I tried putting my data, security camera, and AI inside one device at home

AI tech can be cool and useful, but it's also expensive with recurring cloud costs, among other issues. But if your home were the data center, and all your information and security footage were stored locally, that might change the equation. That's what Ugreen is after with its new HomeAgent device. 

The Ugreen HomeAgent HA100 is part of a connected ecosystem that aims to bring security and storage off an ambiguous cloud and back into the home. The HA100 is available to pre-order now with an early, discounted price before the crowdfunding campaign launches in October, and the unit ships in January of 2027.

Even though the product is still in its early stage, I've had some hands-on time with a unit to get a sense of how it works and why keeping my data at home is a tempting proposition.

First look at the Ugreen HA100 local AI device

The Ugreen HomeAgent HA100 has a wide-reaching scope with a ton of capabilities and features, especially if you add compatible accessories to it. But at its core, I think it can primarily be thought of as a network-attached storage device (NAS).

The entry-level model has four bays inside. There are two hard drive slots for general storage, one for security footage, and one for the included AI compute (neural processing unit).

Despite its ambitious feature set, the HA100 only took me about 10 minutes to set up. The drive bays snap around the drives into place, so no tools were needed. The boot process and formatting took most of the time, with the other minute or two consumed by creating an account.

I haven't had a chance to dig into everything that the HA100 has to offer yet, but I have connected the Ugreen SynCare ID500 Pro camera. Connecting the indoor security camera through the Ugreen NAS app only took a few taps. So far, the event detection, response time, and local storage have been super convenient. With Matter support, the HA100 will be able to connect and control non-Ugreen devices too. 

Instead of buying a generic surveillance camera, using an SD card or a company’s online storage, everything flows through the HA100. It handles the event recordings, playback, and scene detection, among other things.

My only concern with the HA100 so far is the same one for any NAS with spinning drives: it’s not exactly quiet. It’s a nice-looking appliance, but it might be best for it to live out of the way for this reason.

The specs and features of the Ugreen HomeAgents

Ugreen is selling three versions of its HomeAgent: the HA100, HA100 Pro, and the MA100. The HA100 retails for $1,799 ($899 early bird), the HA100 Pro retails for $5,999 ($2,999 early bird), and the MA100 retails for $19,999 ($9,999 early bird).

In terms of raw specs, the entry-level HomeAgent HA100 has a processor capable of running 26 trillion artificial intelligence operations every second—26 TOPS. For reference, the HA100 Pro jumps to 205 TOPS, and the high-end MA100 can do 2070 TFLOPS (Sparse FP4) with the NVIDIA Thor T5000.

The HA100 features 16GB LPDDR5 RAM and 64GB eMMC storage. It includes one HDMI 2.0 4K/60Hz port, one 2.5GbE port, one USB-C 3.0 port, two USB-A 3.0 ports, an SD 3.0 slot, and four 10/100 Mbps ports.

All of the units will run Ugreen's UGOS Pro operating system. That includes support for apps like Photos, Docker, DLNA, Surveillance Center, Cloud Drives, and Sync & Backup, among others. The Cloud Drives app is among my favorites in these early stages. It makes syncing between cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, and OneDrive very simple.

Uliya is Ugreen's voice assistant present on the HA100. It uses the HomeAgent’s four-mic array and turns the device into a local Alexa. I haven't gotten a chance to test it out fully yet, but it is intriguing.

Who is the Ugreen HomeAgent HA100 for?

In my early use of the Ugreen HomeAgent HA100, I've found it simple to configure and operate—much easier than I was expecting. That said, this is still a network appliance for people with some technical skills, or at least the desire to work with a NAS.

If you just want a capable NAS, Ugreen's more basic products are worth checking out. They include similar apps and backup solutions.

If you want local security video storage, this might also be a little overkill. However, people seeking a full home solution should absolutely be delighted by what the HA100 and other HomeAgents offer.

Mostly, it's a shame that hard drives and RAM are so expensive right now because this is a perfect way to bring a lot of cloud services back into your home for privacy, speed, and convenience.

The HA100 is available to reserve right now at early-bird pricing for $50.