Aqara G5 Pro Review: A Low-Light Security Camera With Impressive Night Vision

Introduction

The Aqara G5 Pro is a new outdoor security camera that has generated a lot of attention in the smart home space. It is designed to work across a wide range of smart home systems, and it comes packed with features that go beyond what most standard security cameras offer. The question is whether it can live up to the hype in real-world use.

This review covers the camera’s design, video quality, night vision, storage options, smart home compatibility, and the AI features that set it apart. By the end, you should have a clear picture of whether the Aqara G5 Pro is the right security camera for your home.

Design and Installation

The front of the Aqara G5 Pro looks very similar to the camera module on a modern smartphone, with a large circular lens that dominates the face of the device. The resolution is 2.5K, which is decent but not outstanding compared to some higher-end options on the market.

The camera comes with an adjustable mount on the bottom that feels very strong and sturdy. This makes it easy to place the camera on a shelf or other flat surface if you want to use it indoors. However, the camera is quite large, and it may be too bulky for most indoor settings. It is clearly designed with outdoor installation in mind.

Installing the camera outside is straightforward. There is a base plate that detaches from the stand, and two screws are included for attaching it to your house. Once the base plate is secured, you slide the camera back onto it, tighten a small screw, and plug it in for power.

One of the biggest limitations of this camera is that there is no battery on board. This means you cannot use a solar panel to keep it powered, and it really limits where you can place it around your house. If you get the Wi-Fi version, you have to plug it directly into an outlet. This can leave an unsightly cord running to the nearest power source, and there is really no way around it.

Alternatively, you can get the PoE version, which uses a single Ethernet cable to provide both data and power through a switch. PoE is the most reliable option, but not many homes are wired for it. A camera with a built-in solar panel and rechargeable battery would be far more convenient for most people, as it can be installed almost anywhere and just work.

Video Quality and Night Vision

The video quality of the Aqara G5 Pro is solid for its price point. In a test where a license plate was captured from a distance, the footage showed clear detail on the plate and in the subject’s face. As the subject moved further back toward the road, the license plate became harder to read, especially when compared to a 4K camera positioned nearby.

That 4K camera costs about twice as much, so the comparison is not entirely fair, but it does highlight the difference in clarity. For most residential security needs, the 2.5K resolution should be more than adequate.

Where the Aqara G5 Pro really shines is night vision. With the front porch lights on, the footage looks extremely bright, with all the details of a face clearly visible no matter where the person is standing. But the real test is with the lights off.

In complete darkness, the footage still looks amazing. There is tons of detail visible in the face, and even when the subject is walking back and forth, there is not much ghosting or blur. Compared to a 4K camera in the same conditions, the Aqara G5 Pro delivers noticeably better nighttime footage. The built-in spotlight is a nice addition, but honestly, it may not even be necessary given how good the night vision is on its own.

Two-Way Audio

The camera includes two-way voice functionality, allowing you to talk through the camera using the app. In testing, the audio was clear but a little quiet. However, there was a notable issue: every time the two-way voice was attempted in the Android app, the app crashed.

This appears to be a glitch with the Android app specifically, because the same feature worked fine on an iPhone. It is disappointing to see this kind of bug on a brand new device, and it is something to be aware of if you are an Android user. It is likely to be fixed in a future app update, but it is worth noting.

Storage Options

There are three main ways to store video footage from the Aqara G5 Pro, and each has its own trade-offs.

The first option is onboard storage. There are no SD card slots on this camera, but it does include 8 GB of onboard storage. This is great because you can buy the camera, plug it in, and it will immediately start recording events. You get roughly four to five hours of event recording before it starts erasing the oldest clips and looping through. The timeline for viewing these clips is smooth, and it jumps to the beginning of the next clip automatically.

However, there is no pre-roll, which means there can be a delay of a few seconds between when motion starts and when recording begins. This could cause you to miss valuable footage.

The biggest problem with onboard storage is that you cannot download footage recorded to the device. To download clips, you have to pay for the cloud subscription. This is a frustrating limitation, as many people will want to download footage to share with police or for other purposes, and being forced into a monthly subscription feels like a money grab.

The second option is HomeKit Secure Video. This is a great choice for Apple users who are already paying for iCloud Plus. For around $3 a month, you can have up to five cameras with 10 days of event recording. This is a solid option, especially if you are already paying for the service. The PoE version of this camera is notable because it is the only HomeKit Secure Video enabled camera with PoE support.

The third option is RTSP. This is the most flexible option because it lets you choose your own NVR, such as Blue Iris or Synology Surveillance Station, and record directly to that system. This is the only way to get 24/7 recording with the Aqara G5 Pro. To enable it, you go into the settings, turn on RTSP, and you are given a URL, username, and password to plug into your NVR.

Smart Home Integration and AI Features

Aqara has done a great job making sure the G5 Pro works with pretty much every smart home system out there. However, getting it working with Home Assistant was not as straightforward as expected.

There is no standard Aqara integration for Home Assistant. Trying Matter first did not pull anything in properly; it added the device but you could not do anything with it. Adding a generic camera using the RTSP URL worked great, with almost no lag between what is happening on the camera and what is shown in Home Assistant. This is excellent if you want to quickly check the live feed from your dashboard, but there are no extra controls, such as motion detection status.

To get those extra controls, you have to use the Apple HomeKit device integration. You do not need an Apple device to get this working, no iPhone, Apple TV, or anything like that. With this integration, you can see the live feed, detect motion, and control the spotlight on the camera. Everything works extremely well, it is fast, and it is local. However, you will still miss some of the AI features that Aqara packs into this camera.

The AI features are a major selling point. The camera can detect the basics like people, vehicles, packages, and animals, but it can also recognize faces. In testing, uploading an image of a face to the app allowed the camera to detect that person when they were staring straight at the camera. However, if the person was walking into the field of view with a hat slightly blocking their face, or if the lighting was not great, it did not recognize them.

One disappointing aspect is that notifications do not show an image preview of who is there, and there is no way to enable that in the Android app.

A standout AI feature is lingering detection. If someone is standing in front of your house without moving around, you can get a notification that someone is there, rather than just walking by. You can customize all the notifications for each AI detection type, so you can choose to only be notified for lingering detection or when a face is not detected. These AI tools are only available in the Aqara app, not in something like Home Assistant.

Additional Features

There are a couple of additional features worth mentioning. The camera can act as a Zigbee hub or a Thread border router to extend device range outside of your house. This is a nice-to-have feature that could be useful if you need extra range for other smart home devices.

The camera is also built to handle extreme temperatures, from -22°F all the way up to 122°F. This makes it a solid choice for climates with harsh winters or very hot summers.

Buying Advice

The Aqara G5 Pro comes in two versions: the PoE version at $200 and the Wi-Fi version at $180.

This camera is highly recommended if you are using HomeKit Secure Video or if you have your own NVR for RTSP 24/7 recording. It is a low-light beast and a great option for those systems.

However, if you plan to rely on the onboard storage, it is harder to fully recommend. The inability to download footage without paying for a monthly subscription is a significant drawback. For most people, the best value comes from pairing this camera with a storage solution that gives you full control over your footage.

Conclusion

The Aqara G5 Pro lives up to the hype when it comes to night vision. The nighttime footage is genuinely impressive, and it outperforms more expensive cameras in low-light conditions.

For other aspects, like Home Assistant integration, the experience is not as seamless. The lack of a native integration and the reliance on workarounds may be a dealbreaker for some smart home enthusiasts.

If you are invested in HomeKit Secure Video or want a camera that can record 24/7 to your own NVR, the Aqara G5 Pro is a compelling choice. If you are looking for a simple plug-and-play camera with flexible storage, you may want to consider other options.