A couple of years ago Aqara launched the FP2: a revolutionary sensor for precise human presence detection that boasted millimeter wave (mmWave) radar technology, to not only sense when someone is in a room but where they are in the room and what they are doing… it could even detect your breathing.
For a smart sensor it was on the pricey-side though, at $80.
And that’s where the new FP1E sensor comes in, it’s a slimmed down version of the FP2, still boasting mmWave tech but at a sub-$50 price-tag.
It’s good timing because Aqara’s rival Meross just launched the MS600, also boasting mmWave, and which was described by its makers as “the first Matter-compatible presence sensor.”
That statement still sort of rings true though as the Aqara FP1E isn’t a native Matter device like the MS600.
The FP1E is an Aqara Zigbee ‘child device’ and therefore lives in an Aqara smart home system and needs a native hub to operate.
If you choose the M3 or M2 hub, you can get it singing and dancing within a Matter smart home.
Whatever hub you opt for, you’ll get compatibility with the usual suspects: Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings and Home Assistant.
The FP1E can detect presence within 6 meters, and can monitor a room of up to 50 square meters if you mount it on the ceiling.
Compared to traditional PIR motion sensors, the FP1E detects human presence even when the person is sitting or lying still.
This means it can provide essential information for tailored smart home automations such as turning off the heating when you lay down to go to sleep, or turning on the heating if it detects people coming in from outside.
Like the FP2, you will have to plug it in.
The Aqara Presence Sensor FP1E is available now, from Amazon, globally. In the US it’s $49.99, in the UK it’s £49.99.
