Aqara's claim that the Camera Hub G350 is the first Matter-certified camera on the market caught my attention when it was first announced. Matter is a significant part of what I want in the smart home industry: the freedom from vendor lock-in. Let's take a look at the new Aqara Camera Hub G350 and see how it works with Matter and HomeKit.

HomeKit Weekly is a series covering everything related to smart home accessories, automation tips, and Apple's smart home framework.

Box Contents and Technical Specifications

In the box, you'll find the camera and a fairly long USB-C cable. I wish Aqara had included a wall adapter, but I have plenty at home. In terms of technical specifications, here are the features Aqara has added to the Camera Hub G350.

  • Resolution and lenses: It uses a dual lens system that pairs a 4K wide-angle camera with a 2.5K telephoto lens. HomeKit Secure Video will still be limited to 1080p.
  • Zoom and coverage: There is a 9x hybrid zoom and a motorized pan-tilt base that provides a full 360-degree view of the room.
  • Smart home hub: Besides video, it acts as a Zigbee hub, Matter Controller, and Matter bridge for other Aqara devices.
  • Local AI tracking: The camera has on-device intelligence features to automatically track people and pets. I naturally have doubts about how well these algorithms perform in a busy living room, but the fact that processing is done locally instead of being sent to the cloud is a great step for privacy. This is not connected to Apple Home.
  • Storage: You can record locally with a microSD card of up to 512 GB, use a NAS, or connect with Apple HomeKit Secure Video.
  • Hardware privacy: Aqara has added a physical lens cover that automatically shuts the camera off when closed. I love this feature and wish every camera included it.

Aiming to Be a True Smart Home Hub

The Aqara Camera Hub G350 aims to be much more than just a security camera. It functions as a complete smart home hub. It supports Matter 1.5, which is the latest standard that finally includes cameras in the Matter ecosystem. Apple Home has not yet been updated to support Matter 1.5 cameras, but I expect this to appear in Apple's fall release at WWDC. This means we still rely on the standard HomeKit integration for video streaming today, but this camera is incredibly future-proofed for when Apple finally flips the switch.

It also serves as a Zigbee hub and a Thread Border Router. This means you can directly connect your existing Aqara door sensors, climate sensors, and smart buttons to the camera, bridging them to Apple Home. Aqara has many low-cost sensors that work great in your HomeKit environment.

Setting Up Aqara Camera Hub G350 in Apple Home

Since Apple has not yet updated the Home app to support Matter 1.5 cameras, the setup of the G350 currently relies on standard Apple Home integration. After plugging in the USB-C cable and connecting to your Wi-Fi network in the Aqara app, you can add it directly to Apple Home. It's as simple as scanning the code on the bottom of the device. The Matter code is located on the back and will appear as a bridge in Apple Home, but the camera won't be there yet. This was a bit confusing for me during the setup.

Once added to the Home app, it functions like other HomeKit Secure Video cameras. You get iCloud recordings, facial recognition, and activity zones. One downside of HomeKit Secure Video is that Apple still limits video streaming to 1080p. However, since the G350 also supports RTSP, you can simultaneously stream full 4K to a NAS or a locally connected drive. This dual-stream approach allows you to enjoy the convenience of the Apple Home app for quick notifications on your iPhone while keeping high-quality 4K footage locally when you really need to zoom in. I feel that the time has come for Apple to care more about HomeKit Secure Video. It's time to expand the feature set.

Overall Assessment of Aqara Camera Hub G350

The Aqara Camera Hub G350 is a solid HomeKit Secure Video camera that integrates all your Aqara devices into Apple Home. Its hardware privacy, dual lens system, and Matter-certified future-proof design make it one of the most impressive cameras I've seen this year. I will closely follow the evolution of Matter standards and the continued support from Apple.

You can purchase the Aqara Camera Hub G350 from Amazon.