Hubble Nursery Pal Glow+ review: A no-frills, reliable baby monitor
A value-for-money, no frills baby monitor with a host of 'app-on' features
Pros
- Easy to set up camera, video screen and app
- Intuitive to use
- Optional add-ons such as feeding reminders and growth tracking
Cons
- Monthly subscription to unlock best features
- Grainy picture quality
The Hubble Connected Nursery Pal Glow+ is a reliable and easy-to-use baby monitor that comes with a 5in smart HD video monitor. There’s also the option to connect the camera to the HubbleClub app, which provides hands-free monitoring video recording, growth tracking and alarms for nappy changing and feeding.
The Glow+’s video screen may be slightly grainy in comparison to other premium models, some of which have made our best baby monitor roundup, but what it lacks in sharpness, this model makes up for in ease of use and reliability.
Hubble Nursery Pal Glow+ review: What do you get for the money?
For around £150, the Glow+ gets you a 5in video monitor with built-in night light, one camera, two mains chargers and the option to connect to the HubbleClub app, which is free of charge.
While the HubbleClub app is free, there’s the option to subscribe (from £2.99/mth, or go Premium for £4.99/mth). By subscribing you get some handy extras, such as smart home integration, alert scheduling, being able to take snapshots, growth trackers and audiobooks. The Premium plan gives you access to a larger audiobook and lullaby library, 7 day video storage, multi-camera views, the ability to share camera access with family members, unlimited device connection and a video sleep diary – this is not an exhaustive list.
Connection to the app is optional and offers plenty of additional features, listed above. You can also turn on privacy mode, which ensures your camera isn’t activated by sound and motion triggers. You can also change the colour of the night light and turn it off without disturbing the baby.
The Glow+ camera, which has a range of up to 300 metres, features a built-in night light that offers a choice of seven colours, plus pan, tilt and zoom functions that can be controlled remotely via the video monitor or app. There’s two-way talk, infrared night vision and a room temperature sensor, too.
READ NEXT: Best baby thermometer
Hubble Nursery Pal Glow+ review: What’s it like to use?
It took us just 10 minutes from taking the Nursery Pal Glow+ out of its box to have it up and running – app included. Once plugged in and turned on, the video screen and camera worked immediately.
To connect the camera to the app, you begin by pressing the “pairing button” at the base of the camera. The app then guides you through next steps, such as entering your Wi-Fi password. You’ll then be given a QR code that you scan via the camera to complete setup.
With the setup procedure complete in just a few minutes, you can view your child’s nursery from the app and set up voice notifications, if you so wish. The latter means you won’t have to constantly open the app to check the screen – voice notifications will make you aware when motion or noise is detected. The app also has a free baby tracker that helps you track your baby’s development including their growth, feeds, nappy changes and sleep windows.
Hubble Nursery Pal Glow+ review: What isn’t it good at?
The video through the app is adequate but not super sharp, and appears only as a small box within the page – we couldn’t find an option to make it bigger. Other clever features such as enabling hands-free mode on the app, the ability to share camera access with loved ones, and the option to add additional devices are only available when you take out the premium subscription. And if you haven’t already subscribed, the app will continually remind you of what you’re missing, which gets somewhat irritating after a while. For the price, we think you should get at least a few months’ use of all the features before needing to subscribe.
Finally, battery life is around six hours, which means you’ll need to leave the main video monitor plugged in overnight.
Hubble Nursery Pal Glow + review: Should you buy it?
This is a fairly well-priced baby monitor that delivers plenty of reassurance for parents – both in those early days and well into toddlerhood. Subscribing to the app unlocks some useful additional features, for which you’d need to factor in at least £2.99/mth on top of the initial cost of the monitor. Overall, though, even without it, the Nursery Pal Glow+ video monitor is a solid standalone device.
