Aqara continues to be one of the best smart home vendors for HomeKit fans. This week, the company announced a major update to its Matter integration that will benefit anyone using HomeKit as their primary platform.
HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything to do with Apple’s smart home framework.
Earlier this week, Aqara announced that is releasing its Advanced Matter Bridging feature to all of its Matter-compatible hubs. This includes the newer Aqara Hub M3 and it’s also is coming to older models like the M2, M1S, E1, and Camera Hub G3. Previously, this feature was only available on the Hub M3. Now, it is available across the board through a free firmware update.
How does it work?
Advanced Matter Bridging allows Aqara’s unique features to work inside third-party Matter platforms. For HomeKit users, this means you can create scenes and signals in the Aqara app and have them appear in the Home app as virtual plugs or motion sensors. These can then be used in automations within HomeKit.
You can also use presence detection from the Aqara FP2 sensor or AI alerts from Aqara cameras in new ways. These features were previously limited to the Aqara app, but they can now extend into HomeKit.
In addition to bridging features, the new update also allows the Aqara Home app to integrate with over 50 types of Matter-enabled devices, including robo-vacs and more. A firmware upgrade from Aqara has added a lot to its over Matter interoperability, which is great for HomeKit fans. The company says this update will come through a new version of its Aqara Home app (version 5.1.9) and a new firmware of its M3 hub and G5 Pro camera hub (version 4.3.5) later this month
Wrap up
Last but not least, Aqara also mentioned that its Thread Border Routers will soon be able to communicate across your LAN. That feature is still under development and is expected to arrive sometime in the second quarter of 2025.
For anyone looking for a low-cost way to add more HomeKit devices, Aqara continues to show why it deserves a spot in your environment. Matter, in my opinion, has been critical to getting more HomeKit devices on the market, and this looks like a great release (especially for free). You can check out all of Aqara’s HomeKit and Matter products on Amazon.
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