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Aqara Releases Video Doorbell G4 With Facial Recognition and HomeKit Secure Video Support

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Smart home accessory maker Aqara today launched its first video doorbell, the HomeKit-enabled G4 with facial recognition.

aqara-G4-launch.jpg

The Video Doorbell G4 features a 1080p camera and is compatible with ‌HomeKit Secure Video‌, along with support for local streaming to Amazon Alexa and Google Home smart devices.

It features on-device AI facial recognition, which can trigger customized automations for different people. For example, a "welcome home" scene is activated when the G4 recognizes a family member coming home. Or in the case that it detects the postman, the doorbell will play a pre-recorded message.

The battery-powered video doorbell supports both wireless and wired installation and can use a pack of six AA batteries that lasts about four months, according to Aqara. Alternatively, users can opt to wire the G4 doorbell to an AC/DC transformer for 24/7 recording, and use the battery pack as a back-up power source.

The doorbell also offers adjustable sensitivity, configurable motion detection, and a power saving mode for users who live in a high traffic area to extend the battery life. Additionally, the G4's chime repeater, which has a 95 dB speaker, includes a USB-C port, allowing users to place the repeater indoors.

Video footage can be stored locally or remotely via iCloud or the Aqara platform. The latter offers subscription-free cloud storage of up to seven days of critical event clips such as motion detection, facial recognition, doorbell ring, and tamper alerts.

Priced at $119.99, the Aqara Smart Video Doorbell G4 comes in both Shadow Gray and Black colors, with optional local storage via a microSD card slot. Support for the new Matter standard will come via a future over-the-air update, according to Aqara. The G4 is available on Amazon in both North America and Europe, as well as selective Aqara retailers worldwide.

Article Link: Aqara Releases Video Doorbell G4 With Facial Recognition and HomeKit Secure Video Support
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/03/23/aqara-video-doorbell-g4-homekit/
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koil

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Dec 3, 2019
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Pretty neat little thing honestly. Supports a wide range of power solutions so it shouldn't be a problem to install it in an existing doorbells location. I don't use the AI features so can't comment on that, but it's really neat to be able to answer the doorbell remotely!
 
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Mr_Ed

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Interesting, but I’ll withhold judgement until I can see the detailed specs (I could not find them on their website).

Their page says “NAS storage“ is a ”future” option, as is Matter support, but I would be interested in the protocol support for the camera to see if it can integrate with existing security setup.

Solidly on the plus side I’ll say they at least thought about how stupid it is for every other manufacturer to have SD storage of video, but put the SD card slot in the main outdoor unit itself where anyone could crack it open and steal/destroy. This at least has it in the indoor chime unit.

[EDIT] I’m still suspicious of new products claiming “future” support of any kind. I got burned by LIFX years ago when I bought their first-gen lights with their website at the time claiming future support for HomeKit. In their case it turned out that support came with a future hardware revision, not a simple firmware update so anyone with the early hardware was simply SOL.
 
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RWI

RWI

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Feb 24, 2023
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I love Aqara products (EU).
They are so affordable en completely integrated into HomeKit.
 
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Will Co

Will Co

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Feb 21, 2021
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Mr_Ed said:
Solidly on the plus side I’ll say they at least thought about how stupid it is for every other manufacturer to have SD storage of video, but put the SD card slot in the main outdoor unit itself where anyone could crack it open and steal/destroy. This at least has it in the indoor chime unit.
Click to expand...
I've been waiting for a decent quality, decent VFM HomeKit doorbell that has a sensibly implemented internal SD storage for some time. Could this be it?

I'm interested, too, in the specs because I need to think about power. My current old-fashioned doorbell uses a battery powered indoor chime. It's just about possible that I could drag a power line through behind the plaster board to turn the thing into a powered unit, but I wouldn't fancy it.

Battery life at four months. Not exactly stellar. I appreciate that's fairly good on six AA batteries, but don't fancy having to constantly replace batteries that frequently. That said, their calculations are based on 35 wake up events per day and I don't think at my house entrance there would be anything like that activity, so maybe it will achieve longer endurance.

My main concern is that the batteries are on the outside and it's not clear if the indoor repeater can also be used to power the device via the USB-C port.
 
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Jay-Jacob

Jay-Jacob

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Interesting. I use Netatmo doorbell. They was only one at time have HomeKit and no subscription.

Is their indoors camera any good? Like Camera Hub G2H Pro? I heard they have wifi issues and disconnect all time?
 
S

SoldOnApple

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Jul 20, 2011
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I like the design and colour. Too many doorbells these days are gaudy shapes and colours and stick out on a nice home like a wart. Would have been nice to offer it in more colours such as white for people with white or dark for contrast doorframes/walls around doors.
 
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Mac Fly (film)

Mac Fly (film)

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Feb 12, 2006
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steve09090 said:
Old school huh?
Click to expand...

Absolument. Unsurprisingly it gives me 100% uptime and is one less gadget in my home. Ironically our doorbell is in fact a cool little gadget, but was very cheap and has three plug-in receivers around the home that are quite loud and programmable to whatever tune and volume you prefer and has worked away seamlessly for years.
 
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Mr_Ed

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RWI said:
I love Aqara products (EU).
They are so affordable en completely integrated into HomeKit.
Click to expand...
I (in US) have a number of their sensors and switches and they mostly work fine. I use them as Zigbee devices using HomeAssistant since I’m not a huge fan of cloud dependence. Not currently using any kind of Aqara hub, so I would also be interested to know if it is possible to integrate into HomeAssistant.
 
J

Jukens

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Jun 13, 2013
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steve09090 said:
Do we know if they need an Aqara Hub?

I mainly use Eufy, and I don't want to start loading up on hubs

Edit: Answered. Yes, it does.
Click to expand...
Where are you seeing this? Only thing I see is below which makes it seem optional for additional features.

A viable part of Aqara Home alert system​

Together with the Aqara Zigbee hubs, the G4 will become not only a security camera that will record what is happening on your porch, but also a loud 95 dB siren will alarm in case a break in, vibration, water leak or other events are detected.
 
M

Mr_Ed

macrumors 6502a
Mar 10, 2004
706
669
North and east of Mickeyland
Will Co said:
I've been waiting for a decent quality, decent VFM HomeKit doorbell that has a sensibly implemented internal SD storage for some time. Could this be it?

I'm interested, too, in the specs because I need to think about power. My current old-fashioned doorbell uses a battery powered indoor chime. It's just about possible that I could drag a power line through behind the plaster board to turn the thing into a powered unit, but I wouldn't fancy it.

Battery life at four months. Not exactly stellar. I appreciate that's fairly good on six AA batteries, but don't fancy having to constantly replace batteries that frequently. That said, their calculations are based on 35 wake up events per day and I don't think at my house entrance there would be anything like that activity, so maybe it will achieve longer endurance.

My main concern is that the batteries are on the outside and it's not clear if the indoor repeater can also be used to power the device via the USB-C port.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I can see power being an issue in your case. Agree four months in “triggered” mode is not a lot. My old fashioned doorbell should already be wired to a low voltage circuit and in theory, should be able to power this thing.

I think the USB-C is on the chime unit just to power that. No relation to the main doorbell/camera unit.
 
S

steve09090

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Aug 12, 2008
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K

koil

macrumors regular
Dec 3, 2019
247
611
surfzen21 said:
I wonder if this can truly be set up as a 100% localized system with nothing being set back to the manufacturer.

There have been numerous systems for home security that send data back to a home system maintained by the manufacturer and a clear breach of privacy.
Click to expand...
In the past month a grand total of 1.12mb of traffic has gone to Chinese IP addresses from my home network where I have one of these setup in an isolated VLAN with internet connectivity available.

EDIT: Hmm, I'm not sure my monitoring is picking up everything actually... I'll block internet access to the device and test for you in the weekend to make sure.
 
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Mr_Ed

macrumors 6502a
Mar 10, 2004
706
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North and east of Mickeyland
surfzen21 said:
I wonder if this can truly be set up as a 100% localized system with nothing being set back to the manufacturer.

There have been numerous systems for home security that send data back to a home system maintained by the manufacturer and a clear breach of privacy.
Click to expand...
Yeah, local is what I’m looking for as well. I have a few WiFi cameras at home but they are in a segregated LAN with zero internet access. Any device that needs to “call home” to operate is a non-starter.
 
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