AQARA CAMERA HUB G5 PRO EXPERWEW: Safety camera for Apple Home

In recent years, Aqara has been one of the few manufacturers of security cameras that always supports Homekit for Apple devices – even when Apple itself seems to have abandoned the term `Homekit '' and now tends to say that a camera` `works with Apple Home '' (referring to the Home app on your Apple devices).

The G3 and E1 cameras that we have examined with Aqara (in our overview of the best security cameras) are at a very competitive price, but they are both designed for use inside, so that the company has extended its range with the new camera Hub G5 Pro, which has a robust design which is very intentioned for life exteriors.

There are actually two versions of the G5 Pro available, and they also give you a choice of colors, with ordinary white or dark gray that looks a lot like the gray of Apple's space. We tested the standard Wi-Fi version of the camera, which uses a USB-C cable for its power supply and costs $ 179.99 / 179.99 £.

The USB-C cable included measures 2 m long, which should allow you to place it on a window sill or on a wall without too many problems. The camera support is adjustable, allowing you to tilt and rotate the camera if necessary, and there is also a wall mounting kit included in the box. However, Aqara only provides the USB-C cable for the load, without any main supply adapter, so you will have to provide yourself.

If you want to move the camera further – or perhaps higher on a wall so that it neglects parking parking – then you may want to opt for the more expensive POE version (ethernet power supply). This costs $ 199.99 / 199.99 £ and uses an Ethernet connection to provide both an electrical supply and a wired network connection.

The two models are however identical and are larger than the previous aqara cameras, because the G5 PRO houses the main camera sensor, as well as a PIR sensor (passive infrared) which provides a night vision and an adjustable projector that you can activate to scare the intruders.

There is also an integrated speaker and microphone which also provides a two-way audio. And, as it is designed for outdoor use, the G5 Pro has a robust IP65 rating for water and dust resistance, and Aqara declares that it can face temperatures as low as -50F / -30c.

Starting is very easy, thanks to the Home Aqara application for iOS / Android – although things become a little more complicated later. As soon as you connect the G5 PRO to a power supply, the camera speaker announces that it is ready to go to twinning mode, and the application uses Bluetooth to connect to the camera and configure everything.

The camera supports double band Wi-Fi using the 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz frequency strips, and the application invites you to select your favorite network and enter the Wi-Fi password. If you hold your standing mobile device, the Aqara application displays a small overview of the live camera at the top of the screen, with a rather intimidating selection of additional commands and parameters below. If you transform your device into a landscape mode (wide), the video image extends to the full size to give you a better view.

The camera has a quad-HD resolution (2688 × 1520), which provides a clear and clear image with a 133-degree vision angle. There is a small distortion of the fish eyes around the edges of the image, but that does not affect visibility much, and it is good to have such a large field of view to keep an eye on things. The camera infrared sensor also works well, offering good visibility even in darker conditions.

To be honest, we found the AQARA application quite complicated after the initial configuration process, because it distributes a wide range of cameras commands and settings in a long series of menus and submenus (and Aqara told us that they do not provide a manual for the application). But, fortunately, the Homekit support of Aqara offers a easier way to control the camera, and it only took a few quick taps to connect the G5 Pro to the Apple Home application on my iPhone and other Apple devices.

The Apple Home application offers a simplified set of commands that allow you to record or broadcast a live video each time you leave or arrive at home. It even offers to download firmware updates for the camera via Apple Home, so full brands in Aqara for making Homekit integration so fluid.

Homekit integration is also useful elsewhere. Our exam camera had 8 GB of memory which allows it to store videos directly on the camera, and the AQARA application also allows you to connect the G5 PRO to a NAS reader to store your recordings on your network or desktop network.

Aqara also offers a subscription service called Homeguardian which offers online storage and other features, costing $ 4.99 per month or $ 49.99 per year for a single camera, or $ 9.99 per month or $ 99.99 per year for an unlimited number of cameras.

But, of course, the proper iCloud + subscription service includes a feature called Homekit Secure Video which allows you to store videos from Homekit compatible safety cameras, from only $ 0.99 / £ 0.99 per month for a single camera (see: iCloud + Pricing).

Should you buy Aqara's Camera Hub G5 Pro?

If you need a robust outdoor camera that works well with Apple devices, the Hub G5 Pro camera is difficult to beat. Its camera offers good image quality even in low light conditions, and integrated memory allows you to record and store the video directly out of the box.

The Aqara application is not the most elegant software we have ever seen, but the management of the Homekit camera and the material allows you to easily control the camera using the Apple Home application, as well as to provide a low cost option for cloud storage.