Aqara has started rolling out new firmware for the Camera Hub G350, adding pan, tilt, and zoom controls through Matter.
The move puts more distance between Aqara and its rivals in Matter cameras. While other major device makers have yet to officially release their models, Aqara was first to make a Matter camera generally available. It is now expanding beyond basic streaming with pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) controls already working on SmartThings and the Open Home Foundation Matter Server used by Home Assistant.
First experience with the new G350 firmware
The first change I noticed after updating is that the G350 now reports Matter 1.5.1 instead of Matter 1.5, a maintenance release that includes additional fixes and improvements for the camera implementation like multi-stream.
Previously, the G350 exposed video streaming, two-way audio, and basic camera controls through Matter. The new firmware adds PTZ control, allowing supported Matter platforms to move the camera and manage preset positions.
I tested the new functions with both SmartThings and the Open Home Foundation Matter Server. Pan, tilt, and zoom controls are fast and responsive, with little noticeable delay between sending a command and the camera moving.
Preset positions are more interesting. I could move the camera to a desired angle, save its current PTZ values as a new preset, and give it a name. Those presets and their names then automatically appeared on the other Matter platform.
That is a good example of Matter going beyond simply carrying a camera stream. The camera itself maintains these positions, while different Matter controllers can discover and use the same presets without setting them up separately.
Streaming remains similarly fast to my previous experience with the G350, with smooth local video and audio.
I did encounter one temporary glitch with SmartThings. After testing the camera extensively through Home Assistant’s Matter Server, SmartThings temporarily failed to start a stream. One possible cause was a previous streaming session that had not closed correctly, although I could not confirm it.
Both platforms returned to normal after a few minutes and the issue did not appear again during my testing, so it may have been an edge case rather than a persistent firmware problem.
Matter cameras start doing more
PTZ support is particularly notable because Matter cameras are still at a very early stage in real products.
Getting video into another ecosystem is only the starting point. Controls such as PTZ, preset positions, two-way audio, and other camera features determine whether a Matter camera can actually replace a platform-specific integration for everyday use.
Aqara Camera G350
The G350 is starting to show more of that potential. Instead of each ecosystem building its own Aqara-specific implementation, supported controllers can discover the camera’s standardized capabilities and provide their own interfaces around them.
There are still differences between platforms. SmartThings already provides the controls through its regular interface, while Home Assistant camera support remains experimental. The underlying Open Home Foundation Matter Server can stream and control Matter cameras, but the regular Home Assistant frontend has not yet exposed the complete camera experience. With the recent update, both platforms can also expose the motion detection as an occupancy sensor for triggers.
Other fixes
The beta firmware also addresses several issues outside the new Matter camera controls.
According to Aqara’s update notes for firmware 4.5.70_0002.0017, it fixes cases where the camera could not be rediscovered in the Aqara app after a reset. Another fix addresses Matter child devices failing to pair again after resetting the camera.
Aqara has also fixed an occasional gesture-recognition failure and updated the G350’s underlying hub system to address other known issues.
These fixes are particularly relevant for the G350 because it serves two roles. Beyond being a Matter camera itself, it is an Aqara hub that can expose supported child devices to other Matter ecosystems.
Availability
The new G350 firmware is currently rolling out through Aqara app. To check the update, open the Aqara Home app and go to Profile > Firmware Update.
The new Matter camera capabilities require firmware 4.5.70.xxx or newer. After the G350 is updated, the PTZ features can be used through SmartThings. For Home Assistant users, Matter camera support is still experimental. The features are currently accessible through the Open Home Foundation Matter Server, while integration into the regular Home Assistant frontend remains a work in progress.
(Source: Aqara; Image: Aqara, Matter Alpha/Ward Zhou)
