Our Verdict on the Lollipop Camera Baby Monitor
The Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor is a great-looking WiFi baby monitor that is well built and comes with tons of useful features.
The accompanying mobile app is easy to use with four different subscription tiers (Basic is free). The video quality is excellent and you have the option to keep it on your local WiFi network for extra security. The local WiFi option is great to give you the best of both worlds: you have an excellent reach throughout your entire house (assuming that your WiFi network is good), while also keeping your connection with your baby secured and private.
For half the price of the Nanit Plus Smart Camera, the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor is an excellent choice for geeky parents. It’s also our preferred option if you have twins or want to use multiple cameras at the same time.
Continue reading our review of the Lollipop Camera for the in-depth results.
Our Rating: 9.2 / 10
Summary
We like:
- Option to keep the WiFi connection private.
- The mobile app is easy to use with plenty of features.
- Intuitive navigation when using multiple cameras.
- Audio and video quality is excellent.
- Excellent value for money.
We don’t like:
- Lacks some of the extra features of the more expensive iBaby monitor, such as the pan and tilt.
Where to buy it:
Alternatives:
- The Nanit Plus Smart Camera if you want the best WiFi video baby monitor with improved video quality and insights to help improve your baby sleep (check price).
- The Eufy SpaceView is the best Plug & Play monitor on our list at the moment. It comes with a dedicated parent monitor, a high-resolution video quality and the prettiest design (check price).
Overview: Lollipop Camera Baby Monitor
Health & Safety
9/10
Privacy
9/10
Range
9/10
Audio Quality
8/10
Video Quality
9/10
Battery
9/10
Features: Lollipop Camera Baby Monitor
Infrared Night Vision
YES
VOX
YES
Multiple Camera
YES
Two-Way Talk
YES
Play Lullabies
YES
Room Temperature
YES, sold separetely
Humidity
YES, sold separetely
Remote Pan and Tilt
NO
Remote Zoom
YES
Nightlight
NO
Video Recording & Snapshot
YES
P.S. We received a review unit of this product from its manufacturer. We are, however, not paid or compensated for our review. To remain impartial in our tests, we use objective ranking factors and put each product in the hands of real parents for a few months before we publish our review. Read how we test to learn more.
Everything that we review is independently selected by our team. We only recommend products that we use ourselves with our kids. To support our website, we may receive a small commission if you buy something through our links. These commissions come at no extra costs for you. Read our earnings disclaimer to learn more.
Our Hands-on Review of the Lollipop Camera Baby Monitor
The Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor is one of the best WiFi video baby monitors available at the moment. It’s certainly the best option for under $150.
The camera comes in a neat and playful package, with a bendable leg that you can use as a stand or to attach the monitor to furniture in your baby’s bedroom. It’s made of toxic-free silicone and you can select among three different colors: Turquoise, Cotton Candy and Pistachio. It’s a refreshing change from most of the other baby monitors that look like security cameras.
The video quality is great (more on that below) and the mobile app is easy to use, but what we like most about the Lollipop is its privacy option. Because you can opt to only stream your baby’s audio and video signal within your local WiFi network, it significantly reduces the risk of hacking. Outgoing video streaming will be blocked in that configuration.
Another major advantage of the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor over its closest competitor, the iBaby Care M7, is the possibility to add an unlimited number of cameras in your home. You’ll only be able to see two video streams at once on split-screen via the camera app, but you can swipe left and right to move from one camera to the next if you want to.
The Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor also gives you the option to turn on an Audio Mode for Overnight option, which is perfect for when you go to bed. Your phone screen will be turned off, but you’ll still receive the audio feed from your baby’s bedroom and you can easily turn back on the video stream if needed. It basically acts like a baby crying detector in that mode.
We also like the fact that the Lollipop camera is compact and easy to travel with. You can take it with you when traveling abroad if needed and quickly install it in your parents’ house or in a hotel room in just a few minutes. Because the camera will already have been paired with the app on your phone, you really just need to attach the camera to your new location and connect it to the local WiFi network and you’ll be good to go.
If you’re a geeky-tech parent, you’ll love the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor! If your WiFi network isn’t reliable, however, or if you’re looking for something simpler and less expensive, we recommend you look at the Eufy SpaceView or the VAVA baby monitor instead.
Helpful note
Lollipop now also sells a baby room sensor to monitor the temperature, humidity and air quality in your baby’s bedroom. It integrates with the Lollipop app to show you daily and weekly charts so you can see how these elements might influence your baby’s sleep quality.
We’re still testing the Lollipop sensor, but our initial impression is that it’s a valuable add-on if you want to make sure that the conditions are optimal in your baby’s bedroom for a good night. It’s not essential but can help you if you live in a place where temperature tends to fluctuate significantly through the night or if the air quality might be a concern.
Audio and Video Quality
The audio and video quality with the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor is great. You get a 720p high definition Sony camera, which is more than any non-WiFi baby video monitor can produce. Assuming that you bought your mobile phone in the past 4 years, the picture will look great on your screen.
It’s just the right picture quality to provide you with a smooth streaming experience with a decent WiFi connection. And because it can stream on the Internet, you can access the video feed even if you’re not home. If you’re having dinner outside, you can just check on your baby with your phone to make sure the babysitter managed to put them to bed on time.
The camera on the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor offers infrared night vision so you can clearly see your baby even in the dark or low light. The camera will automatically switch to night mode if the light is too dim in your baby’s room.
The Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor does not offer remote pan and tilt, but you can pinch and zoom on your phone. More expensive models do offer remote pan and tilt, but in our testing, we didn’t miss it at all. Because the Lollipop comes with a flexible stand, you just need to make sure that it’s correctly angled to cover your entire baby’s crib when you install it the first time, and then you shouldn’t need to move it again.
One unique feature of the Lollipop baby camera is its True Crying Detection system. It’s like a baby crying detector, meaning that the camera is smart enough to recognize your baby crying from other noises in the nursery. That way you’re only notified when something important is really happening.
Two-Way Communication
The Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor has an option to talk to your baby through the camera’s speaker if you want. The two-way talk function can easily be accessed by pressing the microphone button in the Lollipop mobile app. The sound only goes to the camera that is currently selected, so don’t risk waking up your child in the other room.
Plays White Noise, Lullabies and Music
Another advantage of using a WiFi baby monitor with a mobile app is that you can virtually play any song or noise you like. The Lollipop app comes preloaded with a few white noises and classical music songs.
Security: Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor Hacking
Because the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor is using your WiFi connection to stream the audio and video, it’s potentially more prone to hacking. Unlike an encrypted radio signal, such as FHSS or DECT, WiFi baby monitors do not require you to be in physical proximity of the camera to see what’s happening.
That means that if a hacker manages to breach your router security, they could tap into your baby monitor. You should read this article on baby monitor hacking to make sure that you understand the risk and learn how to appropriately protect yourself.
That said, the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor gives you the option to keep the video signal locally. It means that no one from outside your WiFi network could connect to the camera to see or talk to your baby if you decide so. We love this option and recommend you use it by default, only streaming outside of your network when you’re outside yourself.
Note that you won’t be able to use some of the advanced features of the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor if you’re using it locally though. The Lollipop is indeed taking advantage of Amazon’s cloud services to record your baby’s video and keep track of noticeable events such as your baby crying.
Lollipop Camera Health and Safety
Since the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor uses your existing WiFi network to stream its audio and video signals, it reduces the total number of electromagnetic exposure to your baby. Which is a good thing of course. Baby monitors that use FHSS or DECT signals need to emit their own radio signals on top of your WiFi connection, which might rapidly exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommendation. Read our article on electromagnetic field if you want to understand what it means in terms of health and safety for your baby.
Just make sure to keep the Lollipop camera at least 6 foot / 1.8 meters away from our baby’s bed to limit the exposure to EMF.
Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor: Most Frequently Asked Questions
- Question: Do I need to keep the app always open on my phone?
Answer: No. You can use the audio-only mode to turn off your screen. You’ll still hear your baby and you can turn the video back on at any time if needed.
- Question: Can I talk to my baby through the device?
Answer: Yes. You just need to press the microphone button in the app on your phone to speak through the device in your baby’s room.
- Question: Can I use the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor with multiple cameras?
Answer: Yes. You can connect the Lollipop app on your smartphone to multiple cameras. Live view is only available for two cameras at a time, however. You’ll need to swipe across the screen to see more video feeds if needed.
- Question: Can I pair the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor with two phones?
Answer: Yes. You can pair the Lollipop with multiple phones or tablets, so you and your partner can both watch over your baby.
Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor: What’s in the box
Wondering what’s in the box? Here’s everything that will be included in the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor package:
- 1 x Baby monitor unit
- 1 x Power Adaptor
- 2 x Solid Extension Modules to protect the cord from baby’s reach
Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor Price
You can get the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor on Amazon. That’s the best price that we’ve seen online at the moment.
Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor iOS and Android Mobile App
You can download the Lollipop Smart Baby Monitor mobile app on the iOS App Store and Android Play Store.
Alternative Options
- The Nanit Plus Smart Camera if you want the best WiFi video baby monitor with improved video quality and insights to help improve your baby sleep (check price).
- The Eufy SpaceView is the best Plug & Play monitor on our list at the moment. It comes with a dedicated parent monitor, a high-resolution video quality and the prettiest design (check price).
