Aqara are one of the first companies to begin the rollout of the new Matter royalty-free home automation standard. Matter is a new connectivity standard for IoT devices to enable a wide variety of smart home accessories to work together across brands and ecosystems. Via an M2 hub with this new firmware, the Aqara Zigbee…
I somehow missed the launch of the Aqara Smart Radiator Thermostat E1 a few months ago. I am a massive fan of smart radiator valves. I live in a large, relatively old house that doesn’t have the best insulation and is a bit draughty. Our rooms are very large, too, and I work from home….
With Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) officially launching Matter, there have been lots of press releases coming in with companies confirming products using this new open standard for smart home connectivity. Aqara were ahead of the game back in January when they announced some matter-based products, but they have now extended the list of products which…
I have previously reviewed several of the Aqara Zigbee hubs, including the Aqara G2h. Aqara currently lists six different hubs on their product page, this would make the 7th. It seems very excessive, but I guess it gives buyers as many options to fit their budget and needs as possible. Therefore the review of the…
At MWC 2022, Aqara has officially announced the A100 Zigbee smart door lock. On paper, it looks amazing with multiple methods of unlocking, including: Fingerprint Homekit / Siri / Google Assistnat Aqara Home User passwords and one time passwords NFC cards Then you also have a mechanical key backup, and the lock has an 18-month…
I have been impressed with the Aqara products I have reviewed recently. The Zigbee based system is perfect for anyone looking for an affordable way to set up a smart home. While Zigbee is a fantastic smart home protocol, there is a new kid on the block called Matter, which is backed by the Zigbee…
Today, Aqara have added another Zigbee hub to their product lineup with availability on the Amazon US, Canada and France. It should come to the UK in the next few weeks. Buy from Amazon: The new camera is a 2K, pan-and-tilt camera with the local facial and gesture recognition features, and it integrates a built-in…
This week, Aqara announced their latest Hub E1 and is the most affordable hub they have launched on Amazon to date. Currently, this would make it the firth hub they have on Amazon but they have around eight different hubs in total, which seems a little excessive. The new Smart Hub E1 is priced at…
Today, Aqara have announced their latest affordable Zigbee hub, the USB-Powered Hub E1. Hub E1 is Aqara’s smallest hub so far, and it serves as the control centre for a wide range of the classic and the latest Aqara accessories, connecting up 128 child devices. The new hub is available on the Aqara Amazon brand…
Shortly after reviewing the £1k+ Luxaflex PowerView automatic blinds, Aqara offered me a more affordable alternative, the new Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1. This is an adaptor that will convert existing roller blinds that have a beaded chain into automatic blinds. As the Luxaflex blinds let in too much light during the daytime, I decided…
The world of home automation has always been a little confusing thanks to all the competing technologies. The two big ones are Zigbee and Z-Wave, but you then also have Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and many proprietary systems from the likes of Philips Hue, Lightwave, Den Automation and others. To make things simpler, but also more confusing,…
Most of the smart home tech I cover leans towards the more affordable end of the spectrum that most consumers can implement themselves. However, higher-end products are always in demand giving buyers more options. I recently was had the chance to try out Luxaflex PowerView for a basic installation in my spare bedroom. This is…
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