Aqara's P2 Movement and Mild Sensor ($33.99) has been on my good dwelling want listing because it was introduced in 2022 — and now it's in the long run Right here. My home runs on movement sensors and I've been utilizing Aqara's Zigbee primarily based ones for years. They’re amongst my favorites due to their low worth, small dimension, simplicity and strong reliability. However they require a hub, which provides complexity and makes them tougher to suggest.
What makes the brand new P2 totally different is that it makes use of Matter-over-Thread as a substitute of Zigbee. This implies, in concept, it is going to join on to your good dwelling platform of selection – Apple House, Amazon Alexa, Google House, and so forth. – no want for Aqara Zigbee hub. It's additionally $10 cheaper than the Eve Movement ($49.95), the one different Thread / Matter movement sensor obtainable immediately.
I've had the P2 put in in my good dwelling for just a few days now, and functionally it's the identical nice Aqara movement sensor I do know and love. In virtually each means, the P2 is equivalent to Aqara's Zigbee-based P1 movement sensor ($24.99); all that has modified is connectivity and battery life. However within the quick time I've spent with it, I can't see that the addition of Matter and Thread have made any important enhancements — and in some methods (notably battery life), they've made it worse.
Aqara made a movement sensor design years in the past and was unsuccessful. The P2 has the identical versatile stand because the P1, permitting you to twist and tilt the sensor 360 levels to get the proper subject of view. Its flexibility gives a higher vary than my different favourite Zigbee-based sensor, the Philips Hue Movement Sensor ($44.99) with its magnetic mount.
The P2 is simple to mount on the wall or ceiling due to the provided adhesive helps; you may even tuck it below furnishings, one thing troublesome to do with Eve Movement. I want to see a screw mount possibility – my husband could be very averse to tape on our painted partitions. However there may be additionally the choice of putting it on a flat floor and never utilizing the stand in any respect.
The P2 has the identical wide-angle PIR sensor and light-weight (lux) sensor because the P1, and might equally detect movement as much as 23 toes away and over 170 levels horizontally. Its built-in gentle sensor can be utilized for automations in Apple House and SmartThings. (It seems in Google House, however it will possibly't be used as a set off, and it's not in Alexa in any respect.) That is helpful for mechanically dimming the shades after they get too brilliant, or for turning on the lights solely when it drops beneath a sure degree. brightness. The P1's gentle sensor solely works within the Aqara app and isn't uncovered to third-party platforms, so the P2 has a leg up right here.
The P2's gentle sensor can be utilized for automations in Apple House and SmartThings
However bizarrely – as a result of it's a Matter gadget – the P2 doesn't work in any respect with the Aqara app. This implies you may't go into the gadget's settings to regulate issues just like the motion-sensitivity vary and retrigger time (by default, they're set to 16.four toes and 30 seconds), a helpful function of the P1.
The P2 will work with the Aqara app by way of its new Matter / Thread Hub M3, coming this spring. However then, you'll have to purchase one other hub to get the complete performance of this gadget, which sort of negates the primary motive to purchase it over the P1. Ideally, Matter will ultimately add assist for altering these sorts of settings in its specs, so we received't have to make use of the producer's apps as effectively. However I'm not holding my breath on that.
To make use of P2 immediately, you want a Matter controller in your desired good dwelling platform and a Thread edge router. I set it up utilizing Samsung SmartThings through a Galaxy S22 and it related simply to the SmartThings Station, which is a Matter controller and a Thread edge router. (Newer HomePods and Apple TV 4K do comparable double obligation for Apple House, third-generation Echo Present eight and fourth-generation Echo for Alexa, and Google Nest Hubs for Google House.)
I arrange automations for the P2 to activate my kitchen lights when movement is detected; when the sunshine degree drops beneath a set threshold between 16:00 and 19:00; and to allow dim when movement is detected through the evening. I additionally set a “no movement detected” automation to show off the lights when there isn’t a movement after 10 minutes. All the pieces labored as anticipated and response occasions have been very quick.
Nonetheless, as soon as I arrange the P2 in SmartThings, I couldn't get Matter's multi-admin function to work. This could permit me to share the gadget with different platforms akin to Apple House, House Assistant and Google House. (I beforehand wrote concerning the issues I had with multi-admin.)
I additionally tried including the P2 on to all 4 main platforms, and whereas I related the P2 to Google House and Alexa utilizing an Android telephone, the iPhone 15 Professional refused to combine it with Apple House, Alexa, or Google House .
That is most likely not Aqara's downside. We've had loads of bother including Matter gadgets to Apple House, particularly Thread-based ones. Even as soon as I integrated them, I had points with Thread devices just like the Eve Movement and Nanoleaf Necessities Thread falling offline. In distinction, my Zigbee-based Hue and Aqara movement sensors have by no means failed me (except somebody unplugs their hub) and have been working in my home for years.
Because it's nearly not possible to troubleshoot Thread connectivity points, I haven't been in a position to pinpoint the trigger, though I’ve my suspicions. Thread Border routers from totally different producers nonetheless don't work collectively, and a number of Thread networks in my home are most likely complicated me. The excellent news is that Thread Group is engaged on fixes for all of those points. The dangerous information is that there's no agency timeline for once we'll see these options within the wild.
We've had loads of bother including Matter gadgets to Apple House, particularly Thread-based ones
This brings me to the opposite Matter-over-Thread disappointment with the P2: battery life. It runs on two CR2450 batteries, and Aqara guarantees a battery lifetime of as much as two years, considerably lower than the P1's 5 years. I assume that's the worth you pay for a “hub-free” life. The processing energy required by Matter and the potential for this gadget to speak to a number of ecosystems through Thread reasonably than a single Zigbee hub might be why this quantity is greater than half, however I'll have to check this rather more work to make a name to it.
Whereas I recognize Aqara's efforts to advance Thread and Matter and put together us for the good dwelling of the long run, immediately the $25 Zigbee P1 is the higher possibility if you happen to're in search of a quick and dependable movement sensor. The primary motive to contemplate the P2 is in order for you entry to that gentle sensor in your good dwelling platform (though you may't use it in Alexa or Google House), you simply don't wish to purchase an Aqara hub, or that you’ve got a extremely secure Thread community.
Picture by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge