Xiaomi launches new smart camera with a built-in screen and 4K video calling

Xiaomi has launched the Smart Camera Video Call Version 2, a home camera that brings video calling back to the company's camera line and this time builds a screen into the unit itself. It is listed on Xiaomi Youpin with crowdfunding opening on August 26, priced at ¥429, which converts to roughly $60.

The screen is the headline change. Where the 2024 Smart Camera Video Call Edition pushed calls to a phone, the Version 2 features a 3.97-inch fully laminated color panel at 480 by 800, with larger physical buttons around it and firmer feedback when pressed. That turns the camera into something closer to a fixed video calling terminal.

Calls run two ways between the camera and a phone and also directly between two cameras. Xiaomi offers three ways to start, a hand gesture, a button press, or an automatically linked call. Audio is handled by two microphones, a large speaker, and noise reduction that Xiaomi says keeps voices intelligible over background noise.

On the imaging side, the camera uses an 8MP sensor recording at up to 3840 by 2160, which gives it 4K capture. It sits on a new horizontal pan and tilt system that rotates a full 360 degrees, with manual tilt between 0 and 30 degrees, so a single unit can cover most of a room without being moved.

Xiaomi has fitted a 1.5T chip that it says delivers 50 percent more computing power than the outgoing model. The company is spending that headroom on larger AI models for scene and activity detection, which is the part of a home camera that decides whether an alert is worth sending.

The camera also plugs into HyperConnect, Xiaomi's system for linking smart home devices, so the live feed can appear on the screen during a call. Access can be shared with family members. The Smart Camera Video Call Version 2 is a Youpin crowdfunding listing, which in practice means a China first release. Xiaomi has not announced international availability for either.