Affordable Xiaomi Smart Camera 4 debuts with large aperture lens and infrared night vision

Xiaomi has introduced a new smart camera in China, the Smart Camera 4. It's available to pre-order in China at CNY 249, which is about $34, positioning it as an affordable smart home accessory, but the company touts that it comes with many premium features.

This new affordable smart camera sports an 8 MP "professional" sensor that can capture at 4K. It has an f/1.6 aperture, which, combined with the dedicated HDR mode, is said to allow this smart home accessory to take clear captures even in challenging lighting conditions.

There's a built-in infrared night vision mode as well. Per Xiaomi, this mode takes advantage of the 940 nm infrared fill light, allowing the Smart Camera 4 to see at a distance of 10 meters at night. This new smart home accessory also sports a "flagship" 1T computing AI chip, which brings dynamic human and pet tracking.

The company also highlights the built-in dual-motor gimbal of the Smart Camera 4. It's said to give the sensor a 360-degree horizontal and 109-degree vertical viewing angle. For enhanced privacy, it comes with dual-band WiFi 6 with 4-layer protection and a built-in Mijia security chip.

Other notable aspects of the Xiaomi Smart Camera 4 include a two-way voice chat feature, a smart babysitting mode, H.265 encoding, support for up to 256 GB local storage (256 GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC curr. $19.97 on Amazon), and a built-in lens shield. There's no word on global release yet, but the company has a similarly-specced option named Smart Camera C700 for the international market.