UGREEN Enters Smart Home Market With Matter-Enabled HomeAgent AI Hubs
UGREEN has announced its entry into the smart home market with a new range of products centred around HomeAgent, a locally operated AI platform combining smart home control, storage, security, and AI processing.
Unveiled as part of the company’s new AIoT ecosystem, HomeAgent will initially be available in the form of the UGREEN HomeAgent HA100 and HA100 Pro, alongside the considerably more powerful MasterAgent MA100. The company is also introducing a selection of security cameras, a smart speaker, and smart displays designed to work within the new ecosystem.
For smart home users, perhaps the most interesting aspect of the announcement is Matter support, with UGREEN’s accompanying compatibility information revealing support for a surprisingly broad selection of existing Matter devices and gateways from third-party manufacturers.
MATTER AND LOCAL SMART HOME CONTROL
UGREEN says HomeAgent can be used to control supported devices, check their current status, and create automations involving multiple devices. Voice commands can also be used to control devices and create notifications for events, such as a package being delivered or a baby crying.
The company specifically states that HomeAgent’s whole-home control uses Matter, with compatible smart home devices able to be incorporated into custom automation scenes and controlled locally.
An accompanying HomeAgent compatibility list provides considerably more detail on this aspect of the system. UGREEN has tested Matter products from companies including Aqara, Eve, SwitchBot, Govee, ThirdReality, Yeelight, Zemismart, Cync, Nous, Razer, Heiman, and Lafaer.
The devices cover a broad selection of categories, including smart bulbs, light strips, plugs, switches, blinds, thermostats, motion and presence sensors, contact sensors, and temperature and humidity sensors.
Of particular interest to Apple Home users is the inclusion of several Eve products. These include Eve Energy, Eve Door & Window, Eve Motion, Eve Weather, Eve Dimmer Switch, and Eve Shutter Switch. Many of these are Matter over Thread devices already commonly used with Apple Home.
MATTER GATEWAYS AND MULTI-ADMIN
HomeAgent’s Matter capabilities aren’t restricted to individual accessories either, with UGREEN having tested a number of Matter gateways and bridges.
The compatibility list includes the Aqara Hub M100, M2, and M3, as well as the Aqara Camera Hub G350, Camera Hub G5 Pro, Doorbell Camera Hub G410, and Panel Hub S1 Plus. The SwitchBot Hub 3, Yeelight Pro Series, and Zemismart Matter Hub M1 are also included.
Perhaps more significantly, UGREEN’s testing information indicates support for Matter’s multi-admin functionality. Instructions for several products involve initially setting them up using the manufacturer’s own app, before sharing the device via Matter and subsequently adding it to UGREEN Smart Home.
For the Aqara Hub M100 and M3, for example, UGREEN instructs users to complete the initial setup in Aqara Home, update the firmware to enable Matter sharing, and then add the hub to UGREEN Smart Home. Similar instructions are provided for Yeelight Pro and Zemismart gateways.
This is particularly relevant to Apple Home users, as Matter’s multi-admin functionality is designed to allow the same Matter accessory to be shared between multiple compatible smart home ecosystems. While UGREEN’s documentation doesn’t specifically confirm testing with Apple Home, the use of standard Matter sharing should potentially allow compatible accessories to remain in Apple Home while also being made available to HomeAgent.
Some of UGREEN’s testing also extends to devices connected through third-party gateways. Testing notes for the Aqara Camera Hub G350, G5 Pro, and G410, for example, state that connected sub-devices can subsequently be controlled by UGREEN’s system.
HOMEAGENT HA100 AND HA100 PRO
The HA100 combines smart home control with local storage and AI processing, positioning the device as considerably more than a conventional smart home hub.
UGREEN says files, photographs, security camera footage, and smart home activity can all be stored locally, with no monthly storage fee required. Core storage, security, file-management, and smart home functions can also operate over the local network.
Local AI is used for security camera features, including recognition of people, vehicles, pets, and packages. HomeAgent can highlight unusual activity and generate summaries of recorded events, while keyword searches can be used to locate specific footage.
The AI functionality extends beyond security, with HomeAgent able to identify noteworthy moments within live camera footage and photo libraries, automatically generate highlight videos, and display them on the company’s UGREEN Gallery smart displays.
UGREEN says the HA100 Pro offers faster networking and additional processing performance for more demanding local AI tasks. These include improved contextual understanding, voice-based automation creation, and more advanced recognition capabilities.
MASTERAGENT MA100
Sitting above the HA100 models is the UGREEN MasterAgent MA100, which the company describes as its flagship local AI hub.
The MA100 is powered by Nvidia’s Jetson Thor T5000 platform, with UGREEN claiming up to 2,070 FP4 TFLOPS of local computing performance. This additional processing capability is intended to allow larger AI models to operate locally, with the system able to interpret more complex requests and coordinate multiple devices and tasks.
UGREEN also plans to provide a developer platform that will allow additional packages or skills to be created for MasterAgent.
A NEW UGREEN SMART HOME ECOSYSTEM
HomeAgent isn’t being introduced as a standalone product, with UGREEN announcing several devices that will form part of its new AIoT ecosystem.
These include the SynCare Indoor Cam ID500 Pro, SynCare PoE Cam OD600 Pro, and SynCare Battery Cam OD800 Pro, along with the UGREEN Smart Speaker for Uliya and UGREEN Gallery.
UGREEN says HomeAgent is designed to connect both its own AIoT products and compatible third-party devices, with Matter providing an important part of that interoperability.
The compatibility list already includes a substantial number of products from other manufacturers, although compatibility appears to vary depending on the particular device or gateway. UGREEN’s notes, for example, indicate that sub-devices weren’t tested with some gateways, while others were successfully tested with connected devices.
The company also appears to be actively expanding compatibility. The current list is dated August 11th, with another update scheduled for September 4th.
One point worth noting is that UGREEN’s emphasis on local operation doesn’t mean HomeAgent is entirely cloud-free. The company states that registration and authentication, remote access, mobile notifications, software updates, and optional cloud services may still require an internet connection.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
Pre-orders for the HomeAgent HA100, HA100 Pro, and MasterAgent MA100 open on September 3rd, ahead of a Kickstarter campaign scheduled to begin on October 27th via this LINK.
During the pre-order period, customers can place a deposit starting at US$50 to secure what UGREEN describes as a “Super Early Bird” price offering a 50% discount. The remaining AIoT products are expected to be introduced as part of the Kickstarter campaign beginning October 27th.
UGREEN hasn’t yet revealed final retail pricing for the three HomeAgent models.
With UGREEN already well established in areas including chargers, power banks, hubs, and network storage, its move into the smart home represents a significant expansion for the company. More importantly for Apple Home users, HomeAgent appears to be embracing Matter interoperability from the outset, with support already tested across a broad selection of third-party devices, Matter gateways, and established Matter brands.
There’s still no direct mention of Apple Home or Siri, and no indication that HomeAgent itself provides a Thread Border Router, so there are questions that remain to be answered. However, the inclusion of Matter multi-admin and compatibility with existing Matter products from the likes of Aqara and Eve makes UGREEN’s new platform considerably more interesting for Apple Home users than the initial announcement alone might suggest.
