Xiaomi solar camera monitors with two lenses simultaneously. It works without a power outlet or Wi-Fi

The new Xiaomi solar camera has a simple goal: to free the “house guardian” from dependence on both a power outlet and Wi-Fi. The Smart Solar Camera 4 Pro 4G Dual-Camera Edition model combines its own solar panel, a battery for days of operation, and a pair of lenses, one of which can also rotate its head almost all the way around. Let’s take a look at what it offers.

A pair of lenses will guard the house’s surroundings

The main advantage of the new product is that it doesn’t just look in one direction. According to the manufacturer, the fixed wide-angle lens covers 180° horizontally and maintains a constant overview of the entire scene. The second lens sits on a motorized joint and rotates 355° horizontally and 95° up and down, allowing it to zoom in on details or track movement. Both sensors have a resolution of 5 Mpx, an aperture of f/1.6, and record video in 3K – significantly sharper than common Full HD cameras.

Sun instead of outlet, 4G instead of Wi-Fi

The top side features a 7.6 W solar panel that recharges the battery during the day. Inside is a 9,900 mAh battery, and Xiaomi promises it will last about a week on a single charge, and essentially indefinitely with the sun behind it. How long the camera actually lasts without sun, however, largely depends on the weather and how often something happens in the frame – the manufacturer itself states a range of 7 to 12 days, so take that number as an estimate. Additionally, below zero, the battery will stop charging for safety reasons.

Instead of home Wi-Fi, the camera connects via two SIM cards with 4G (in China via China Telecom and China Unicom networks), and some free data volume is included in the price. In practice, this means you can hang it even where Wi-Fi doesn’t reach – for example, at a cottage, on a fence, or in a garage without established internet. The operator can be switched directly in the Mi Home app.

What can it do after dark and how much can it store in memory?

Each of the lenses is complemented by a pair of white and a pair of infrared illumination LEDs. In the dark, the camera first sees in black and white via infrared light, and as soon as it detects a person, it switches to color night vision with white illumination. It should recognize a person up to about ten meters away, and a passing car up to fifteen meters. In case of suspicious movement, it will activate a siren and warning flashes and send a notification to the phone.

Recording is handled by the AOV (Always-On Video) function: it records continuously, but as soon as nothing is happening in the image, it reduces the frame rate to a minimum. According to Xiaomi, this saves over 90% of space compared to traditional continuous recording, and it stores videos on a microSD memory card. Two-way audio with noise cancellation is also present, so you can even talk to someone at the door through the camera.

Price and availability

The camera will go on sale via crowdfunding on the Xiaomi Youpin platform starting July 6th, with a starting price of 579 yuan. This translates to approximately 1,800 CZK, with the regular recommended price expected to be around 2,500 CZK in conversion. However, these are purely prices for the Chinese market, and we do not yet have information about availability in our market.

Would you hang a camera at home that is powered by the sun and runs only on 4G?

Sources: ITHome, Gizmochina, MyDrivers