Reolink at IFA 2026: Dual-Lens Omni Cameras, Trainable Custom AI & Next-Gen Home Hubs
IFA 2026 in Berlin continues to deliver major milestones for the connected home, and smart surveillance leader Reolink arrived with one of the most ambitious hardware and software roadmaps seen on the show floor.
Reporting live from the Reolink booth, the team at Smart Home Tested met with PR Manager Aske Kjær to examine the brand’s latest breakthroughs. The highlights include the first battery-powered addition to their panoramic Omni family, an enterprise-grade 16x optical zoom dual-lens beast, a preview of the upcoming Home Hub 2, and an innovative edge-computing platform called Reolink Custom AI that lets homeowners train object recognition models using their own photos.
Expanding the Omni Lineup with Reolink at IFA: The Omni 2i Ultra Battery Camera
Reolink’s Omni series has earned acclaim for combining wide-angle peripheral surveillance with fast, motorised pan-and-tilt tracking in a single housing. Up until now, however, the series relied on Power over Ethernet (PoE) or wired power.
The headline announcement at IFA is the Omni 2i Ultra, the first fully battery-driven model in the lineup:
Dual-Lens Architecture: The top housing features a fixed 180-degree ultra-wide 3K lens that captures continuous context across an entire yard or driveway. Below it sits a high-speed motorised 4K pan-and-tilt camera with 355-degree pan and 50-degree tilt capabilities.
SyncTrack Intelligence: When an object or person of interest enters the wide-angle frame, the system automatically locks on and spins the 4K lens to track them smoothly across the scene. Users can also tap any point on the panoramic live feed in the mobile app to instantly swing the tracking camera to that exact spot.
Serviceable Power Cell: Powered by a large, user-swappable 10,000 mAh battery pack that slides out from the rear for straightforward maintenance.
Indefinite Solar Operation: When paired with Reolink’s new 6-Watt solar panel (which mounts cleanly on top of the chassis or off to the side via USB-C), the camera requires just 30 minutes of direct sunlight per day to sustain continuous daily operation. Without solar charging, the standalone battery delivers roughly 6 months of standard event-based runtime.
For Prosumers: Omni 3i and the Flagship ODX16 PoE
For homeowners and commercial installers who demand high-end optical precision and wired reliability, Reolink showcased two advanced PoE models:
Omni 3i PoE (and Wi-Fi)
Stepping up to a larger chassis, the 3i features an adjustable 10MP dual-lens array up top (which can be tilted manually) paired with an 8MP motorised tracking camera underneath, providing 350-degree rotational tracking coverage.
ODX16 PoE: The Flagship Heavyweight
The absolute peak of Reolink’s optical engineering on display was the ODX16 PoE:
16MP 180-Degree Panoramic View: Combines dual image sensors up top to stitch together a distortion-free 16-megapixel panoramic overview.
High-Speed PTZ with 16x Optical Zoom: The lower motorised dome delivers full 360-degree continuous panning, 95-degree tilt, and a true 16x optical zoom lens. During the live booth demo, the camera zoomed across the busy exhibition hall to track individuals with pinpoint clarity, resolving fine facial features and hair across massive distances without digital pixelation.
Game Changer: Trainable Custom AI Detection
While most smart security cameras limit detection to pre-programmed categories like people, vehicles, and pets, Reolink unveiled Reolink Custom AI Detection—a breakthrough local feature that allows users to train the camera to monitor custom real-world states.
How Custom AI Works:
User-Trained Datasets: Using the Reolink desktop PC app, users upload between 3 and 20 still reference photos depicting specific items or states they want to track.
Confidence Feedback: The app evaluates the image dataset in real time, advising whether more training pictures under different lighting conditions are needed to optimise accuracy.
Real-Time Edge Execution: During a live demonstration, Reolink trained an AI profile on an office trash can using 20 images of both "full/overflowing" and "empty" states. As paper was added or removed, the camera instantly updated its telemetry and pushed a dedicated push notification reading "Bin Full."
Because this machine learning processing runs locally at the edge, it opens limitless possibilities for homeowners: checking whether the mailbox flap is up, confirming whether the side gate was left unlatched, or verifying if the garage door is open—all without paying for third-party cloud analytics.
Local Storage & Edge Compute: Home Hub 2 & Pro
Powering these AI capabilities across non-AI cameras is the upcoming Home Hub 2, slated for release in late autumn 2026:
Storage Capacity: Features internal expansion supporting up to a massive 16TB 2.5-inch SATA SSD, alongside standard MicroSD slots.
Edge Processing for Legacy Hardware: The hub acts as a local AI coprocessor, injecting smart detection and custom AI capabilities into up to 8 older or budget Reolink cameras that lack onboard neural chips.
Home Hub Pro: For larger estates, Reolink highlighted the enterprise-grade Home Hub Pro, featuring a pre-installed 2TB hard drive and simultaneous management for up to 24 cameras.
Zero Subscription Ethos: Reolink reiterated that while optional cloud storage tiers exist, zero features, AI tools, or video resolutions are paywalled behind ongoing monthly fees.
Smart Home & Ecosystem Integrations
Reolink's platform continues to be among the most open in the surveillance space. Beyond supporting Google Home Hubs and Amazon Echo Show smart displays for live video streaming, their deep integration with Home Assistant remains a standout.
The cameras expose a wide variety of entities—including PIR sensors, AI detection flags, and line-crossing tripwires—which can be harnessed for local smart automations. For instance, detecting a car leaving the driveway can automatically set the home alarm to Away mode, while camera motion sensors can trigger Shelly smart relays to turn on external patio lights.
Final Verdict
Reolink’s showing at IFA 2026 demonstrates clear technological leadership in the consumer and prosumer security sectors. By bringing dual-lens panoramic tracking to a solar-friendly battery platform with the Omni 2i Ultra, offering unprecedented zoom reach on the ODX16, and introducing user-trainable Custom AI, Reolink continues to push smart security forward while staying committed to subscription-free, local edge processing.
Watch the Full IFA 2026 Booth Tour
To see the Omni 2i Ultra pan-tilt camera track booth visitors live, witness the 16x optical zoom on the ODX16, and watch the custom AI bin-overflow detection test in real time, check out the complete show floor video from Smart Home Tested below:
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