscious parents who want to keep an eye on their baby's breathing 24/7 eyes, Nanit is a good solution. But if you are more interested in knowing if a baby is trying to get out of their crib or if their face is covered by a blanket, the Cubo AI smart baby monitor is a smart choice.

Pros:

• Video resolution is exceptional
• Built-in lullabies and white noise
• Danger zone detection
• Multiple stands

Cons:

• Lacks Amazon Alexa integration
• Bright nightlight
• Motion detection is very sensitive

Cubo Ai Plus Smart Baby Monitor: Sleep Safety Alerts for Covered Face, Danger Zone & Sleep Analytics - 1080p HD Night Vision Camera, 2-Way Audio, Cry & Temperature Detection (Incl. 3 Stand Options)

Cubo Ai Plus Smart Baby Monitor: Sleep Safety Alerts for Covered Face, Danger Zone & Sleep Analytics - 1080p HD Night Vision Camera, 2-Way Audio, Cry & Temperature Detection (Incl. 3 Stand Options)

List Price: $299.00

New From: $299.00in Stock