Aqara Launch Five New Products at IFA 2023
Aqara, today announced its participation in this year’s IFA show, where it introduces an array of new smart home devices. Among these innovations are the Smart Lock U200, Camera E1, Dual Relay Module T2, Ceiling Light T1M, and an EU-style wall outlet. Aqara will be showcasing these cutting-edge products, along with other intelligent home technologies and solutions, at its booth (H22, 214).
Remaining committed to making smart home technology accessible to households globally, Aqara continues to expand its product lineup to cater to diverse home automation needs. The five new products unveiled at IFA are projected to be available for order in the coming months.
SMART LOCK U200
Aqara’s novel Smart Lock U200 presents a retrofit solution, offering the convenience of keyless home access to a wide user base. Designed as Aqara’s inaugural Matter-over-Thread smart lock, the U200 ensures interoperability with a variety of smart home ecosystems and devices. Utilizing an Aqara NFC card or specified NFC-enabled mobile devices, users can now unlock with unparalleled ease. Secure access options encompass auto-unlock, fingerprints, PIN codes, and mobile apps. Aqara plans to initiate its first Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign later this year for the Smart Lock U200.
CAMERA E1
Expanding its home surveillance camera range, Aqara introduces the 2K Pan/Tilt Camera E1. Like other indoor cameras from the company, this new camera supports major third-party platforms such as Apple Home (including HomeKit Secure Video), Amazon Alexa, and Google Home. Leveraging Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, the camera offers smoother live viewing and simplified pairing. Features include AI-driven person detection, person tracking, and versatile storage options like cloud, microSD, and NAS storage.
DUAL RELAY MODULE T2
The Dual Relay Module T2 serves as a versatile home automation solution, granting convenient control over various devices including lights, motorized window coverings, garage doors, boilers, electric heaters, and underfloor heating. Built on Zigbee 3.0, the dual relay module supports Matter-over-bridge and major third-party platforms. It provides energy consumption monitoring and incorporates safety features like overheat and overload protection. With AC (100-250V) or DC (24-60V) power options, the 2-channel relay handles total and per-channel loads up to 10 Amps.
Ceiling Light T1M
Following the August 2023 announcement of the LED Strip T1, Aqara introduces the Ceiling Light T1M as its second global smart lighting device. Boasting a diameter of approximately 50 centimetres, this ceiling light offers a wide range of hues from dimmable whites to 16 million vibrant colours, enabling users to set ideal lighting for different moods and occasions. Features include an independently addressable RGB ring for gradient effects and integration into home automation scenarios. The Ceiling Light T1M, like other Zigbee devices from Aqara, showcases low idle consumption, Matter-over-bridge support, and compatibility with major platforms.
You can check out a teaser video for this ceiling light below (click on the image);
EU WALL OUTLET
Aqara’s latest addition is a smart wall socket tailored for the EU market. This outlet allows easy control of connected devices through mobile apps, voice assistants, and home automation systems. It assists users in tracking energy consumption and can be configured to detect and report the status of plugged devices, enabling automation triggers. Furthermore, as a Zigbee network repeater, the outlet enhances network reliability and responsiveness for compatible smart home devices.
Cathy You, Aqara’s Senior Vice President of Global Business and Strategy, stated,
“Aqara is at the forefront of innovating the smart home experience, and these new products are a testament to our dedication. Each of them is crafted with the user’s convenience and lifestyle in mind, reflecting our commitment to quality and innovation. We invite everyone to join us at our booth to experience firsthand the future we’re building together.”
Original en Español:
En mi opinion, una gran empresa como Aqara a perdido una oportunidad única de presentar una linea nueva de productos “Matter over Threads”. Solo ha presentado la cerradura U200 compatible con “Threads”, y por tanto solo tiene de momento 3 productos compatibles con “Threads”; el Sensor de Puertas y ventanas, el sensor de movimiento (aunque presentado en Enero, todavía estamos a la espera de su comercialización) y esta nueva cerradura U200 que veremos cuanto tiempo tarda en lanzar al mercado. Lo dicho, una oportunidad perdida por parte de Aqara de ponerse a la cabeza de la competencia en productos compatibles con “Matter over Threads”.
Otro detalle importante, es que por ahora ninguna cerradura inteligente, tiene la opción de ser bloqueada desde dentro para cuando no haya nadie en casa, para impedir que en puertas con cristalera o de barrotes de hierro, simplemente metan la mano rompiendo el cristal y abran la puerta en menos de 10 segundos, o que entren escalando por alguna zona de difícil acceso de tu casa y salga cómodamente con todo lo robado por la puerta principal ya que no se puede bloquear desde dentro!! Al ser inteligentes, se podría bloquear o desbloquear desde dentro simplemente configurando una sencilla automatización de si estamos o no, dentro o fuera de casa de casa!!
Me parece unos productos muy interesante los que ha lanzado, pero aparte de la falta de soporte para “MATTER OVER THREADS” le encuentro otros detalles que hubieran podido mejorarse para llegar a la excelencia.
1. La cerradura U200. De verdad una gran empresa como AQARA deber lanzar una campaña de Crowdfunding para lanzar un producto en EUROPA??. La cerradura U200 sera compatible con “Apple HOMEKEY”, solo dicen compatible con NFC, pero dejan lugar a la duda de si sera o no compatible con “Apple HomeKey”, por favor que salga algún responsable de AQARA aclarando esto.
2. El “Dual Relay Module T2” debería soportar los 16A lo normal de un enchufe en europa (solo soporta 10A), para no estar pensando y haciendo cálculos de si soportara o se quemara con lo que enchufemos en ese enchufe!!
3. El nuevo enchufe empotable de AQARA, el “EU WALL OUTLET” tambien debería de soportar los 16A (Cuantos amperios soporta, no veo la información por ningún lado), tambien han perdido la oportunidad de ponerle dos detalles muy importante en este tipo de enchufes empotable, un par de tomas de salida USB-C, y no menos importante en este tipo de dispositivos es tener opción de colores (que mínimo que en blanco y en negro, aunque si hubiera mas opciones de colores para combinar con el estilo de tu casa seria aun mejor).
Creo que son detalles importante a tener en cuenta !!
Un saludo de España
Translated into English with the Safari automatic translator:
In my opinion, a great company like Aqara has missed a unique opportunity to present a new product line “Matter over Threads”. It has only presented the U200 lock compatible with “Threads”, and therefore currently only has 3 products compatible with “Threads”; the Door and Window Sensor, the motion sensor (although presented in January, we are still waiting for its commercialization) and this new U200 lock that we will see how long it takes to launch on the market. That said, a missed opportunity on the part of Aqara to take the lead of the competition in products compatible with “Matter over Threads”.
Another important detail, is that for now no smart lock, it has the option of being blocked from the inside for when there is no one at home, to prevent that in doors with glass or iron bars, they simply put their hand breaking the glass and open the door in less than 10 seconds, or that they enter climbing through some hard-to-access area of your house and leave comfortably with everything stolen through the main door since it cannot be locked from the inside!! Being smart, you could lock or unlock from the inside by simply setting up a simple automation of whether or not we are inside or outside the house!!
I think some very interesting products that have been launched, but apart from the lack of support for “MATTER OVER THREADS” I find other details that could have been improved to reach excellence.
1. The U200 lock. Really a big company like AQARA should launch a Crowdfunding campaign to launch a product in EUROPE??. The U200 lock will be compatible with “Apple HOMEKEY”, they only say compatible with NFC, but they leave room for doubt as to whether or not it will be compatible with “Apple HomeKey”, please come out a person in charge of AQARA clarifying this.
2. The “Dual Relay Module T2” should support the normal 16A of a plug in Europe (it only supports 10A), so as not to be thinking and making calculations if it supports or burned with what we plug into that plug!!
3. The new built-in plug from AQARA, the “EU WALL OUTLET” should also support the 16A (How many amps it supports, I do not see the information anywhere), they have also missed the opportunity to put two very important details in this type of recessed plugs, a pair of USB-C output sockets, and no less important in this type of device is to have a color option (which minimum than in black and white, although if there were more color options to match the style of your house it would be even better).
I think they are important details to keep in mind !!
Greetings from Spain
If you look at what Aqara has done so far, whilst it’s far behind a company like Eve when it comes to Thread and Matter, you still have many companies that still haven’t taken on either Thread or Matter, so I don’t think you can argue they are missing opportunities, especially if they’ve traditionally been a company focussed on Zigbee. It takes a lot of time to move from one protocol to another when there are so many products in your catalogue. Additionally, Eve have a much smaller catalogue of devices, almost all of which use Bluetooth, so moving over to Thread was a lot easier for them.
As regards the smart lock, surely nearly all locks – either dumb or smart – can be opened from the inside but if someone did get inside your home while you’re at work or on holiday, surely you would be able to rely on smart sensors and alarm systems, so I don’t think you can put the onus on a smart lock alone.
Crowdfunding is a choice for any company or individual, so it’s not for us to decide how they sell their products. Is it a bit odd for a company like Aqara? Yes, but for most companies that use this method, this is more about generating presales than anything else. If you want to wait until the lock is officially released, that’s your choice, but many of these crowdfunding options also offer discounts that you won’t be getting once its officially released, plus you get the lock as soon as it’s out.
WE don’t know yet whether the U200 will have HomeKey but they do state “an Aqara NFC card or specified NFC-enabled mobile devices” so that could be Apple homeKey, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Regarding the EU wall outlet, USB-C or colour options might be useful to you and others, but not everyone. A lot of people think that because they want a certain feature, then everyone does, and it’s just not the case. You have to realise that a lot of companies, including Aqara, have thought about all of these options way in advance, and for one reason or another have decided against it. There’s a lot more to consider than someone just ‘wanting’ a feature.
Texto origina en Español:
Básicamente estamos de acuerdo en todo, aunque con pequeñas diferencias de criterio. Cuando digo que Aqara a perdido la oportunidad de lanzar una nueva linea de productos “Matter over Thread” y ponerse a la cabeza de la competencia, me refiero precisamente a eso, que la competencia todavía no ha lanzado muchos productos (por desgracia) compatibles con “Matter over Threads”, solo “EVE” como bien comentas, y era una oportunidad de ponerse líder en este protocolo que presumiblemente sera el futuro de la Domótica. No se trata de pasa de inmediato todo su catalogo de productos a “Thread”, pero si ir ampliando su catalogo de dispositivos “Matter over Threads” con los nuevos lanzamientos. Los productos Zigbee seguirán siendo compatibles con el HUB, pero al menos podían ir ampliando con su linea con nuevos productos “Matter over Threads” con los nuevos lanzamientos. Pero han decidido simplemente no ser de los primeros fabricantes en adoptar “Thread” y se CONSERVADORES, ya que ha día no ven peligrar sus ventas al tener un buen catalogo de productos en su ecosistema bajo Zigbee. Pero esto podría cambiar rápidamente si alguna empresa empieza a presentar muchos productos “Matter over Threads” a buen precio calidad, desgraciadamente EVE tiene buena calidad pero a un precio mucho mayor que Aqara y un catalogo menor, pero esto podría cambiar rápidamente y no hay que dormirse y siempre hay que intentar liderar las tendencias del mercado. Pero lo dicho, parece ser que de momento han decidido que no les corre prisa lanzar nuevos productos “Matter over Thread” y van a esperar como evoluciona el mercado.
En cuando, a la cerraduras inteligentes que se puedan cerrar desde interior. Por supuesto que hay más opciones para ampliar la seguridad cuando estamos en el trabajo o de vacaciones, como Alarmas u otros dispositivos, pero una cosa no quita la otra. Pero esto no implica que no es buena idea tener la opción de poder bloquear la cerradura también desde dentro con la cerradura para cuando estemos fuera de casa. Y en eso te equivocas, en europa, lo normal con una cerradura “tonta”, es tener que abrir con la llave tanto desde dentro como desde fuera, sino tienes llave, simplemente no puedes abrir desde dentro!!. Ademas en europa al menos, hay muchas puertas con cristalera o de hierro de barrotes, que es muy sencillo meter la mano al otro lado y poder abrir desde dentro!! Simplemente digo que de momento no tenemos ninguna opción de cerradura inteligente que yo conozca de ninguna marca, que podamos bloquear desde dentro tambien para cierto tipos de puerta (con cristalera o de barrotes de hierro típicas de europa) que vendría muy bien esta opción, y como digo al ser inteligente se podría configurar fácilmente en que se bloqueen desde dentro solo cuando estemos fuera de casa (asi tambien podríamos salir fácilmente en caso de incendio, pero tendríamos algo mas de seguridad cuando estemos fuera de casa). Lo dicho cualquier cerradura tonta clásica de llave, lo normal en europa es tener un bombín de doble embrague que necesitas la llave para abrir tanto desde dentro como desde fuera, es mas este dispositivo U200 de Aqara se coloca sobre la llave de la cerradura interior, sin esa llave no puedes abrir desde dentro !!
Y seguramente la opción de NO incorporar alguna salida USB-C en el “EU WALL OUTLET” y tener opciones de color para combinar con el estilo decorativo de tu casa, ha sido una decisión de costos y distribución mas que una razón de que esas opciones no sean muy interesante para la mayoría de gente. Esperemos que al menos soporte 16A lo normal de un enchufe tonto europeo, y no se quede solo en los 10A como su otro producto “Dual Relay Module T2”, pero esta información par el “EU Wall OUTLET” no aparece oficialmente de momento por ningún lado.
Gracias por leerme y un saludo desde España
——————————————————————————————————————————————-
Text translated into English with Safari’s automatic translator:
Basically we agree on everything, although with small differences in criteria. When I say that Aqara has missed the opportunity to launch a new product line “Matter over Thread” and put himself at the head of the competition, I mean precisely that, that the competition has not yet released many products (unfortunately) compatible with “Matter over Threads”, only “EVE” as you say, and it was an opportunity to become a leader in this protocol that presumably will be the future of Home Automation. It’s not about immediately transferring your entire product catalog to “Thread”, but expanding your “Matter over Threads” device catalog with the new releases. Zigbee products will continue to be compatible with the HUB, but at least they could expand their line with new “Matter over Threads” products with the new releases. But they have simply decided not to be one of the first manufacturers to adopt “Thread” and are CONSERVATORS, since they do not see their sales endangered by having a good catalog of products in their ecosystem under Zigbee. But this could change quickly if any company starts presenting many “Matter over Threads” products at a good price quality, unfortunately EVE has good quality but at a much higher price than Aqara and a smaller catalog, but this could change quickly and you don’t have to fall asleep and you always have to try to lead the market trends. But what has been said, it seems that at the moment they have decided that they are not in a hurry to launch new “Matter over Thread” products and they are going to wait for how the market evolves.
From time to time, to the smart locks that can be closed from the inside. Of course there are more options to extend security when we are at work or on vacation, such as Alarms or other devices, but one thing does not take away from the other. But this does not imply that it is not a good idea to have the option of being able to lock the lock also from the inside with the lock for when we are away from home. And in that you’re wrong, in Europe, the normal thing with a “dull” lock is to have to open with the key both from the inside and from the outside, if you don’t have a key, you just can’t open from the inside!!. Also in Europe at least, there are many doors with glass or iron bars, which is very easy to put your hand on the other side and be able to open from the inside!! I simply say that at the moment we do not have any smart lock option that I know of any brand, that we can also block from the inside for certain types of door (with glass or iron bars typical of Europe) that this option would be very useful, and as I say being smart it could be easily configured so that they are blocked from the inside only when we are outside the house (so we could also go out easily in case of a fire, but we would have a little more security when we are away from home). What I said any classic silly key lock, the normal thing in Europe is to have a double clutch cylinder that you need the key to open both from the inside and from the outside, it is more this U200 device from Aqara is placed on the key of the interior lock, without that key you can not open from the inside !!
And surely the option of NOT incorporating any USB-C output in the “EU WALL OUTLET” and having color options to match the decorative style of your house, has been a cost and distribution decision more than a reason why those options are not very interesting for most people. Let’s hope that at least it supports 16A the normal of a stupid European plug, and does not stay alone in the 10A like its other product “Dual Relay Module T2”, but this information for the “EU Wall OUTLET” does not officially appear anywhere at the moment.
Thank you for reading me and greetings from Spain
No Home Key support?
No official word on whether it will have HomeKey support yet.
It is rare that they do not announce it on the front page, I have looked at the early announcement that Aqara made in Ces de las vegas 2023 of his U100 lock, and they used compatibility with “Apple HOMEKey” as one of their main features.
So it is quite rare and confusing that in this case they play with the ambiguity of “NFC compatible” dry, and do not say clearly if it is compatible or not, with “Apple Homekey”. This leaves the great possibility that it is NOT compatible with “Apple Homekey” and more considering that other similar devices such as Nuki’s lock are also not compatible with “Apple Homeke”.
That is, that AQARA does not announce the compatibility with “Apple Homekey” to the 4 winds, coupled with the fact that there is no lock on the market with a pad separate from the lock compatible with “Apple homekey” gives a lot to think about and makes you think the worst, that in the end it will not be compatible with “Apple Homekey”
Greetings and thank you for reading
As I say, we have to wait and see. You need to take into account that Aqara may be using a different way for the keypad and lock to communicate with each other, as opposed to the way that Nuki and others use, which is usually Bluetooth. Things change, and only two years ago Apple didn’t allow locks to be used without Bluetooth and via a hub, but now we have a ZemiSmart lock that connects via a hub, without Bluetooth that’s officially HomeKit compatible.
Pingback: Aqara はスマートホーム用の 5 つの新しいガジェットを発表しました - Nipponese
Pingback: अकारा ने स्मार्ट होम के लिए 5 नए गैजेट पेश किए - News Archyuk