Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 review

Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410

Rating: 4 Stars

The Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 is versatile, well-designed, and offers solid video quality.

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Pros

• Sleek design
• Wide compatibility
• Works as a Matter hub
• Solid video quality
• Inexpensive

Cons

• A bit bulky
• Smart home support is a bit confusing

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Aqara became a favorite in the HomeKit community for its commitment to products that not just support HomeKit and HomeKit Secure Video, but do so with sleek and stylish designs and advanced features accessible in the Aqara app. But the advent of Matter has presented the likes of Aqara (along with Eve and some others) with an opportunity — an opportunity to support all major smart home standards.

That, however, also means they have to compete with the companies that didn’t support HomeKit before, but now do so through Matter. The Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 is an upgraded version of the Aqara G4 — a doorbell that I’ve had installed outside of my door (except when reviewing another model) since its release. 

So, how does the new model perform? And, given the lack of camera support in the Matter spec, how does it actually work? Quick note, the PIN pad in the images in this review is unrelated to this doorbell — it’s for the Aqara U200 lock that I’m using.

Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 specs

Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 review: Design

The actual design of the Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 is the same as the G4 before it — but that’s not a bad thing. Presumably, it means that Aqara can save some cash on design and manufacturing, but I actually quite like the design of it too.

The doorbell itself comes in a dark gray color and has a large camera module on the top half and a large button on the bottom half. I like the fact that the button is big and has an LED ring around it. Some doorbells are a little cluttered in design, and the result is that guests can sometimes have a hard time knowing what to do. Not so with the Camera Hub G410.

The device mounts to a baseplate, which you’ll then slot the doorbell onto, and use a small screw on the right-hand side to secure in place. You’ll open this door regularly if you use batteries to power the doorbell (as I did with the G4 before I moved to my current place, which actually has working wiring). If you wire it in, you’ll only really open it up to install or uninstall. Regardless, it’s easy to access.

While the Doorbell Camera Hub G410 looks nice, it is still a little bulky. Part of that is because it’s more versatile — I can only assume that if it were a wired-only model, it might be a little smaller. The device measures 5.57 inches tall, 3.56 inches wide, and 1.2 inches thick, so it’s not necessarily the most subtle doorbell out there. But, again, it looks nice enough to not be an eyesore outside of your front door.

Also in the box is a chime, though its more important function is as a hub for the camera — and in the new model, other smart home devices. The chime needs to be plugged in for the system to work properly — the doorbell itself only really communicates with that chime, rather than connecting to your smart home itself, as a way to save battery. The chime looks perfectly fine, but I plugged it in a cabinet and kept it hidden. The back of the chime has an adhesive that you can use, if you prefer, but if not you can just not take the adhesive cover off.

On the bottom of the chime is a USB-C port for power, and more importantly, a microSD card slot for local storage. That’s a neat feature — and means that you don’t have to subscribe to HomeKit Secure Video or Aqara’s own HomeGuardian service to store footage.

Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 review: App and smart home

The Aqara Camera Hub G410 connects through the Aqara app, which is decently well-designed and easy to navigate. From the main screen of the app, you can see a snapshot view of what the doorbell sees, along with any other devices that you have set as “Favorites.” The app also has an Accessories tab (for a full list of your connected devices), an Automations tab, and a Profile tab.

Tap on the camera itself, and you’ll jump into its settings. You’ll be immediately presented with a live feed from the camera, along with buttons to quickly and easily take a snapshot, enter two-way call mode, and more. You can also jump into a “Playback” tab that shows a list of recorded events. And, you can tap on the three-dot menu on the top right-hand corner to access more settings. The settings are largely what you would expect, with a few extras. For example, you can tweak settings for Face Detection, Lingerer Detection, Doorbell Ringing, and Tamper Detection. It’s a neat touch, and means that you have more control over the camera’s settings. However, I wasn’t able to find settings for motion zones in the app, which is a major omission.

On top of being able to store footage in a microSD card, or through HomeKit Secure Video or HomeGuardian, you can also set the doorbell up to be accessible through a LAN connection, which is helpful for those who want to tinker a little more.

It’s perhaps worth explaining how the Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 interacts with other smart home ecosystems. Buckle in, because it’s a little confusing. The smart home support here kind of exists in two different buckets. For starters, there’s the doorbell camera itself, which is accessible through the Aqara app, but also works with Apple Home (including HomeKit Secure Video), Google Home, Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, and even IFTTT. From those services, you can see a video feed and get notifications about the doorbell.

Then there’s the Matter support. The current Matter spec does not support cameras at all, and you won’t be able to add the doorbell itself to your preferred smart home ecosystem through Matter. Instead, the chime that comes with the doorbell can act as a Matter hub, and has a Thread radio for more reliable connectivity with compatible Thread devices — but even when added as a hub, it won’t bring the doorbell with it. It will, however, allow you to connect other Matter devices to it, which will then automatically be added to smart home services that you add the hub to. Those who want to take full advantage of the Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 through Apple Home will need to add the doorbell to HomeKit and then separately add the chime to HomeKit as a Matter hub.

But wait, there’s more. The hub also supports Zigbee connectivity, which means that you’ll be able to add Zigbee devices to your smart home by connecting them to the hub. That’s pretty handy considering the fact that many Matter hubs don’t support Zigbee. So, even if you have a Matter hub like a HomePod or an Apple TV 4K, you might still be able to take advantage of the hub functionality that comes with the Camera Hub G410 if you want to be able to add Zigbee devices to your smart home.

TL;DR: You can’t access the doorbell through Matter, but you can use the hub built into the chime to add Matter and Zigbee devices to your smart home, and the doorbell supports a wide range of smart home ecosystems through dedicated connections. It remains to be seen exactly when the Matter spec will get camera support, but don’t hold your breath. 

Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 review: Video performance

The doorbell itself may look more or less the same as the previous-generation model, but it actually has a few upgrades even outside of the new chime. Notably, it has a new 2K sensor, upgrading the resolution from 1080p. Note, you won’t be able to access that full 2K resolution through HomeKit Secure Video, which limits footage to 1080p, but you will still be able to view 2K footage in the Aqara app, even if you add it to HomeKit Secure Video.

On top of a higher resolution, the camera also has a wider field-of-view. It can easily see more of your front yard or driveway, though unlike some other video doorbells, it can’t see down towards your stoop for things like package detection. This is the main missing feature from the doorbell, and one I wish Aqara added.

Still, video looks pretty good. Colors are reasonably accurate and vibrant, however it still doesn’t have HDR. That means that it may struggle a little to capture detail in the brightest parts of an image, though this wasn’t an issue I struggled with much in my setup.

It was good at picking up motion accurately, too. The doorbell uses mmWave for motion detection in an effort to better pick up only relevant motion, and while I typically turn off notifications for motion (just keeping them on for someone pressing the doorbell), I kept them on for a while for testing and found the alerts to mostly only trigger when appropriate.

The camera works decently well for two-way audio as well. I was able to have a conversation with someone outside my door, though if there’s any noise other than the person talking, the doorbell can compress everything a little too much to make spoken words easy to hear. In most situations, you’ll find it’s perfectly easy to hear what’s going on, though.

Conclusions

The Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 is an excellent smart video doorbell with plenty of handy features. It actually satisfies a range of niche use-cases. For starters, it’s one of the only battery-powered doorbells that supports HomeKit Secure Video. And, it’s a great choice for those who don’t yet have a Matter hub, especially if you’d like to add Zigbee-compatible devices to your smart home. If you already have a Matter hub or don’t feel like you need one, and you don’t need a battery-powered model, then there are still other options to consider, but even then, this device offers good video quality and a high level of customizability in the Aqara app.

The competition

The best option for you depends on what you need, but the Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 is probably the most versatile video doorbell I’ve used. If you’re able to wire a doorbell in and just want something that works with your smart home ecosystem, then you might want to consider other options (like the Wemo Smart Video Doorbell), but even many of those models cost a lot more than the Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410, and don’t have as many features. 

Should I buy the Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410?

Yes. It’s a versatile and high-tech option at a great price.

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