Aqara’s Matter transition begins in December with free hub update

Aqara lifted the lid on its smart-home roadmap at Matter’s 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.

The new season will begin in December. Low-cost smart home productsWe will send an update over-the-air to the Aqara hub M2 to inform over 40 of Aqara’s existing Zigbee devicesAttached to the hub, matter is compatible 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 Matter compatible in “the following months,” according to Aqara. 

After the hub is updated, any Aqara zigbee device that was attached to the M2 will be able to be used in any Matter ecosystem. It’s the same approach Ikea is taking to making its existing smart home devices Matter compliant with an Update to Dirigera HubIt will be available in the first quarter of next year. Frankly, it’s the fastest way to Matter compatibility for most companies and means that hubs will still be required on Matter networks for anyone already invested in lots of Zigbee devices.

In addition to making old devices Matter compatible, Aqara’s also announcing more details on its first Matter-over-Thread devices Teased at CESBack in January. The Thread-based Door and Window Sensor P2 and Motion and Light Sensor P2 will be available in the early part of 2023. Aqara says it will eventually release an array of new Thread-based devices, including “various smart sensors, dimmer switches, smart plugs, and lights.”

One future device is the Hub M3, a “next-gen smart home hub with multi-protocol support,” according to Aqara. The M3 will connect existing Aqara Zigbee devices with Matter and serve as an intermediary. Thread border routerAnd Matter controllerTo connect and manage Thread-compatible devices. The Aqara Home app will also support third-party Matter devices.

Here’s the list of Aqara’s existing Zigbee devices that will be Matter compatible after the M2 Hub is updated in December: