Aqara Video Doorbell G4 with Chime, 1080p FHD HomeKit Secure Video Doorbell Camera, 2-Way Audio, Night Vision, Local Face Recognition, Automations, Wireless or Wired, Supports Apple Home, Alexa,Google

Excellent video quality, very easy to set up and as it works with both HomeKit and can record to an SD card, it means you don’t need an ongoing subscription unlike other video-doorbells. I choose this over the similar Eufy one as it is compatible with HomeKit secure video, and will be upgraded to support matter. In terms of privacy, all recordings are encrypted before being uploaded to he cloud, so there aren’t the privacy concerns that I had with the Ring or Nest doorbells. The Facial recognition works well, but relies on the data from your Apple Photos app (if using in the Apple ecosystem), so if you don’t have faces labelled in your photos it won’t work with the doorbell. The motion recognition also works well, but if people move past very quickly it will not always wake up in time, but that may be because I have mine battery powered. If it is wired I think it can be more responsive. The motion activation is easy to customise and I have not had any false alerts, and you can also set an activation zone, but I have not tried this. As for the battery life, it is too early to tell. It has dropped to 80% after 2 weeks, but I have been using it a lot more than normal during this time to check it and set it up. Firmware updates automatically install easily and the doorbell rings through my HomePod and through the chime which is fantastic. The night vision is excellent, and although my upstream internet speed is only 1mb/s the live view seems to work well.My only criticism is that the chime, which acts as the hub, needs to be plugged in which limits where it can be placed. I would have preferred if this had a rechargeable battery so it can be more freely placed.UPDATE - on high use settings the batteries lasted 4 months. Based on this they could probably last 6 months in less sensitive settings.

UPDATE 2:Customer support from Aqara is awful. Doesn’t reply to any emails after the initial one. Have initiated a refund. Avoid!UPDATE:As of the 1st Feb the doorbell has stopped working. Doesn’t connect to app or HomeKit, when you press the button it doesn’t do anything either. Thought it was a power issue as it was hardwired in, but even with batteries it doesn’t work. As many have stated on here, looks like it isn’t weatherproof…Have contacted Aqara for support. Hopefully will get a new one as I genuinely did like it, but if it breaks again I will be seeking a refund.——————- Original review below:Ordered this as it’s one of the few smart doorbells I could find that actually works with Apple’s HomeKit… This replaced a Ring doorbell.Setup was very easy. The doorbell was much easier to install vs my Ring one, I could use the back plate to line up the screw holes properly and it’s flush against the wall now. I’ve wired this in so I can’t comment on battery life, but even as someone with minimal DIY experience it was really easy to install! I think it also looks better than my previous Ring doorbell - while it’s bigger, it looks a lot more premium!After installing the doorbell, setting it up was very easy. Just installed their app to guide me through the process, and scan a QR code on the chime to add it to HomeKit.Thanks to having an upgraded iCloud plan, Apple stores 30 days of footage for me and doesn’t go against my storage quota! Clips are also super easy to save, which is reassuring in case I need to save them.Video quality is good, seems about on par with the Ring doorbell. Records and streams in 1080p.One feature this has that I don’t think my Ring doorbell had is facial recognition. This is really cool but I doubt it’s a feature I’d use much.Overall I’m really happy with this doorbell and I hope it lasts a long time!

The perfect addicting to my Apple ecosystem smart home. It has motion sensors, a wide view angle and integrates easily with your Apple HomeKit. It comes with chime. You can set it to record certain instances like if someone rings the doorbell. The video quality is bright and clear. It’s easy to use to and looks good. I bought an anti theft mount from Temu as it was the biggest one I could find and I was able to fit it in after a bit of adjustments made to the mount. I feel much safer now

Upsides: works even slightly farther than 5-10 metres away (video/audio quality suffers though, so bear that in mind), works with Apple Home Kit, decent quality picture, detects faces very well.Downsides: batteries don't last long, requires their own app to set up and use full functionality: a dirty move.