Today, after a while in the beta process – Ubiquiti has launched UniFi Protect version 2.1.1. There is a long list of improvements and bug fixes, but two of the main ones caught our eye. The first one was the addition of Smart Detections for the G4 Instant. When Ubiquiti announced this tiny wireless camera back in November 2021, the original announcement video said that the camera would support Smart Detections, but the video was later edited to remove the mention of this.

Fast forward to March 2022 and Ubiquiti released the G4 Instant to the GA store, so the general public could purchase it. However, it still lacked the support. The entire drive behind the G4 line of cameras was the improved CPU performance and more RAM so that the cameras could handle the AI computations that make the Smart Detections work. The G4 Instant is a lot more expensive that the G3 Instant, at $29 in the US and $99 for the former.

The assumption was that the upgrade between the G3 and G4 Instant was the weather proofing, improved image and the ability to handle colder temperatures.

With the release of UniFi Protect 2.1.1, Ubiquiti has now added Smart Detections for the G4 Instant, allowing the camera to recognise people and vehicles in the picture and alert you if needed. This release also adds support for notifications when the system notices any HDD I/O slowness.

UniFi Protect version 2.1.1 is out now for the UDM Pro, UMD SE, UNVR, UNVR Pro, UCKG2+ and the UDR. The full release notes can be found on Ubiquiti’s community post here.