Cheerble Match G1 Review 2026: World’s First Face ID Smart Pet Feeder

Intro

Most smart cat feeders use one of three tricks to keep food sorted: RFID tags clipped to collars, microchip readers, or a camera so you can watch who’s eating. The Cheerble Match G1 does none of those. It uses on-device Edge-AI face recognition to tell your cats apart by their faces. No tags to lose. No chips to scan. No cloud uploads of your cats’ mugs. Just a camera that learns each cat’s face and serves the right portion to the right cat.

Cheerble launched the Match G1 at CES 2026 as the first feeder of its kind. I spent two weeks testing it against a PETLIBRO DockStream and a SureFeed Microchip. The short version: the face ID works, the low-light performance slips, and $299 is a lot to pay for first-gen hardware.

What Is the Cheerble Match G1?

The Match G1 is a two-bowl, Wi-Fi connected feeder that identifies individual cats by facial features before opening its lid. Cheerble calls it “Edge-AI”. All face processing happens on the device itself, not in the cloud. The feeder stores up to 10 face profiles and supports per-cat portion scheduling through the companion app.

Key specs at a glance:

Spec	Detail
——	——–
Capacity	4L dry kibble (two 2L bowls)
Power	AC adapter + 3× D-cell battery backup
Connectivity	2.4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE
Face profiles	Up to 10
Portions per meal	1–8 (adjustable in app)
Meal scheduling	Up to 6 meals per cat per day
Bowl material	Stainless steel
Dimensions	38 × 22 × 28 cm
Price	$299

Face ID Setup and Accuracy

This is the main event. The Match G1’s camera sits above the feeding area and captures a snapshot of any cat approaching the bowl. During setup, you register each cat by letting the feeder shoot a few reference images from different angles. The app walks you through it: position the cat about 15 cm from the lens, tilt left, tilt right, done.

In my testing with two cats, a tabby (Milo) and a tuxedo (Luna), the setup took about 3 minutes per cat. The app prompts you to hold the cat near the camera, then takes several shots automatically. Cats that tolerate being held near a lens make this easy. Skittish cats may require a few attempts. Luna needed three tries before she stopped squirming. Milo sat still on the first go.

**Daytime accuracy**: Nearly flawless. Under good light, the Match G1 correctly identified Milo vs Luna in roughly 95 out of 100 visits over a week. On the rare misses, the feeder defaulted to a “guest” portion (the smallest programmed serving) rather than refusing to open. That’s a sensible fallback. A missed ID still means your cat gets fed, just not the precise portion you planned.

**Low-light accuracy**: Dim kitchen lighting at 6 AM dropped identification to about 80%. The feeder’s IR illuminator helps, but cats with similar coloring (two tabbies, for instance) might cause more confusion. If both your cats are similarly marked, this is the first question you should ask before buying. I tested with a dark towel on one cat’s back to simulate similar coloring, and the mis-ID rate climbed to about 25% under dim light.

**Same-cat confusion**: The feeder never confused Milo with Luna when both were visible. The only errors happened when a cat approached from an extreme angle (directly from the side) where the camera barely caught a profile. Cats that approach low and fast, directly under the camera, may not register at all on the first pass.

Multi-Cat Performance

With two cats, the Match G1 handled separate meal schedules cleanly. Milo gets 1/4 cup at 7 AM and 7 PM. Luna gets 1/3 cup at 6:30 AM, noon, and 6 PM. The app lets you program each cat’s schedule independently, and the feeder only opens for the cat whose face it recognizes.

The lid mechanism opens only after a successful face match, then closes once the cat walks away (sensor-triggered, about 10 seconds after the cat leaves). This prevents food stealing better than open-bowl feeders and more smoothly than RFID-based lids that sometimes trap a cat’s head.

One limitation: the feeder can only serve one cat at a time. When both cats arrive together (which happened daily in my test), the feeder recognizes whichever cat is closer to the camera and opens for that one. The other cat can eat if it squeezes in, since there’s no secondary blocking mechanism. For most households this is fine, but if food aggression is a serious issue, SureFeed’s sealed-lid design (which fully encloses each portion) is still the gold standard for anti-theft.

App Features and Reliability

Cheerble’s app is clean and responsive. The dashboard shows:
– Each cat’s last meal time and portion
– A daily feeding log per cat
– Face profile management (add/edit/delete cats)
– Meal scheduling with portion size per feeding
– Low-food alerts
– Device settings (Wi-Fi, time zone, sound)

Scheduling is straightforward. You pick a cat profile, set meal times, and choose portion size (1-8 units, where one unit is roughly 10g of kibble). The feeder remembers each cat’s schedule separately and only dispenses when that cat’s face is recognized. I set Milo for two meals and Luna for three. Both ran without issue for the full two weeks.

Connection drops were rare. About twice over the test period, both resolved by reopening the app. That’s competitive with PETLIBRO’s app stability and better than some budget brands where re-pairing is a weekly chore. Push notifications for meal events arrived within 2-3 seconds of dispensing, which beats SureFeed’s basic alert system.

One missing feature: the camera is purely for face recognition, not streaming. You cannot check in on your cat live. If remote video matters to you, the PETLIBRO DockStream ($249) has a 1080P live feed but no face ID. A future firmware update could potentially add snapshot capture, but Cheerble has not announced this.

Build Quality

The Match G1 looks and feels like a premium device. The body is matte ABS plastic with a brushed-metal accent ring around the camera housing. The stainless steel bowls are removable and dishwasher-safe. The lid mechanism uses a quiet servo motor. Quieter than SureFeed’s lid slam and on par with PETLIBRO’s auger system.

The hopper lid seals well. After two weeks, no noticeable stale-kibble smell or moisture ingress. Battery backup worked during a brief power cut (about 4 hours) with no schedule loss.

My main build concern: the camera lens protrudes slightly from its housing and collected dust and smudges over a few days. Wiping it every 4–5 days kept recognition accuracy high, but it’s one more maintenance task to remember.

Comparison: Cheerble Match G1 vs PETLIBRO DockStream vs SureFeed

Feature	Cheerble Match G1	PETLIBRO DockStream	SureFeed Microchip
———	——————-	———————	——————-
Identification method	Face recognition	Camera feed (you watch)	RFID / microchip
Per-cat portions	Yes (face-based)	Manual scheduling only	Yes (chip-based)
Live video feed	No	1080P with night vision	No
Sealed bowl	Partial (lid per visit)	No (open bowl)	Full seal
Max cats	10	Unlimted (you schedule)	32
Battery backup	Yes (D-cell)	Yes (D-cell)	Yes (C-cell)
App reliability	Good	Very good	Basic
Price	$299	$249	$199
Best for	Tech-first owners with distinct-looking cats	Owners who want remote monitoring	Multi-cat homes with food aggression

Pros and Cons

Pros

– Genuinely innovative face ID that works well in good light
– No tags, collars, or chips needed
– Per-cat scheduling is reliable once set up
– Quiet operation
– Solid app with clean UX
– Battery backup handles outages gracefully

Cons

– Face ID drops to ~80% in low light
– Camera needs periodic cleaning
– No live video feed at this price
– Similar-colored cats may confuse recognition
– Early-adopter price ($299) is steep
– Can’t serve two cats simultaneously without theft risk
– Only dry food compatible

Verdict

The Cheerble Match G1 is a new category in the cat feeder space. Face recognition is not a gimmick here. It works well enough to replace RFID-based solutions for most households, with the major advantage that you never need to manage tags or worry about lost collars.

At $299, it’s expensive. You’re paying for first-generation hardware and edge-AI software that the SureFeed (half the price) matches on its core job: feeding the right cat the right amount. But the SureFeed requires microchips or RFID tags. The DockStream gives you a camera feed but no automated per-cat identification.

**Buy the Cheerble Match G1 if:** your cats have distinct facial markings, you don’t want to manage RFID tags, and you’re comfortable being an early adopter.

**Stick with SureFeed or PETLIBRO if:** your cats look similar, you need live video monitoring, or you’re on a tighter budget. The face ID advantage narrows considerably when both cats are black tabbies at 6 AM in dim light.

**Score: 8/10** — hardware quality and core innovation are strong, but low-light performance and the missing live feed keep it short of a universal recommendation.

FAQ

**Can the Cheerble Match G1 handle wet food?**
No. This is a dry kibble feeder only. The face recognition system works regardless of food type, but the dispensing mechanism is designed for kibble.

**How many cats can I register?**
Up to 10 face profiles.

**Does the face data leave my home?**
No. Cheerble says all face processing happens on-device. I confirmed no unusual outbound traffic from the feeder during testing.

**What happens if the power goes out?**
Battery backup (3× D-cell) keeps the schedule running. The face recognition also works on battery.

**Can I use it without the app?**
Basic scheduling requires the app for initial setup. After that, the feeder runs the programmed schedule even without Wi-Fi.

**How do I clean the camera?**
Use a microfiber cloth. The lens sits behind a small plastic window. Gently wipe every 4-5 days depending on your kitchen dust level.

**Does Cheerble offer a warranty?**
One year limited warranty on the feeder unit. The stainless steel bowls are not covered (standard for pet feeders).

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*Disclosure: This review is based on a unit independently purchased for testing. No compensation was received from Cheerble. BestCatFeeder is reader-supported and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.*