At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Easy to install Excellent app makes the system operation simple Can be used without a subscription Ideal for an apartment or condo Cons Adding enough sensors for a large home can be pricey Users must provide their own microSD card for offline video storage Professional monitoring not available, not even as a paid option Our Verdict The Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 is one of the easiest to install and set up tech products I’ve tested, and it does an outstanding job of monitoring a relatively small space. But steer clear if you’re looking for a professional monitoring option, as that’s not on offer. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 Retailer Price $119.99 ($30.00 / Count) View Deal $139.99 ($35.00 / Count) View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 bundles the company’s flagship Camera Hub G3—a Zigbee and Matter bridge—with a door and window sensor, a Motion Sensor P1, and a Vibration Sensor T1 for a solid entry-level security system at a bargain asking price of $140 ($120 street). But before I get too deep into this review, be aware that Aqara does not offer any professional monitoring service, where someone in a central office monitors your security system and can dispatch first responders in the event of a break-in, fire, or medical emergency. While such plans are always paid subscriptions, its absence here will be a deal-breaker for some (Aqara does manufacture a Zigbee smart smoke detector if self-monitoring is all you’re looking for). The Matter-compatible Aqara Camera Hub G3 includes a Zigbee radio and a dual-band Wi-Fi adapter. James Barber/Foundry The camera is a pan/tilt model with 340 degrees of pan, 45 degrees upward tilt, and 15 degrees downward tilt. It has a stationary field of view of 110 degrees. While I can’t imagine anyone setting up a smart home hub outside the house, the camera does boast an IP65 weatherization rating. According to our IP code guide, that means it’s impervious to dust ingress and that it’s protected against water projected in jets from any direction. The Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 is ideal for a small apartment or condo. Each of the bundled smart home components comes from the factory pre-paired to the hub, so the system works almost immediately after you take it out of the box. Matter compatibility means it can be integrated into any of the major smart home platforms, including Alexa, Apple Home (along with support for Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video), and Google Home. There’s also support for Home Assistant, IFTTT, and SmartThings. The hub itself supports the Zigbee smart home protocol, and it connects to your home Wi-Fi network via either 2.4- or 5GHz spectrum (with support for WPA3). Buyers also get up to 7 days of cloud storage for video recordings, 24/7 local recording to a user-provided microSD card, and full remote access, all without paying for a subscription. Aqara’s optional HomeGuardian service offers a more extensive set of features, including up to 90 days of cloud storage for video recordings. Installation and setup Installation was incredibly simple and took less than five minutes. I rotated the camera-hub’s face up to reveal the microSD card slot and inserted one of my own (Aqara doesn’t include one, but the camera can support cards with capacities up to 128GB). You should consider these features when shopping for a microSD card for a home security camera. Once I plugged in the camera, the Aqara iOS app walked me through adding the unit to my home’s Wi-Fi network, and I used its setting to adjust the tracking and alarm capabilities for the preconfigured Home, Away, and Night profiles. The starter kit includes all the basics, but most people will want to buy more sensors for complete protection. James Barber/Foundry Setting up the door/window sensor, vibration sensor, and motion sensor was just as easy. The app offers suggestions as to where to place these devices, and the batteries come preinstalled. Once I pulled out the plastic strips and made the batteries active, each of the sensors was automatically added to the network. Users can activate or disarm any of those profiles from a pane on the app’s home screen. Just below that pane is the live-camera view. Scroll down to see panels that display the status of each of the kit’s four devices. Real-time usage The Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 seemed perfect for a small apartment, so I set it up in my home media room. My dog assisted in the testing, playing the role of intruder. Aqara’s app is well made, easy to use, and responsive. James Barber/Foundry Over the course of a couple of weeks, I learned just how much time he spends snoozing on my ottoman. The system alerted me whenever he nudged the door open (triggering the door/window sensor), nudged a cabinet door (doing the same with the vibration sensor), and bolted in and out of the room (thanks to both the camera and the motion sensor). The camera’s 2K video recordings (encoded as MPEG4 files) were clear when the room was lit, and its night vision was equally good when the room was dark. When I had the system in Away mode, the piercing sound triggered by the tripped sensors sent the dog scrambling from the room. Made for expansion If you have exceedingly modest home-security needs, the Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 might be all you need; most people, however, will want to avail themselves of the wide variety of compatible add-on products that are also available. And those expenditures can add up quickly. Most people’s homes have both doors and windows, for example, so if you want to monitor multiple entry points, you’ll need to spend $30 for each additional door/window sensor or $20 for each additional vibration sensor. An alternative means of security would be to install a motion sensor in a room with several windows, but then you might not be notified of a break-in until an intruder is already in the house. One motion sensor can substitute for mounting contact sensors on several doors and windows, with the caveat that an intruder will already be in the house when the system gets triggered. James Barber/Foundry You can also go beyond basic home security to build out a complete smart home system by adding the Matter-compatible Aqara Smart Lock U200 ($270), Aqara LED Bulb T2 color LED smart bulbs ($23 each), the Aqara Water Leak Sensor ($20), and/or the Aqara Climate Sensor W100 ($40). You can start with the Y100 kit and expand one sensor or complementary product at a time if you decide you need them. I’m sure I could cover my entire house with an added investment of $200 for additional door/window and vibration sensors, while continuing to depend on my doorbell camera to see what’s going on outside. Users can purchase a HomeGuardian subscription from within the app. If you’re using a single camera, the “limited offer” price is $4.99/month or $49.99/year (marked down from $6.99/month or $83.88/year. HomeGuardian also supports an unlimited number of Aqara cameras for $9.99/month or $99.99/year (marked down from $14.99/month or $179.88/year). With that subscription, you get 90 days of cloud storage for event-triggered recordings (in 2K resolution); plus, logs of security events and camera recordings for the same period. Subscribers in North America and select countries in Europe will also receive security alerts via SMS and email. A 30-day free trial is included with your purchase. Placing these stickers on your windows might deter the casual burglars, but Aqara doesn’t offer professional monitoring, even as a paid option.James Barber/Foundry One of the several things I like about Aqara’s offering is that I don’t think I’ll ever need the HomeGuardian plan after installing a 128GB microSD card in the camera (that’s the max supported capacity, by the way). I get alerts on my phone when anything trips the sensors, so I don’t think I need the SMS/email security alerts that come with that plan. Without the automatic back up of video recordings to the cloud, I might lose the camera footage in a fire or a flood. I don’t think making those backups would be top of mind during that kind of disaster. And if a burglar steals the camera, I won’t have any evidence of the crime to provide the police. So, having a subscription is more than a simple matter of convenience. Should you buy the Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100? Aqara has created a bundle that’s incredibly easy to set up and even easier to use. Most users will find they can use the well-designed app with minimal or even no tweaks required.  This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best DIY home security systems. I’ve previously tried a Ring Alarm Pro system, and that experience involved watching a lot of installation guide videos at the beginning and ended up with what seemed like endless tweaks to unreliable door and window sensors. The Aqara sensors have worked exactly as advertised, and the camera’s video quality is excellent. Aqara’s support for Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home means this security setup can grow with an owner’s interest in smart home technology. Anyone who’s taking their first steps into home security will find the Aqara Camera Protect Kit Y100 a strong way to start. Read...

A few days ago, Microsoft announced via the Windows Insider blog some new AI features and improvements for the Photos app. Among the new features is “Relight,” which lets you adjust the lighting in a photo by placing up to three virtual light sources that can each be adjusted for color, intensity, and direction. There are also several built-in preset styles for quicker adjustments. With Relight, you can use the power of AI to dramatically change the mood, tone, and appearance of any photo. However, you’ll need a Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PC to take advantage of this feature right now. Intel- and AMD-powered Copilot+ PCs will be getting this feature over the next few months. The search function in Photos has also been upgraded, allowing you to search for images using natural language queries instead of keyword-based queries. For example, you can type “sunset at the beach” or “family outdoor fun” to find relevant images, even if they don’t have file names that match those terms. As with Relight, you’ll need a Copilot+ PC to take advantage of semantic searches in Photos. If you don’t know what that means, see our handy overview on what to know about Copilot+ PCs. Read...

Apple’s latest developer conference covered a huge number of features coming soon to the iPhone, iPad and other devices. Read...

A significant update is coming to the Windows 11 Start Menu: Microsoft is now testing a wider, scrollable design, complete with the Windows Phone sidebar. This latest change follows the introduction of a “category” view last year, showing ongoing development. If this sounds like old news, it is, sort of. While Microsoft’s new “category” view within Start was hidden in a build last year, it resurfaced in February when Microsoft announced it would debut in a Windows Insider test channel soon. By April, the wider, scrollable Start menu was unearthed by Twitter sleuths, again as a hidden feature. In June 2024, Microsoft also began testing a “sidebar” to the Windows 11 Start menu for Android phones, then added iPhone support to the sidebar as well. (Microsoft is also testing allowing users to mirror their Android phones’ screens from this sidebar as well.) If you’re a member of the Windows Insider program and subscribe to the Dev Channel, this is all coming together: the category view, the wider Start, and the phone sidebar. (Though I added the screen mirroring feature, that’s the only bit left out in the latest build, Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5641 (KB5060824). The wider Windows 11 Start menu with the phone sidebar.Microsoft It’s all obviously more than a bit confusing, since Microsoft tests features in various channels, off and on, before an eventual launch. The “Dev” channel is one of the most experimental, so there’s no guarantee you’ll see these features anytime soon. Just know that Microsoft is playing with what works and what doesn’t inside the Start menu, and you can be part of it if you choose. A little flexibility comes to Start Basically, Microsoft is testing a more responsive Start menu. If you pin apps, you’ll see those on top. If you don’t, you may see the “Pinned” row shrink. Underneath those apps, Start will continue to include “recommended” files—but you can turn those off inside the Windows Settings, too, via a toggle. Microsoft’s Windows 11 Start’s Categories and Grid view.Microsoft Underneath the “recommended” files will be a list of “all” apps, organized into one of two views: Category or Grid view. Category view will use AI to group apps into cards. Microsoft’s example uses “productivity,” “creativity,” and “social.” The grid view feels more like the Start menu of old. There won’t really be a “grid” of apps, but they’ll be arranged alphabetically: all of the “A” apps together, then the “B” apps, and so on. If you have a large or widescreen display, the Start menu will stretch wider than it has before. Microsoft’s Settings menu allows Start to be tweaked and configured. “Have a larger-screen device? You can expect to see a larger Start menu, by default, so you can see more of your apps and files,” Microsoft said. “On larger devices, users can expect to see eight columns of pinned apps, six recommendations, and four columns of categories in the Start menu. On smaller devices, you’ll see six columns of pinned apps, four recommendations, and three columns of categories.” If you have a mobile phone, you’ll also be able to push the small “phone” icon and open up the sidebar, where you’ll be able to access messages, calls, and possibly more. Read...

Apple has a reputation for reimagining products launched by other companies, polishing them so thoroughly that they’re often seen as synonymous with Apple itself. With the macOS 26 “Tahoe” update that Apple launched at WWCD 2025, the OS arguably has achieved what Windows 11 has struggled to be: warm, polished, and smart. Apple’s new macOS Tahoe is first defined by its “Liquid Glass” design aesthetic, a new universal design language, that I think hearkens back to Windows 10 and earlier versions of Windows operating systems. But beyond look and feel, there are practical elements, like the Spotlight search bar that understands what’s on your Mac and taps into local intelligence to find what you want. There are also shortcuts or macros to help you complete tasks, and a phone application that looks as rich as what Microsoft offers. There’s even a rudimentary Game Bar. I much prefer Windows over macOS, and have used Windows and Android products for decades. Nonetheless, there have been a few times that I’ve been impressed with what Apple has accomplished—the Apple Watch integration with iOS, for example. There’s a level of polish and integration here that I think Microsoft should pay attention to. If I had to sum it up: What I use on a day-to-day basis on Windows feels like a rough draft. What Apple showed off at WWDC seems more like the final product. Warm and rich From day one of Windows 11, I wrote that Windows 11 felt like an unnecessary replacement for Windows 10. I’ve since changed my mind about that, in part because Microsoft has pivoted toward features like Windows Spotlight and adding AI capabilities like Copilot. MacOS Tahoe looks and feels somewhat like Windows Vista’s Aero Glass design language, but you can’t hold that against them—some of Microsoft’s early Windows efforts were fondly remembered for their UI. Sure, this is way too much. But Windows just doesn’t really allow this level of customization.YouTube / Apple Apple’s widgets look very much like the old Gadgets on Windows Vista, too. They just appear to be small widgets that float on the desktop, with large icons that can show your calendar and the weather. Windows has its own Widgets Panel, of course, and there will be those who prefer that that information hides off screen. Again, however, for those who liked Windows 10’s Live Tiles and how they showed “live” information, Tahoe’s Live Activities look warm and engaging. (I don’t like Tahoe’s new ability to color-code or label folders, weirdly. It feels superficial, like something that Windows would do. ) Apple appears to have more than just light and dark modes in mind. It all looks very personal. That’s something that Windows 11 really doesn’t offer. Windows 11 is functional, but I always feel like a cubicle worker rather than someone more creative. Apple appears to be leaning harder into the individual. YouTube / Apple Productivity, too Some of what Apple showed off at WWDC looked familiar. Apple’s Control Center is just Windows’ Action Center, providing quick shortcuts to apps and controls. Apple Continuity is Apple’s efforts to traverse its iPhone, iPad, and Vision OS platforms, by allowing you to share content across platforms — something that Microsoft doesn’t do well, but hardware makers like Samsung, do. I was more impressed with Live Activities, a more dynamic sort of widget. In one example, Apple’s Craig Federighi showed an Uber delivery app connected the Mac via the iPhone, displaying a summary of how far away the driver was. Apple’s Live Activities connected the iPhone and the Mac.YouTube / Apple Interestingly, one area where it feels like Windows has an advantage is in the Phone application. On Windows, you can read and write SMS messages, grab photos from your phone, and even see the (Android) phone’s desktop. On the Mac, Apple supplies tools that are more integrated into the phone itself, such as Live Voicemail and the ability to perform live translations. Microsoft offers the latter, but that’s built into Windows itself. On the other hand, Microsoft’s UI still feels rather cold and functional, while the macOS interface bursts with life. Apple’s phone app connects the iPhone and the Mac, too. It’s livelier than what Windows offers, but sligtly less functional.YouTube / Apple Shortcuts and Spotlight Apple also showed off an updated version of the Shortcuts application, powered by Apple Intelligence. Shortcuts is a bit like IFTTT or even the Windows Power Automate application: It’s designed to take actions in response to certain conditions. Automations, in other words. On Windows, the Power applications are apps that I’ve struggled with for a few years, since it was essentially a coding language that you had to create a workflow for. Apple is trying to reduce that complexity by asking those actions to be triggered automatically, without a great deal of setup. It’s not clear how successful this application will be. Again, however, it looks crisp and clean. Shortcuts in action.YouTube / Apple The twist that Apple is adding is that macOS users will be able to create shortcuts, essentially macros that are triggered by a keyboard shortcut. One of those allows you to access the built-in version of Apple Intelligence directly, so that your queries don’t have to go out to the cloud. In a Windows context, that would be like Microsoft adding a local version of Copilot — something that it’s hinted at, but has yet to implement. If you want to use the cloud, Apple is apparently partnering with OpenAI, giving direct access to ChatGPT. One example that Apple showed off was recording lecture audio, then comparing it to notes that the student had taken, and then add to that. Shortcuts has previously lived on iOS. It will be interesting to see how Shortcuts fares on macOS, since it’s an app that hasn’t received much fanfare. This is Apple’s Spotlight, looking for local files that are relevant.YouTube / Apple Shortcuts is also being integrated with Spotlight, which is essentially Apple’s search and utility interface. It’s receiving the “biggest update ever,” Apple said, and will quickly allow you to find files that are relevant to you. Windows users will probably compare Spotlight to the built-in Windows search function and File Explorer. They’re comparable, but Apple’s Tahoe certainly looks fresh, inviting, and useful. Apple has even brought in a feature I remember from Windows 10 and Cortana: the ability to draft an email from the search box. It’s an integration that Microsoft pioneered, then dropped — and now Apple has picked up the baton and started running. YouTube / Apple Apple even spent several minutes opening a document in Pages, then adding a graphic and moving it around the page. That’s something Word has struggled with, for years. It’s time for Microsoft to pay attention Apple’s rollout of macOS 26 Tahoe didn’t push “AI” every other sentence. Instead, Apple emphasized its own “Apple Intelligence,” gently deflecting away from the acronym that divides its creative customers. Everything felt very warm, colorful, lively, and human — undoubtedly deliberately so. Microsoft could take a lesson here: Technologists are designing products for people. Windows hasn’t forgotten this, but it’s definitely downplayed it. For years, we’ve gently mocked Apple for following where others have led. This time, I think Microsoft could learn a lesson from Apple instead. Read...

Apple has previewed visionOS 26, introducing new spatial widgets, shared experiences, AI-powered photo scenes, and enhanced personalisation for Apple Vision Pro users. Read...

Apple unveils watchOS 26 with a fresh Liquid Glass design, Workout Buddy and smarter features for a personalised, motivating Apple Watch experience. Read...

Apple launches macOS Tahoe 26, featuring a sleek new design, enhanced Continuity, smarter Spotlight, and expanded AI tools for a seamless Mac experience. Read...

Apple expands Apple Intelligence with new AI features and developer access to on-device models, enhancing privacy and offline capabilities across its devices. Read...

Apple unveils iOS 26 with a Liquid Glass design, smarter Apple Intelligence, and updates to CarPlay, Wallet, Messages, and core apps. Free from iPhone 11. Read...