Aqara just lifted the veil on its smart home roadmap at the Matter launch event in Amsterdam. It starts with a free software update in December for the Hub M2 to make many of Aqara’s existing Zigbee devices Matter compatible. That will be followed by the release of Aqara’s first two Matter-over-Thread devices in early 2023 and a new multi-protocol hub coming sometime in the future.
From December, the maker of low-cost smart home devices will release a wireless update for the Aqara Hub M2 to over 40 of Aqara’s existing Zigbee devices Matter compatible when attached to the hub. That list will eventually expand to support more than 160 of the company’s Zigbee devices. Aqara’s other hubs, including the Hub M1S/M1S Gen 2, Hub E1, Camera Hub G3 and Camera Hub G2H Pro, will be made compatible with Matter in “the next few months,” Aqara said.
Once the hub is updated, any Aqara Zigbee device connected to the M2 can be used in any Matter ecosystem. It’s the same approach Ikea is taking to make its existing smart home devices Matter compatible with an update to the new Dirigera hub due early next year. Honestly, it’s the fastest way for most businesses to achieve Matter compatibility, and it means hubs are still needed on Matter networks for anyone who’s already invested in a lot of Zigbee devices.
In addition to being Matter-compatible legacy devices, Aqara is also announcing more details about the first Matter-over-Thread devices teased at CES in January. The wire-based door and window sensor P2 and the motion and light sensor P2 are expected to be released in early 2023. Aqara says it will eventually release a range of new wire-based devices, including “various smart sensors, dimmer switches, smart plugs, and lighting.”
A future device is the Hub M3, a “next-gen smart home hub with support for multiple protocols,” according to Aqara. The M3 is designed to connect existing Aqara Zigbee devices to Matter while serving as a Thread boundary router and Matter controller to connect and manage Thread and Matter compatible devices. Support for third-party Matter devices is also coming to the Aqara Home app.
Here’s the list of Aqara’s existing Zigbee devices that will be Matter compatible after the M2 Hub is updated in December:
