SimShine Baby Pro Smart Baby Monitor Review

Baby monitors have come a long way in the last decade, and the SimShine Baby Pro is a perfect example. Instead of just being able to listen in for crying, you can now see your baby on your phone, get notified about crying, and even soothe them back to sleep. I recently got the chance to try this baby monitor out for myself to see how well it performs.

Overview of Features

Even before I had the opportunity to hook the baby monitor up and install the corresponding app, I was impressed with the feature set. This is more than just your standard baby cam and even takes privacy into consideration.

The SimShine Baby Pro Baby Monitor is truly a smart baby monitor. You can monitor everything directly from an app on your phone. However, what impressed me immediately was all footage is stored locally on a microSD card in the monitor itself. There isn’t any cloud uploads or even a cloud subscription service. You just have to remember to save any images or videos you want to keep to your phone or computer before they’re overwritten with new ones.

The model I received already had a 32 GB card installed, but you can purchase 64 GB and 128 GB models as well. At 128 GB, you can store up to 13 days of footage at a time.

In order to work with the app, connect the monitor via Wi-Fi (both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks). The monitor uses AES-128/256-bit encryption and is EU GDPR approved. Initially, only one person has access to the monitor. You can grant other users access through sub-accounts. This is an extra layer of security.

The other standout features for me are cry detection and AI danger zone detection. Cry detection not only alerts you when your baby cries but plays a soothing lullaby to try to calm the baby. The AI danger zone detection allows you to set up a virtual fence. Whenever your baby leaves that area, you get notified. This is great for babies who love attempting crib escapes.

Other notable features include:

• Sleep tracking with analytics
• Sound and motion notifications
• Auto photo – snaps a picture when your baby’s face appears to create a memory journal automatically
• Crystal clear 2K video
• 360-degree camera angle
• Two-way audio
• 940nm infrared night vision
• Easy download of images and video
• Mount on crib or sit on a shelf
• Supports extending the device – signaler and LCD screen
• Works offline (needs Wi-Fi for remote monitoring and notifications)

In the Box

If you rolled your eyes at the mention of local storage and a microSD card, don’t worry. The SimShine Baby Pro smart baby monitor comes with the microSD card already installed, so there’s nothing extra to buy. It also comes with a USB card reader. The company really did think of everything with this device.

Everything you need to get started is included. There’s the device itself, which is adorable. You can get it in pink or yellow. There’s also a secure crib mount with a soft adhesive pad to prevent your little one from bumping into the metal mount. The mount pole is adjustable.

You also get a power cable with adapter if you’d prefer to set the monitor on a shelf or table versus mounting on a crib. This is ideal for monitoring a toddler.

Getting Set Up

Full disclosure: I don’t have a baby, but this works incredibly well for monitoring pets, too. I mounted my SimShine Baby Pro on a cat tree to see how sturdy it would be. The grips on the mount have a silicone texture to prevent damaging a crib and hold surprisingly well. Even with the pole fully extended, I didn’t have any wobble.

It took just a few minutes to snap the monitor onto the mount and connect the mount to the cat tree. You will need to be near a power outlet, of course, to power the monitor.

I highly recommend downloading the SimShine app before powering the monitor up. Otherwise, it will pester you to scan the QR code repeatedly. However, once I had the app installed and an account created, all I had to do to finish the installation was let the baby monitor scan the QR code within the app.

The whole process took roughly five to ten minutes. It really was that simple to set up.

The app itself is simple and straightforward. You can view all devices on one screen. Large icons make it simple to adjust the position of the camera and turn the mic and speakers on and off. Plus, you’ll find plenty of ways to customize everything in the settings.

Video Quality

The first thing I did was test how clear the video stream was both with the lights on and off. I’ll admit there was maybe a half second delay at times in the stream, but that’s to be expected with most any camera over Wi-Fi.

What was mind-blowing to me was how clear the video was with the lights off. I took a screenshot with all lights off and I could still see everything clearly. Naturally, it’s in black and white, but the clarity was amazing.

The SimShine Baby Pro ensures you’ll be able to see your baby without any grainy texture or blurring. There is a few second delay when you turn the lights off as the camera switches to night vision mode.

Videos and images you save are just as sharp and clear. This can make for some great memories without having to constantly keep your phone at the ready. Just go back and look at the day’s footage and turn on the auto-photo capture.

Audio Quality

Needless to say, my cats were a bit confused that I was somehow talking to them, but I wasn’t in the room. However, I had a friend help me out to test the audio quality. We could hear each other as clearly as if we were in the same room.

You can adjust the volume that comes out of the monitor itself to avoid being too loud or soft for your baby. You can also adjust the volume of the lullabies.

AI Features and Notifications

While you can set a lullaby (there are five pre-installed, but you can add your own to the Music folder of the microSD card) to play manually whenever you want, one will play for about a minute when crying is detected. In my review, I played a crying baby video on YouTube on a medium volume. Within 10 seconds, I had a notification on my phone and a lullaby started playing.

The next thing to test was the virtual fence. You’ll find this setting, and many others, in the settings on the app. Once you turn it on, you’ll be asked to set the perimeter.

You only need three points to create a virtual fence. The SimShine Baby Pro smart baby monitor then alerts you the moment your baby goes past this virtual line. You can set the sensitivity. For instance, if your baby’s arm happens to go outside the line while they’re sleeping, a higher sensitivity would alert you while a lower sensitivity would wait until more of your baby moved.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the SimShine Baby Pro is a truly impressive smart baby monitor. I love that you don’t need a subscription and cloud uploads aren’t even an option. Plus, you can easily access the monitor from anywhere using the convenient app.

It’s simple to look back through the day’s footage. The only complaint I can find is when trying to wake the camera back up through the app, after turning it off via the app, it took several tries before the app responded. It was several minutes before the monitor turned back on.

Otherwise, you couldn’t ask for clearer video footage. Plus, a microSD card is included so you’re ready to start monitoring from day one.

If you want to keep a close eye on your baby, or pets, from anywhere, try the SimShine Baby Pro baby monitor yourself for just $169 for the 64 GB model or $174 for the 128 GB model.