Xiaomi unveiled another camera with a display for calls. It brings a host of improvements, and you can start a call with one click.

A video call with parents who live across the country can sometimes be complicated just by the time it takes for a senior to find the right icon on their phone. This is precisely the problem Xiaomi addresses with its new product: the camera connects a video call with a single gesture or a single button, and when you’re not making a call through it, it serves as an intelligent eye to monitor the household.

What is a camera with its own display good for?

Unlike a standard security camera, the primary purpose here is not surveillance, but two-way calling. The front features a 3.97″ color display with a resolution of 480 × 800 pixels and conspicuously large buttons – these are intended to simplify operation for people who are not as comfortable with touch-screen phones.

You can make calls in three ways: to a phone via WeChat, to the Mijia app, or between two cameras directly. Furthermore, a call can be initiated by a gesture, a single button, or automatically through connection with another device.

Xiaomi also considered ensuring the other party is heard clearly. Inside, there are two microphones and a larger-diameter speaker, along with smart noise cancellation, so an older person should have no trouble understanding what is happening in the call.

The Video Call 2 camera made a significant leap in specifications

We wrote about the first device in this series at the end of 2024. That model had a fixed 3.5″ display and a 4Mpx lens with 2.5K recording – the new version has made a leap forward.

A fundamental change is the rotatable electronic head: the camera can look around a full 360° horizontally, and you can manually tilt it within a range of 0 to 30°. For the first time, a single camera can cover virtually an entire room, not just a segment in front of it. The image has also improved – the resolution has increased to 8 megapixels, meaning 4K recording (3840 × 2160), and in low light, an infrared illuminator with a wavelength of 940 nm assists.

Inside, a new chip with 1.5 TOPS performance is ticking, which Xiaomi promises is half again as powerful as its predecessor – this should be sufficient for smarter scene recognition and detection. Additionally, there are small features that turn the camera into a kind of home panel: an alarm clock, hourly chimes, and the display of temperature, humidity, or weather directly on the screen. You can then connect it to the rest of your smart home via Xiaomi HyperOS Connect.

Will you buy it in the Czech Republic?

The camera appeared for sale in China on August 19, and pre-sales will start on August 26 for 429 yuan, which is approximately 1,350 Czech crowns. This is slightly more than the first model, which started at 299 yuan.

However, it is rather unlikely that the new product will officially make its way to the Czech Republic – calling relies on Chinese WeChat, and all sales run through local Xiaomi platforms. After all, the first generation also did not reach us.

Would you monitor distant grandparents with such a camera, or do you find a display in the living room unnecessary?

Sources: IThome, MyDrivers