Aqara Questionnaire Hints at Future Products, 3rd Party Integrations and More…
Aqara has released its regular quarterly questionnaire to the public, asking opinions on a variety of topics, for the purposes of feedback, and there are hints at quite a few interesting developments coming from the company, regarding future projects. You can take part in this questionnaire via the link below;
First off, the company are looking to bringing Developer Mode to their hubs, which for developers, has been sorely missed. This mode was previously available on older Xioami hubs, which were also made by Aqara’s parent company Lumi United. This may be not of so much use to the general public, but is one way to advance the functionality of hubs going forward. On top of this, the questionnaire also hints at Home Assistant integration, a third-party system similar to HomeBridge, but possibly a lot more advanced.
Aqara are already adding third party integration to their Aqara Home app, which, if you’re connected to the Mainland China server, includes Sonos speakers, robot vacuum integration from Ecovacs and Roborock, as well as HiSense Smart TVs and HBS Smart Locks. However, Aqara is looking to integrate more companies from overseas markets, which could expand the Aqara app to a degree unimaginable until recently.
The questionnaire does go into a brief list of products that they want feedback on, such as sleep trackers, pet feeders and dimmer relay modules, but at this stage, it’s hard to know which are of real interest to the company or not.
Finally, we’ve heard credible rumours that the company are possibly working on a battery-powered outdoor camera, to compete with the likes of Eufy and Arlo. This is also hinted at separately in the questionnaire, but we’d say, given Aqara’s track record so far, it would be a case of when rather than if, although in the world we currently live in, things can suddenly change, so it’s more a case of ‘wait and see’.
I am on Europe server, and already see the Sonos integration. I hope they will add the Roborock integration soon.
Yes, it has been there for a while.
No news regarding the thread protocol?
I read on a german blog that all new products introduced in 2021 are supposed to have Thread(source: https://stadt-bremerhaven.de/aqara-neue-hubs-lassen-sich-nicht-in-der-xiaomi-home-app-verwalten/ – “They kept quiet, but they knew that devices that will be launched in 2021 will be compatible with Thread.”
I’ve heard no confirmation of Thread being implemented in Aqara products so far. It shouldn’t be a relatively difficult move from Zigbee to Thread, but Zigbee is central to their product lineup, so it’s not going to happen soon I don’t think.
I wouldn’t be surprised if someone made that claim based on the fact that the chipsets have the capability to run Thread. They may choose to switch to thread at some point, but I think it’s a big leap to assume they will based on the underlying chipset supporting it.
Manufacturers with a whole ecosystem aren’t likely to jump to thread because HomeKit itself is extremely limited. I mean, even at an extremely basic level – HomeKit is incapable of having automations that increase brightness without inordinate amounts of scripting. How can Aqara or Phillips switch to Thread when it basically means your fancy new Hue remote has two buttons in the middle that are now completely useless?
I’d want to switch to Chinese server to give it a try, but it says detached accessories won’t move. Would they be back when I switch back to the previous server?
Yes, when you sign back into the main server you use, all your devices will reappear. You can also see your devices in HomeKit mode.