With the Presence Gen4, Shelly launches its first mmWave presence sensor. According to the manufacturer it keeps track of up to ten people at once, spread over a maximum of ten zones that you lay out yourself, and the processing stays local. You can choose between Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee and Matter, so the sensor fits into Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa, SmartThings and Home Assistant. In Europe you pay €69.90 including VAT.
What can the Shelly Presence Gen4 do?
The sensor uses a 60 to 64 GHz radar, so it also picks up people sitting still, up to 3 metres away. Wall-mounted it covers 140 degrees and up to 8 by 8 metres; in a corner that becomes 90 degrees and 7 by 7 metres. You can set minimum and maximum heights to ignore pets and a robot vacuum, and a built-in light sensor reports dark, twilight or bright. One caveat: the product page says six people in one place and ten in another. We are going by the announcement, and will check once we have tested the sensor.
Installation, power and Matter
The sensor is powered over USB-C (5 volts, 1 amp) and draws 2.5 to 3.5 watts, so you always need an outlet nearby. You can place it on the included stand, with adhesive tape or with screws, ideally at a height of 2 metres. It works without a hub, has its own web interface and uses Shelly Cloud only as an option. Matter runs over Wi-Fi, and pressing the button five times switches between Matter and Zigbee firmware. By default a Matter controller shows one zone; extra zones appear as separate components.
Shelly Presence Gen4 versus Aqara FP400 and SwitchBot
On price and setup the Shelly sits close to the Aqara Spatial Multi-Sensor FP400, which costs €79.99, tracks up to ten people and offers eight zones, Thread, Zigbee and Matter, with a range of roughly 10 by 8 metres. The Shelly is cheaper, uses Matter over Wi-Fi and offers ten zones. The SwitchBot Presence Sensor combines PIR with mmWave and runs on a battery, up to two years according to SwitchBot, but does not track separate zones and people. If power is nearby and you want many zones, the Shelly is interesting. Without an outlet, SwitchBot is more practical. We have not tested the three side by side.
Price and availability
The US list price is $84.99 and the sensor is available now from Shelly. In Shelly’s European web shop it is in stock for €69.90 including VAT, in white or black.
Every Tuesday: the week's most important smart home news, new products and the best deals in your inbox. Free, unsubscribe any time.
