Updated Aqara Presence Sensor FP1E Launched in China

And the products keep coming! Aqara has announced an update to their original FP1 presence sensor today – the FP1E – that is launching in China. If you’re not aware of the FP1, it was Aqara’s first presence sensor, but only saw an official release in China. This may also be the case with the FP1E, but it’s not clear if this updated model will also get an international release.

Visually, it follows the same design cues as the original FP1, so it’s larger and bulkier than the FP2, which enjoyed international sales. It differs from the FP1 only in as much as response times and accuracy are concerned, with the FP1 suffering in both areas for many people. The detection range is larger, along with faster 200ms response times, however, and thanks to some AI input, the FP1E is better at correctly differentiating from false presence and motion triggers. So triggers from things like curtains, standing fans, pets, and robot vacuums, should be a thing of the past.

Although the FP1E is in many ways a mini update from the FP1, it does differ significantly from the FP2 (FP1 and FP1E are collectively referred to as FP1/E henceforth). The FP2 uses WiFi, whilst the FP1/E use Zigbee 3.0. The FP2 is capable of creating up to 30 separate zones, each individually visible in Apple Home, with the FP1/E only having one zone, although you can split the FP1/E’s area into sections within the Aqara app to some extent. Finally, the FP2 has a detachable USB-C power cord, whilst the cable in the FP1/E is fixed to the sensor itself. The FP1/E doesn’t have an ambient light sensor, which is found in the FP2.

The FP1E can be mounted to a wall, ceiling or corner, although unlike the FP2, there seems to be no dedicated sleep monitoring function. Interestingly, the FP1E is exposed to Matter via a suitable hub, which according to the promotional materials, states that despite this being a China-only product (at least for now), it will work with Google and Alexa, which are both unavailable in China, as well as SmartThings and Apple Home, of course.

You can check out our video for the FP2 below, or read the full review HERE.

Thanks to Eric Yao for the info.