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Aqara makes a range of HomeKit-compatible smart home devices that are stocked in Apple Stores around the world. This review takes a look at some of Aqara’s latest products, including its TVOC Air Quality Monitor and Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1, which launches today.
With these new accessories, I was able to add to the HomeKit setup that I created with some of Aqara’s devices earlier this year and put the company’s new additions to the smart home to the test.
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While Aqara does have its own app for controlling and setting up the accessories, it is possible to control, automate, and manage them entirely through Apple’s Home app.
Hub M1S
To connect the new devices, I used the Aqara Hub M1S. The Hub M1S serves as a smart home control center for the wide range of Aqara sensors, controllers, and other child devices using the Zigbee 3.0 protocol, which can connect up to 128 devices. The Hub M1S will also support Matter, a new smart home protocol built by companies including Apple and Amazon, via an over-the-air software update in the future.
In terms of design, the Hub M1S features a compact, circular design with matte white plastic. There is a patterned speaker grille on the front, an RGB 18-LED ring around the outside, and a convenient HomeKit pairing sticker on the top.
