Petcube Review: Petcube Bites Pet Camera

If you're like most pet owners, you worry about your canine companion when you're away from home. What is she doing? Is she barking or whining? Is she getting into things that she shouldn't? Pet cameras, like the Petcube Bites covered in this Petcube review, allow you to keep an eye on your pooch when you're gone for the day.

I use a pet camera to keep an eye on our dogs while I'm not at home. It worked well when they were puppies because I could see them getting into something and scolding them via the microphone. I could also distract them with a treat if I saw them chewing something they shouldn't be.

Now that our dogs are older, I use the camera to entertain them so they don't get bored while I'm gone. I check in on them once in a while to keep them active, and I can also see what's going on at home. If my dogs are barking or pacing around, I can check in to see what is going on.

I have checked out the previous Petcube model, the Petcube Play. You can find out what I thought in my full review. While the Play is a great base model, I was really excited to try the Petcube Bites because it has a lot of fantastic upgrades!

Was it as useful as I expected it to be? Did the upgrades work as anticipated? I'll tell you all about  the features of this device in my latest Petcube review.

MORE: Best Dog Camera Comparison – Petzi vs. Petcube vs. Furbo

Petcube Review: Petcube Bites Pet Camera

I noticed a big difference with this new pet camera model before I even took it out of the packaging. The Petcube Play is a 3″ cube. The Petcube Bites is much larger. 7.2″L X 12.9″H and 3″W. Personally, I prefer the small model's size. It doesn't stand out as much, and it's easier to place it somewhere that works with your home's décor.

The reason for this large size difference is that the Petcube offers a treat dispensing option, which the Play does not. The bottom half (the silver part in the photo above) holds the camera and all the mechanical parts of this device. The top half (the black part) is the treat container.

The Petcube Bites works in much the same way as other pet cameras. You plug the device into a power source and allow it to connect to your home’s WiFi. Yes, you have to have WiFi in your home for this device to work.

Then all you have to do is download the Petcube app, which is free for Android and iOS devices. It only takes a few moments to connect your smartphone or tablet to the camera in your home.

I demonstrate exactly how to do this in my Petcube review video above. You’ll need to turn on the Bluetooth access on your device, and the two will sync up automatically.

Trust me, I’m not tech-savvy at all, but it was very simple to get this pet camera up and running. As you’ll see in my Petcube review video above, it comes with simple instructions that are very easy to follow if you can’t figure it out on your own.

The camera streams in 1080p HD video, which is better than the 720p you’ll find with some similar products. It also has a wide angle view view at 138°. The camera is even equipped with night vision, so you can still check on your canine companion after dark.

As I mentioned briefly above, the Petcube Bites allows you to hear what’s going on at home and send voice messages to your pets with its 2-way microphone. You’ll also receive sound and motion notifications when your pets are active.

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As I mentioned in my Petcube review video, one of my favorite features of this pet camera is that it allows you to share videos and photos that you snap of your dog on social media. You can save the photos and videos to your phone or quickly share them via social media or email with one push of a button in the Petcube app.

You do have the option of subscribing to cloud-based video recording, but you'll have to pay extra for this feature. You can find out all the details about what this subscription service offers on the company's website. There are annual plans available for a cheaper price, but the daily/monthly prices are:

• 3-day video history – $4.99/month
• 10-day video history – $9.99/month
• 30-day video history – $24.99/month

This device is also compatible with Amazon Alexa to enable play and Amazon Dash Replenish if you want to reorder treats quickly.

Now, let's talk about the best feature of this pet camera – the treat dispenser. Not only does the Petcube Bites allow you to dispense treats while you're away from home, you can also vary the distance that the device flings the treats (up to 6 feet). In my Petcube review video, I demonstrate how easy it is to fling treats to your pup via the app.

You can also schedule specific times to dispense treats if you're going to be too busy to log into the app and do it yourself. The high-capacity treat storage container holds up to pounds of snacks (about treats). This is a much larger capacity than most similar products on the market, which greatly benefits multi-pet households or owners of large breeds.

The detachable treat container is dishwasher safe for easy cleaning, and the device is also equipped with a treat level sensor that will notify your smartphone when it is running low on treats. Crunchy treats smaller than 1″ in diameter are recommended so they don't jam the treat dispenser.

The Petcube Bites is available in 4 color options, including:

• Rose Gold (the color of the device featured in my Petcube review)
• Matte Silver
• Carbon Black
• Snow White

As you will also see in my Petcube review video, this device offers something that no other similar options do – the ability to play with shelter and rescue pets! Owners of Petcube devices (including rescue and shelter organizations that own the devices) can set their device to ‘public', which allows other app users to see and interact with their animals.

Don't want other people to access your Petcube Bites? Don't worry. I didn't want anyone to be able to access my device either, and there is an option to set your Petcube to ‘private' so no one else can see your pooch.

So, this product sounds great, right? Well, yes, it is. But it's also not affordable for every pet owner. The Petcube Bites is on sale on Amazon at the time of this update for $89.99. It's very comparable in price to other treat-dispensing dog cameras, but I know it's still a lot of money to spend on an item that isn't a necessity.

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