Shelly’s new Presence Gen4 sensor uses mmWave radar to detect people, pets, movement and activity around the home—without a camera recording what everyone is doing. The $84.99 device is available now through Shelly’s online store, with Amazon and Best Buy listings expected later.
It’s the company’s latest smart-home accessory, following last month’s launch of its $50 subscription-free security camera. The contrast is useful: cameras capture images, while the Presence Gen4 is designed to detect presence without filming the room. That makes it a potentially more comfortable fit for spaces where people want automations but would rather not add another lens to the household.
The sensor can sit on a shelf or table using its built-in stand, or be mounted on a wall. Its 140-degree horizontal field of view is designed to cover spaces of up to 650 square feet. There is one practical catch common to devices that promise to disappear into the background: it still needs power. The Presence Gen4 connects through USB-C, so placement depends on having an outlet or other suitable power source nearby.
Shelly says the sensor can integrate with Google Home, Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings and Home Assistant. It supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee and Matter, giving it several routes into existing smart-home setups. Compatibility is welcome; nobody needs another smart-home device that insists on becoming the center of an entirely new ecosystem.
The useful trick is not simply detecting that something moved. Owners can configure as many as ten independently customizable detection zones, then tie automations to particular areas. A desk lamp, for instance, could turn on when someone sits at the desk instead of whenever anyone crosses the room. A home theater could power up when someone settles on the sofa. Lights, heating, cooling or music can be set to switch off again when people leave, helping avoid running them in an empty space.
Pet detection is configurable, too. Owners can include smaller animals in automations or adjust sensitivity to ignore low-to-the-ground movement, reducing the odds that a roaming robot vacuum will trigger a lighting routine. A vacuum being mistaken for a household member would be funny once. After the third midnight light show, less so.
Shelly says the Presence Gen4 can keep track of multiple people, but its detailed feature list highlights ten configurable detection zones—not a stated ten-person capacity. That distinction matters when translating a product headline into what the device’s documented settings actually promise.
Radar-based presence detection offers a camera-free way to make smart-home routines more selective. It does not make automation magically intuitive: owners still need to place the sensor, define zones and decide what should happen when someone enters or leaves. But for people who want rooms to respond without installing another camera, Shelly’s approach is a practical alternative. The future of the smart home may still involve sensors everywhere; at least some of them don’t need to watch you.
Sources: Glitch Please! and The Verge — https://www.theverge.com/tech/1011967/shellys-new-presence-sensor-simultaneously-detects-up-to-ten-people-without-a-camera — Andrew Liszewski
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