What people sometimes dislike is that security cameras are always watching. But the Aqara Camera Hub G3 does not. When you want, he rolls in with his all-seeing eye and doesn’t film anything at all. But that is not the only unique selling point of the device, as you can read in this Aqara Camera Hub G3 review.
Aqara Camera Hub G3
Price
€119.99
Resolution
2,304 by 1,296 pixels
frame rate
30 fps
Aspect ratio
16:9
Video codec
H.264
Diagonal viewing angle
110 degrees
Other Swivel base, camera lens can rotate in, no subscription required, night vision
wireless
802.11b/g/n (2.4 and 5.0GHz),
Website https://www.aqara.com/eu/
7.5 Score 75 
- Pros
- Complete product
- No subscription fees
- Flexible and sleek design
- Negatives
- Little smart home compatibility
- Zigbee hub without device support
The Aqara Camera Hub G3 has a viewing angle of 110 degrees, a resolution of 2,304 by 1,296 pixels and the ability to rotate up and down as well as left and right. The camera rotates almost 360 degrees and can be positioned at an angle of thirty degrees up or fifteen degrees down.
You also do not need an extra box or hub for this, since you connect the device directly to WiFi (over 2.4 or 5.0 GHz). You can then view the images within the app or via a smart display equipped with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. There is support for both.
The Aqara Camera Hub G3 is therefore quite extensive and offers many options with regard to monitoring the house or a specific room. If you don’t want the camera to see anything at all, you simply turn the black, rollable head inwards. Two eyelids with eyelashes appear at the front, indicating that the camera is off.
The micro-SD card also appears on the screen, which fits a 128 GB card. This is a smart way of offering options without compromising the design, while also being usable and accessible.
Hub and camera in one
The system tracks both people and animals and can also recognize people (please note that images are sent to Aqara’s Chinese servers). Inside the camera – which also serves as a video processor – is also a Zigbee 3.0 hub. This makes it possible to connect up to 128 other Aqara devices to the network at your home. So you don’t have to buy a separate hub when you use multiple Aqara devices. Unfortunately it is not possible to connect other Zigbee devices; you need another hub for that.
A major advantage of the Aqara Camera Hub G3 is that in principle all images and commands are processed locally. If you do not use facial recognition, your data will not leave your network. This also means that you do not have to take out a monthly subscription to view images.
You view recorded material within the app, provided of course there is room for it. A micro-SD card is not provided by default by the manufacturer, so you have to purchase it yourself. A bit annoying, but luckily 128GB cards are no longer so expensive.
Handy app with many options
When you open the app, you immediately see a live feed of the current image and the various controls. You get access to a kind of wheel with arrows, with which you determine the viewing angles. You can also take screenshots and other recordings at lightning speed and open the advanced settings. You also make contact with other people by tapping the telephone receiver. Then people in your house can hear you speak through the speaker on the back, while you hear them thanks to the built-in microphone. It works very simply and therefore also very effective.
In addition, you can also use the software to set when the camera turns its eye inwards. The advanced options provide access to the aforementioned recognition capabilities and more. For example, if you activate person recognition, the camera will follow that person as soon as it is recognized.
Thanks to the swivel base, this is also a breeze. This means that you can place the Aqara Camera Hub G3 in many places in the house and are therefore not dependent on a certain angle or position. You just have to make sure that the camera can rotate and nothing is in the way of the lens.
Aqara Camera Hub G3 – conclusion
In addition to support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, there is also support for Apple HomeKit. This makes this system one of the most widely deployable cameras at the moment. The big downside is that you can’t include it in a Zigbee network and it only responds and interacts with other Aqara devices.
You can view images on a smart display from Google, Amazon, Lenovo and more, but that’s where the smarthome support ends. Fortunately, the app is accessible and very extensive and the design is also a big plus of this model.
In addition, the image quality is of a high level, even when you view images when it is a bit dark. The audio quality is intelligible to everyone; but maybe your internet connection is playing tricks and leaving gaps in communication. It sometimes takes just a little too long before the camera responds to commands from the app, but that is manageable at the bottom of the line. Furthermore, this model of 119.99 euros only offers advantages.
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