Xiaomi to Release Wide Choice of Video Doorbells

Xiaomi, as many are beginning to notice, have many sub-brands (or co-brands) that all come under the Xioami Smart Home ecosystem umbrella, most notably Yeelight and Aqara, as two main brands that are getting recognition for their own smart home products. This long list of brand names seems to be carrying on, with the planned release of a surfeit of video doorbells, some of which look quite similar to existent products, and some that whilst new, look very similar to other new products that will most likely be coming out at the same time.

Still, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of choice, as long as you know what you’re buying. Our inside source has managed to obtain icon sized images of a whole lot of video doorbells, although to be clear, there’s no clear information on whether any of these will get HomeKit support in the future or at all. However, as these will almost certainly be compatible with the Xiaomi Home app, which in turn means there will be some level of control using Siri Shortcuts, with the potential to include automations that also involved HomeKit devices, once the finished version of iOS13 drops.

As for the doorbells themselves, we did manage to get a little bit of information relating to a couple of these products, but it was a bit mixed up, whilst also requiring a translation from Chinese, so you’ll have to forgive us if the information doesn’t turn out to be 100% accurate – after all specs change all the time, so treat the information as only a rough guide.

First off, the Loock Cateye (v2) and Chuangmi Cateye Peephole cameras both work in tandem with the Loock/Mxiang Cateye Video screen to provide the user with a live feed from the peephole camera. The screen is 4.3″ diagonally, whilst the peephole cameras provide a 160º angle of view, human detection up to a distance of 3m and infrared night vision up to 5m. Both of these ‘peephole’ cameras look quite similar to the current CatY Peephole camera that is already available, although these are different models to the currently available product.

The Mijia Video doorbell 2 Lite looks a lot like another already listed doorbell in the Mi Home app, called the Mi Video Doorbell (except for ‘lite’) with the MADV Cateye Video Doorbell looking quite similar to the current Dling Video doorbell (we have one here), but we have no specs on these versions at present other than like the Dling, it will work with the Xiao Ai Video speaker. The same goes for the MXiang Cateye Video Doorbell, the Yijian Cateye Video Doorbell, the Dun Cateye Video Doorbell and all other models pictured above. What we do know is that they all work with Wifi and use standard batteries, usually AA sized.

What we can say is, if any of these cameras are as good or better than the Dling Doorbell camera we have here, then they’re pretty good. The video quality is more than decent, and motion detection is fast, although you need to make sure the sensor isn’t triggered too often, as this seriously impacts battery life, which is the one downside of none of these devices offering a hardwired option.

Only time will tell if any or all of these devices will make it to retail, and although there’s no reason to doubt they will, even for Xiaomi, this is a massive list of devices to release covering only one aspect of consumers’ smart homes, although when you look at the paucity of offerings for video doorbells that are HomeKit compatible, there would be no harm in at least having a look into these products.

Thanks to Sebastian G for the information