Smart home manufacturer Aqara announced a series of new Matter-compatible smart home products at CES this week, including a Matter-compatible hub, a smart plug with an integrated Thread border router, and a lever-type smart lock.
The company also announced enhancements to its mobile app, including a generative-AI-powered chatbot it’s calling Home Copilot.
Aqara Hub M3
Aqara’s Hub M3, pictured up top, is equipped with dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Thread radios as well as a 360-degree infrared blaster for controlling devices such as TVs and portable air conditioners, acting as a thermostat in the latter case. The hub can be configured as both a master controller and a Thread border router.
In addition to supporting both Aqara’s Matter-compatible hardware and third-party Matter devices, the Hub M3 can expose connected IR devices to Matter. The hub can also serve as a Matter bridge for Aqara’s legacy Zigbee devices, although those components will need to be reconfigured when migrated from one of Aqara’s older hubs.
The Hub M3 can process automations locally, and it can connect to the Aqara Home app via your local network instead of commands transiting to the cloud and back. These edge capabilities should reduce latency and make the system more reliable overall. In fact, if you deploy a second Hub M3 in your home, it will automatically take over as the master controller should the first one fail. The hub can be powered by either an AC adapter or a router with power-over-ethernet (PoE) ports.
Aqara Border Router Plug
Aqara
Aqara’s Border Router Plug is one of the first smart plugs to incorporate Thread Border Router capabilities. While it can operate on both Thread and Wi-Fi networks, it will consume less energy when running in Thread-only mode.
Capable of sensing the on/off status of the device that’s plugged into it, the plug can trigger Aqua Home automations to do things such as close your smart shades when the TV is turned on, to eliminate glare. The plug can also monitor the real-time energy consumption of whatever is plugged into it—as well as its own—and report historical data.
Aqara Smart Lock U300
Designed for single-bore doors, the Aqara Smart Lock U300 can replace the knob or lever on any door, indoors or out. It’s outfitted with both a numeric keypad and a fingerprint reader, and it can be opened with a PIN, a fingerprint, an NFC device, a smartphone app, or a voice command. Uses can grant temporary access to guests and control the remotely, locally—to enhance privacy—or via the internet.
The lock is compatible with both Matter and Thread, rendering it compatible with a variety of smart home platforms. Aqara says it can operate on battery power for up to eight months.
Aqara Home Copilot
Aqara is also demonstrating a new generative-AI chatbot interface for it Aqara Home app. The company says Home Copilot is “designed to utilize ambient intelligence to convert real-time data and insights into actions.”
The app will analyze usage patterns inside the home and then proactively suggest automation routines. Capable of understanding more than 10 languages, Home Copilot will also be able to configure automations based on user requests, either spoken or via text.
