Aqara came to CES 2026 equipped with presence-sensing features for multiple new devices. Presence sensing is a less invasive way to track movement around a home compared to the eyes of indoor security cameras. You can already find similar kinds of presence sensing in learning thermostats, but at CES Aqara has uncoupled the concept and turned it into a versatile, independent device called a Spatial Multi-Sensor.
The FP400 sensor can’t see or record you like a security camera can, so it’s a more private monitoring option. But we were surprised at just how much it could do with its learning algorithms and mmWave radar (think Daredevil vision). That lets the wall-mounted sensor detect room occupancy, the general positions of up to 10 people, and if they’re standing, sitting or lying down. The sensor can also track their movement habits over time, like where people spend the most time in a room.
Noninvasive presence sensing is a growing smart home technology and is on display from many brands at CES this year. I first noticed it applied to privacy-friendly elder care, and it’s no surprise the FP400 Spatial Multi-Sensor also has options to detect and alert others about people falling, ideal for aging-in-place situations.
With its Matter compatibility, this sensor can link up with not only other Aqara devices but platforms like Apple Home, Google Home and Alexa. Those platforms can then use alerts from the sensor to do things automatically, like turning lights on or off, adjusting thermostats or just letting you get an idea at the general behavior of people in the room, without recording any video.
If you aren’t sure what routines to set up, I’m curious if new AI voice assistants like Gemini for Home and Alexa Plus will be able to help, since this is the sort of thing they’re now programmed to assist on.
Does the FP400 still sound a little too invasive for you? Aqara is also showing off a much smaller Multi-State Sensor P100. It doesn’t quite have the advanced instincts of the FP400, but it still uses 9-axis sensing to track nearby motion, vibrations, knocks (like on a door), opening/closing drawers and so on. It’s more like an all-in-one security sensor that can also give feedback about what’s happening in its space. You can set it to different dedicated modes too, like an «object status» mode or a «door/window» mode.
Sensors like these are peeking into the future of the smart home, where single devices incorporate presence sensing to take on a wide variety of home tasks, depending on what’s needed. I’ll be taking a closer look at these sensors when full testing is available, but for now I don’t have any pricing or availability info to share.
