Aqara held its now annual product event in China today, which this year featured, perhaps unsurprisingly, a ton of new products. This included a new range of wall-mounted smart control panels, some sensors and switches, alongside some more familiar products that have emerged more recently, independently of this event.
The most impressive set of new devices were the range of Aqara MagicPads, which come in three basic sizes and add to the original S1 Panel (which we’ll be reviewing soon, promise). All feature full-colour touch-sensitive displays, and are designed to control a variety of Aqara products. They aren’t able to control non-Aqara branded products, regardless of whether they’re HomeKit compatible or not, although virtually all of Aqara products are in fact HomeKit compatible anyway. Also like the S1 panel, it would seem that the square sizes are also exposed to HomeKit, as regular wall switches, but with touch-screen control.
The MagicPads, also apparently include hubs, as well as feature Aqara’s own AI assistant, much like you would find on Xiaomi audio and video products (Xiao AI), with the Aqara version, apparently called Xiao Qiao.
The MagicPads are designed to fit in with Aqara’s high-end H1 range of devices, which involve single, double, and triple rocker switches, along with single, double and a dial-based dimmer switch, a smart outlet, a smart outlet with a built-in Zigbee 3.0 hub, and what appears to be an H1 version of the Aqara Cube.
Aqara showed off a couple of brand new sensors – a new motion sensor, and a contact sensor, alongside the recently released TVOC monitor.
Whilst Aqara have confirmed that their newer Zigbee hubs will work with lighting products to make use of Apple’s Adaptive Lighting functionality, the company don’t have too many lighting products outside of China, but today Aqara revealed more lighting fixtures that include track lighting, light strips and downlights, all we presume will be Zigbee 3.0.
One of the screens revealed some of the company’s devices, including the soon to be released Aqara G3 camera, which we reported on last week.
From the video, it would appear that the G3 has the rumoured gesture recognition as well as pan and tilt functionality.
How many of these products end up being available outside of Mainland China remains to be seen, but a product range this vast really does cement Aqara’s reputation as a prime mover in the smart home game.