Aqara debuts two new smart home hubs compatible with HomeKit, Zigbee 3.0

Credit: Aqara

Aqara has announced a pair of new smart home hubs that are compatible with Apple HomeKit and feature the newest generation of the Zigbee wireless protocol.

On Tuesday, the smart home company unveiled a new Aqara Hub M2 smart hub and a next-generation Aqara Hub M1S, an upgraded version of its original hub.

Aqara's Hub M2 features a new all-black design, a built-in Ethernet port, and an IR transmitter to control older home products and accessories with voice commands or automations. The introduction of the Zigbee 3.0 standard means the Hub M2 can support up to 128 paired devices and offers increased reliability and response times.

In addition, the Hub M2 also integrates with HomeKit and supports all four HomeKit security modes. A micro-USB port allows for optional battery backup if connected to a power bank.

Alongside the new Hub M2, Aqara has also updated its original smart home product with Zigbee 3.0 support. Like the M2, the Aqara Hub M1S can connect up to 128 Zigbee devices for Wi-Fi, but otherwise remains relatively unchanged from the previous version.

Both the Hub M2 and Hub M1S feature support for Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and other automation.

The Aqara Hub M2 retails for $57.99 on the company's Amazon store, while the Aqara Hub M1S costs $49.99.

Aqara is also celebrating the launch of the two new products with promotional discount codes. Buyers can use the code M2HUBRD1 to take 15% off the M2 and code M1SHUBSM1 to take 15% off the M1S. Both codes are available through June 11, 2021.

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3 Comments

tdeprenda

said about 2 years ago

Would using a Homekit Hub mean devices are less likely to give a "no response" message? Asking for a friend...

StrangeDays

said about 2 years ago

tdeprenda said:

Would using a Homekit Hub mean devices are less likely to give a "no response" message? Asking for a friend...

I had a wall switch that used to do that a few years back. I don't know if it was switch firmware updates or updates to HK, but I don't see them anymore. HK ecosystem has stabilized for me, hoping that's across the board as vendors & Apple work w/ the APIs.

tdeprenda

said about 2 years ago

I have mostly WEMO switches and one iDevices outdoor StrangeDays said:

tdeprenda said:

Would using a Homekit Hub mean devices are less likely to give a "no response" message? Asking for a friend...

I had a wall switch that used to do that a few years back. I don't know if it was switch firmware updates or updates to HK, but I don't see them anymore. HK ecosystem has stabilized for me, hoping that's across the board as vendors & Apple work w/ the APIs.

I have WEMO switches and one iDevices outdoor plug... the WEMOs are constantly showing no response. Would drive me crazy and like an idiot I'd go around resetting them or restarting my router. Now I just wait it out and usually it resolves itself in a few hours or a day. Just wished HK worked better because it is the simplest all-in-one solution.

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