Shelly's new sensor tracks up to 10 people, no camera

Shelly's new Presence Gen4 sensor is a useful signal for where smart home design may be heading. It uses mmWave radar rather than a camera to detect up to 10 people at once, tracking movement through rooms or larger spaces without recording anyone.

For product teams, the appeal is clear: presence awareness without video capture may ease privacy concerns that often slow adoption of home monitoring. It also raises practical questions about accuracy, multi-person tracking and how the data is handled.

This follows Shelly's launch of a $50 subscription-free security camera last month, suggesting a broader push toward lower-cost, privacy-conscious home sensing. Engineers, product managers and smart home builders should watch how this category develops.