Aqara FP2 presence sensor review
The only HomeKit occupancy sensor
Aqara has brought the first occupancy sensor that works with Apple Home to market that can easily trigger automations based on whether or not someone is in the room. Here’s how it works and whether or not it is worth the money.
Smart home automations can be triggered by a variety of circumstances. Time, location, the sun, a door opening, a button getting pressed, or when someone comes into the room.
This is commonly accomplished via motion sensors, but their temperamental sensing makes them unideal for many rooms in the home. Aqara’s FP2 sensor aims to fix that.
An interesting design
The Aqara FP2 is very interesting in its design. It has the face of the sensor with an Aqara logo printed on it that sits atop an articulating arm.
A USB-C cable plugs into the back of the sensor, which routes out of the top — assuming you place it on a table. The base is magnetic, allowing it to mount to metal surfaces — like a fridge — or to the two adhesive metal plates Aqara includes in the box.
Most motion sensors are small, battery-powered square boxes you can place about your home. The design makes it easier to place, but the power requirement is harder to overcome.
Aqara includes a USB-C to USB-A cable in the box, but shame on them for not including a Type-C to Type-C. USB-A devices are becoming legacy devices, so including a Type-A cable in the box is no longer appropriate.
Occupancy versus motion
What’s important to nail down is the differentiation between an occupancy sensor and a motion sensor. The latter is commonplace, while the former has been elusive for Apple Home users.
Motion sensors require significant movement to trigger and can get set off by pets, a car driving by a window, or someone in the room. They most frequently use passive infrared radar — PIR for short — which isn’t very accurate and has other issues.
One of the common issues is that if you sit still in a room, the motion sensor will no longer know you’re there. It doesn’t make automations easy.
Enter occupancy sensors. They don’t detect motion but use mmWave radar to detect up to five people in the room. It can lead to other features that we’ll discuss later.
Between the two, an occupancy sensor is far more preferable, especially if you want a simple automation that turns the lights on when you enter a room and turn off when you leave.
