Aqara Camera Hub G350 Review

Aqara Camera Hub G350: Introduction

As usual, Aqara generated a lot of buzz at this year’s CES. New devices are being announced all the time, but one that stood out was the model I’m reviewing here, the Aqara Camera Hub G350.

It follows Aqara’s familiar playbook of blending categories, turning standard indoor cameras into something more central to smart homes.

It’s the brand’s first Matter-certified camera, but it also functions as a Zigbee hub, Matter controller, and Thread border router, all in one device.

In theory, it’s no slouch either as a camera. The dual-lens setup combines a 4K wide-angle lens and a 2.5K telephoto lens for up to 9x hybrid zoom.

Add pan and tilt movements and a set of detailed AI features to the mix, and you can do just about anything.

It also claims to be the first Matter-compatible security camera, but there are some caveats at this point.

Read my full review…

Design and installation

Those familiar with the Aqara Camera Hub G3 will immediately recognize the design direction. The G350 has a playful, character-like appearance with its distinctive “ears.”

It’s strange, no doubt about it. Whether it will work in your home is a personal decision.

However, the outer shell is a removable silicone sleeve, so it has some flexibility, so you can tone it down if you want something that blends in a little more and doesn’t look too cute.

Privacy mode is handled well. When the camera is turned off, the lens physically rotates into the housing, leaving behind a pair of small “eyes.” This is a simple but effective way to make it clear when the camera isn’t looking.

The unit feels solid and has mounting screws in the base if you want a more permanent installation.

Aqara comes with a USB-C cable, but you’ll need to provide your own power adapter.

A small LED ring on the front provides unobtrusive status feedback. You’ll see Aqara and Matter QR codes on the back of the unit, and a HomeKit QR code on the base.

Features and apps

Using the Aqara Home app, setup is quick and easy and will be very familiar to anyone who has used an Aqara device before.

Just connect and open the app, and your camera will be detected almost instantly. The device also provides voice prompts to guide you through the process.

Once you get it up and running, you’ll see that this is more than just a camera.

It acts as a Matter controller, Thread border router, and Zigbee hub, making it a central part of a broader smart home setup.

Aqara smart home devices can bridge to platforms like Apple Home, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa, and in our testing, that integration worked reliably, including with Home Assistant.

Storage options are wide-ranging. You can record locally to a microSD card (the slot is the “mouth”), back up to a NAS, use Aqara’s HomeGuardian cloud service, or rely on iCloud via HomeKit Secure Video (HSV).

If you choose the native HomeKit path, you’re limited to Full HD 1080p video. 4K resolution is only available directly through the Aqara app. That’s not what Aqara does, it’s a normal HSV limitation.

A subscription to Aqara gives you access to more advanced AI features like searchable timelines and expanded cloud storage, but you get robust detection capabilities and event history without a subscription.

AI detection is broad-based and covers people, pets, faces, gestures, and sounds. It’s one of the most comprehensive systems available, but some of the more advanced features are behind a paywall.

RTSP support is also included, which is a huge benefit for those running a local NVR setup.

Case status

Then there’s Matter support, and this is where things get a little complicated.

For now, if you want to run this as a Matter camera, you’ll need SmartThings. SmartThings remains the only ecosystem that supports Matter camera streams. Still, it feels very fast.

I had the G350 for a few weeks before the official announcement, and during that time, when I tried to add it via Matter through SmartThings or other platforms, it showed up as a Matter Bridge instead. This is obviously a feature that many people want…but I wanted to test it as a Matter camera.

A firmware update released towards the end of March changed things a bit. After a factory reset, I paired it with the Aeotec SmartThings Hub using the standard Matter setup flow. It now appeared as a camera in SmartThings…but not before prompting me to install the “SmartThings Video” update.

Still, functionality is currently quite limited. The interface hints at support for pan and tilt in addition to zoom controls, but none of them actually responded during testing.

There’s also a settings section full of options like night vision, watermarks, and on-screen text, but again they don’t seem to have any effect.

Some controls worked. Adjusting the volume was fine and I was able to change the resolution, but when streaming through SmartThings over Matter, the highest it goes is 1080p.

Yes, support for Matter is technically there, and it makes sense that SmartThings and Aqara could be early adopters, but it’s not something we want to rely on just yet. It feels more like a work in progress than a finished feature.

Another oddity: Turning on Matter camera mode disables the device’s ability to act as a Matter bridge. This is a bit of a strange compromise.

performance

Matter aside, the G350 performs very well.

The highlight is the dual lens system. The 4K wide-angle lens covers the entire room, while the 2.5K telephoto lens handles detail work. Together, they deliver versatile, sharp images with up to 9x hybrid zoom.

Image quality is consistently excellent, with accurate colors and good detail retention. It avoids the overly processed look found in some cameras and instead provides a more natural presentation.

Low-light performance is also impressive. The combination of invisible infrared illumination and wide aperture results in cleaner nighttime footage with less noise than many competitors.

The pan and tilt system is smooth, and the AI ​​tracking is one of the best implementations available. Frame your subject properly and adjust the zoom intelligently without any instability.

Tracking remains reliable even in low light conditions.

Live view loads quickly and two-way audio works as expected, making the overall experience responsive.

There are many playback options, filtering is easy to use, and there are various ways to view recorded clips, including timeline, thumbnail, and event history screens.

final thoughts

Aqara Camera Hub G350 is an ambitious device with major features. It’s a great indoor camera and a truly useful smart home hub rolled into one.

Matter’s camera angles are more of an early preview than a finished feature at this point, so they shouldn’t be the main reason to buy.

If you’re comfortable with it, you’ll have a high-performance camera with plenty of flexibility and room to grow as the ecosystem catches up. If you’re looking for something more standard, our guide to the best smart home security cameras can help.

Test method

When we publish a review, you can rest assured that it is the result of long-term testing.

Smart security cameras typically exist within an ecosystem, or set of products that all work together in harmony. Therefore, it is impossible to use surveillance cameras for a week to reach a verdict.

We test smart home kits all day every day, so we know what’s important and how a particular camera compares to the alternatives you’re considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and unbiased, and of course we don’t receive direct compensation to review devices.

To learn more, read our guide to the smart security camera vetting process.

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