Aqara sent me the G350 ahead of its release and I’ve been using it since mid-February, so this is based on a decent amount of time with it rather than a quick first impression. It’s the successor to the G3, which has been running reliably in my setup for a couple of years, so I had a reasonable baseline to compare against.
Design
It looks like the G3. Same rounded white casing, same rotating base with a mounting screw. If you put them side by side you’d notice the G350 is heavier, and there’s no obvious second lens on the front — though there is one, more on that in a moment.
There’s a silicone cover with ear-shaped pieces that can be removed. I have no idea what it’s for and I’ve taken mine off. The front has the lens assembly, a button, and a status light. The rear has a USB-C port. Sliding the front lens cover activates privacy mode and also exposes the microSD card slot, which is a neat double function.
Clean, unfussy design. Aqara didn’t change what was already working.
What’s New
The main camera goes from 2K to 4K. That said, Apple Home still caps you at 1080p due to Apple’s own limitations, which continues to be frustrating. Come on, Apple. There’s also a second 2.5K telephoto lens with 9x hybrid zoom — one of the more interesting additions, which I’ll get into. Night mode now has better infrared lighting, though it’s still black and white.
Pan and tilt cover 360 degrees, with automatic person and animal tracking. Two-way audio is built in, and in Apple Home you get a Talk button too.
The G350 is the first camera to support Matter over Thread. Matter 1.5 is what introduces camera support, so I haven’t been able to test that fully yet, but it means integration with platforms like Home Assistant should get easier over time. It also works as a Matter Controller and Bridge, so your existing Aqara Zigbee devices can come under Matter control through it.
For Apple users, HomeKit Secure Video support means the camera works in Apple Home now, before Apple formally supports Matter 1.5. RTSP is also supported for Home Assistant. Beyond that, it’s compatible with Google Home, Alexa, and SmartThings.
Storage: microSD up to 512GB, and you can also point 24/7 recording at a NAS. Cloud storage runs through Apple Home or Aqara’s HomeGuardian plan — £8/month or £80/year for unlimited cameras, £4/month or £40/year for one. A 3-month trial is included. I haven’t used it, and I don’t think most people — especially if you’re on Apple Home or have a NAS — will feel the need.
Setup
Dead simple. I ceiling mounted mine with a screw mount from Amazon. Open the Aqara app, tap the plus button, and the camera appears in the list once it’s ready. Name it, pick a room, flip the image for ceiling mounting, add it to Apple Home. That’s it — no hiccups at all.
Everyday Use
Video quality is good, day and night. Connection has been stable throughout. Auto-tracking works as you’d expect.
The telephoto lens is the thing I’ve spent the most time with. Via the Aqara app you can zoom in reasonably well and pan around once zoomed. One thing to know if you’re ceiling mounting: you can’t pan downward beyond the current field of view, only upward. If you’re planning to use the zoom regularly, an upright mount will give you more flexibility than ceiling mounting does.
Privacy mode is genuinely useful. You can export it to Apple Home or Home Assistant and trigger it through automations — time-based, location-based, or via geofencing in the Aqara app. Mine switches recording off in the morning and back on at night, and toggles when the last person leaves or the first arrives home. For a camera in a living room, being able to automate that properly makes a real difference.
To export privacy modes: create a scene to enable or disable privacy, then go to Profile > Connect to Ecosystems > Scene Sync.
The Aqara app has a lot in it. From the main screen you can record, speak, toggle privacy, tilt the camera, set cruise modes, and turn tracking on or off. Playback lets you browse and filter clips. AI sound detection — for alarms, dogs, babies, coughs, loud sounds, and more — is available without a subscription, as are smile and gesture detection. AI video search and summaries need the paid plan.
Dig into the three-dot menu and you’ll find RTSP settings for Home Assistant, default position, power-off memory, screen orientation, timestamp options, and notification controls. There’s a lot of depth here if you want it.
Two Things Worth Knowing
Some features require a subscription. That’s most noticeable for cloud AI features, which makes sense given what those cost to run, but it’s worth going in with clear expectations.
The other issue is that with position memory enabled, the camera doesn’t reliably return to where it was when coming out of privacy mode. In my case it keeps swinging toward the wall and triggering a lens obstruction notification. My fix has been to save a custom camera position and create an automation that re-pans to it after a short delay when the camera turns on. It works, but it’s a workaround — I’d expect a firmware update to sort this eventually.
Is It Worth It?
The G350 costs £140. The G3 is still available for £85 and is still a good camera.
If you’re already using a G3 and Apple Home is your main platform, I’d hold off. Until Apple lifts the 1080p restriction, the upgrade doesn’t give you much you’ll notice day to day. But if you’re coming in fresh and want a capable indoor camera with solid Matter support and good app integration, the G350 is worth the money. It’ll be staying in my setup.
You can pick up the Aqara Camera Hub G350 now. The Aqara Camera Hub G3 is also still available if you’re after something more affordable.
