Any links to online stores should be assumed to be affiliates. The company or PR agency provides all or most review samples. They have no control over my content, and I provide my honest opinion.

Today, Aqara have added another Zigbee hub to their product lineup with availability on the Amazon US, Canada and France. It should come to the UK in the next few weeks.

Buy from Amazon:

The new camera is a 2K, pan-and-tilt camera with the local facial and gesture recognition features, and it integrates a built-in Zigbee 3.0 hub, allowing the device to connect up to 128 Aqara accessories.

While the Zigbee hub functionality is the same as the other hubs I have reviewed, including the Aqara Camera Hub G2H. This has the added benefit of integrating facial recognition in with home automation features.

Thanks to a powerful NPU-equipped processor, the Aqara Camera Hub G3 supports facial recognition and gesture recognition features, both of which can be used to trigger home automations. Users can configure to receive push notifications when their young kids arrive home or when a stranger is detected (i.e. a familiar face was not detected), or to stop video recording when the face of a family member or a preset hand gesture is recognized. The AI-enabled features will make homes safer, and make people’s lives even easier as users can now trigger home automation with certain hand gestures or simply a recognized face.

The G3 camera hub also supports automatic cruising, face tracking as well as pet tracking, all enabled by the 110° wide-angle lens and the pan-and-tilt motor which provides up to 340° rotation angle. The pan-and-tilt motor can be controlled manually, by the preset cruising path, or via home automations (for example, to turn to the front door when Door & Window Sensor is triggered). Combined with the high-resolution 2304×1296 pixel sensor and the infrared night vision enabled by the 940 nm LEDs, which are invisible at night, the G3 protects homes in 360-degree with no blind spot, day and night.

Compared to the previous G2H Camera Hub, the new G3 provides other advanced features including:

  • Wider compatibility with third-party platforms: as a camera it supports not only HomeKit Secure Video but also streaming to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant smart displays, while as a hub it allows connected child devices to support a wide range of third-party ecosystems and voice assistants, such as HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT, and more;
  • Local infrared control: the built-in IR controller allows the G3 to automate the infrared-compatible devices, and the IR automation is local which means it remains functioning without the Internet connection;
  • Dual-band Wi-Fi support: both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks are supported;
  • Privacy protection: it is equipped with a privacy shutter that physically covers the camera lens, and the shutter can be activated manually and automatically;
  • Type-C port with video out: it uses the modern and universal connector that supports low-latency, high-definition video output via UVC protocol.

To celebrate the launch, Aqara is now offering limited-time discounts for the new Camera Hub G3 on its Amazon brand stores. North American customers will enjoy a 20% discount at check with the promo code USG3PRGE in the US and Canada, and the code will be valid through Nov 24, 2021. Aqara also offers French customers a 20€ OFF discount at its Amazon.fr store, with the promo code CAMERAG3FR, and the offering will expire on Nov 25, 2021.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *