Aqara Motion & Light Sensor P2 Review
Aqara Motion & Light Sensor P2 is Aqara’s second Matter device after the Aqara Door & Window Sensor P2.
Similar to the Aqara Door & Window Sensor P2, I would think that the Aqara Motion & Light Sensor P2 is an alternative to the Aqara Motion Sensor P1.
I have the Aqara Motion Sensor P1 which I use to automate the toggling of the lights when motion is detected in the toilet.
Aqara Motion & Light Sensor P2 retails for S$55 on Souky’s Shopee Shop while the Aqara Motion Sensor P1 retails for S$36 in the same shop.
The main difference between the P1 and the P2 is the protocol. P1 uses Zigbee, while P2 uses Matter.
Unboxing
The P1 only has one holder, but the P2 comes with two.
Design
The design of the P2 is identical to that of the P1.
The only way to tell them apart is by looking at the model name at the bottom of the device.
Even the batteries powering them are the same, which is two CR2450s. However, the battery life is vastly different. On paper, Aqara said the P1 will give you five years of battery life while the P2 will provide you with two years.
The battery life proves that Zigbee is more power efficient than Matter. And it makes sense, given Zigbee is in the third version while Matter is only in its first. So Matter is very new.
Setup
The setup process is the same as the Aqara Door & Window Sensor P2. You can read the review if you like, as I will not explain here.
The only different screens are the device homepage and settings page, as shown below.
Just a reminder that sensors will not appear as a tile in Apple Home, so you will need to go to the Room View to see it. The Aqara Motion & Light Sensor P2 is under Occupancy.
Tap on Occupancy, and you will see the device information.
Aqara promises detection timeout, sensitivity adjustment, and a local alert system for the P2. However, as of the publication of this post, you still cannot change any P2 settings using the Aqara Home App despite the Aqara M3 Hub being released in Singapore on the 8th May 2024.
Using It
I can’t feel any difference between the P1 and P2. In my P1 article, I wrote that the P1 is very responsive. The same can be said with the P2, even though the underlying communication protocol is different.
Conclusion
The conclusion of my review of the Aqara Motion & Light Sensor P2 will be the same as my conclusion for the Aqara Door & Window Sensor P2.
Currently, I can’t recommend the Aqara Motion & Light Sensor P2 to new or existing users because the price difference is not worth it.
This is more apparent with the Aqara Motion & Light Sensor P2 because, at least for the Aqara Door & Window Sensor P2, you will get a nicer design.
For the Aqara Motion & Light Sensor P2, you get the same design, have a worse battery life, cannot customize the settings, and S$20 more expensive.
Even after Aqara rolled out the ability to customize the detection timeout and sensitivity for the P2, as long as the price is higher, the P1 is still a better buy.
Ultimately, whether it is Zigbee or Matter doesn’t matter to us (pun intended) as long as it is cheap, reliable, and has efficient battery life. In this case, Matter still has much to catch up on.
