Aqara shows off new smart home gear at CES 2024

Aqara U300 and Border Router Plug

The growing smart home brand had several prototype devices on display at CES 2024 but it was highlighting its new U300 smart lock, border router plug, and Hub M3.

The Aqara U300 smart lock is an indoor/outdoor device intended to replace a standard lever or knob lock. It's one of the first to utilize Matter over Thread for long battery up to 8 months.

It also touts fingerprint security, PIN codes, NFC, and multiple voice assistants including Apple Home. Unfortunately, no word on Home Key support.

Aqara's new smart plug is also unique, being one of the first to include Thread border router capabilities baked in. It bridges your Thread network to your Wi-Fi for a more seamless smart home experience.

It tracks energy consumption in real-time, logging historical data that syncs back to the Aqara app, providing visibility into power usage.

Plus, it is able to act as a power detector. It can tell whether the connected device is on or off which can trigger additional scenes.

For example, maybe a user would want the shades in the living room to close when the TV is turned on. Or your goodnight scene could be set when a phone is placed on a charger.

Finally, there is the new Aqara Hub M3 that builds on all the features offered in the Hub M2.

It retains the Hub M2 Zigbee and infrared capabilities but also adds Thread and Bluetooth protocols. This allows it to work as a Matter controller, Thread border router, and more.

There's also 5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi, Power over Ethernet (PoE) connection, and it can connect to devices outside the Aqara ecosystem.

The Hub M3 will ship in Q2 2024 with a price to be announced soon.