Updated Aqara M1S Smart HomeKit Hub Unveiled
They say that things always come in threes, and this is certainly the case with Aqara right now, with the news of the G2H HomeKit enabled camera finally just around the corner, and the new P100 smart lock with a built-in camera. Today, the company also added what can be considered an upgrade to the current Aqara hub, announced on their Chinese website, simply known as the Aqara Hub M1S, which we revealed evidence of at the start of the year.
The M1s will officially support Zigbee 3.0, which is a step up from the current Aqara hub, and interestingly, the M1S can support up to 128 child devices*, compared to the official 32 devices on the current hub. Due to it being Zigbee 3.0 compatible, it will be able to make more use of the forthcoming updated Zigbee 3.0 versions of the company’s switches and sensors.
Other than these two major improvements, it does look identical to the current hub, and in many other ways does pretty much the same job. Compare this to the long-awaited Aqara M2 hub, and it could be seen that the M1S is an upgrade, with the M2 being essentially a different product, albeit one that largely does the same job, but without the night light.
At present, it’s only listed on Aqara’s Chinese site, so it’s not expected to be released in international forms immediately, but it will be compatible with all voltages. When it’s due for release in Mainland China, we’re not sure yet, although JD.com are listing a special bundle, which offers the new P100 Smart Lock and the M1S together for a special discount price.
* In the FAQs for the Aqara M1S, it goes on to state the following;
- Question: How many Zigbee sub-devices can be connected to this gateway?
- Answer: 1. The gateway can directly connect 32 Zigbee terminal devices. 2. If you need to add more Zigbee sub-devices, you can first add Zigbee relay devices to the gateway, and then add Zigbee terminal devices. The relay device has an expansion function. After expansion, the gateway can support up to 128 Zigbee sub-devices. 3. Among the Zigbee products of Aqara and Mijia brands, the products with zero live wire power supply are relay equipment, and the products powered by battery or single firewire are terminal equipment. Each relay device can expand 16 terminal devices.
So M1S and M2 are the same thing (same functionality), but M2 doesn’t have night light? Is it worth than to wait for the M2? It sounds now like a step backward.
I think Aqara are trying to present the M1S as an update to the original hub, with the M2 being a similar, but different product for certain users perhaps.
I have the Mijia hub (version 2) and I added 59 Zigbee devices to it. I think I can add more. Maybe my 4 smart plugs, G2 cam and AC companion gateway is helping it to “expand”
The M2 hub has no light, maybe there is a speaker (I hope) and Ethernet if I havent forgotten. The M1S runs on WiFi. For those that always complain their hub is losing wifi connectivity, I guess the M2 would work better for them.
I think maybe the Mi Smart Gateway is capable of the same kind of expansion of devices that the M1S is, so yes certain devices will increase the amount of other child devices. The M2 does have a speaker and an Ethernet port. I’ve heard a rumour that the M2 may end up having two ports, but I can’t confirm that right now.