Aqara today announced their latest product for the smart home within the security and safety category, namely a brand new smoke alarm. The new smoke alarm is certified for Mainland China, so it’s clear this product is currently designed for this market alone at present, due to the only certification provided by the CCC (China Compulsory Certificate). However, with the right certification for other territories, this could be seen internationally later on, although nothing has been confirmed in this regard.
As expected, the new smoke alarm/sensor is compatible with Apple HomeKit, and will also work with Mi Home, but not Aqara Home at present It connects to your smart home via one of the company’s Zigbee 3.0 hubs that will also work with Mi Home, namely the Aqara M1S, and the E1.
The smart sensor, with a built-in siren, is capable of 80dB within a 3-metre range and comes with a battery that’s designed to last for 10-years, by which time it should be replaced anyway, for safety reasons. If you have more of these devices spread around the home, the alarm that detects smoke, will in turn trigger the other alarms, so that wherever you are, you’ll hear the warning siren.
The sensor also features what is described as using “dual-optical path maze detection technology”, which they claim can detect all types of smoke, along with an insect grill to stop flying insects from gathering and potentially hindering smoke detection.
Currently, the only smoke alarm sensor that works with Aqara hubs is the now quite old Mijia/Honeywell model, which uses Zigbee 1.2, and whilst it does work with HomeKit, the Zigbee model is much harder to find, with a Bluetooth model having replaced it. Aqara already makes its own smoke alarm, but it’s not HomeKit compatible and is designed to work solely in China, due to its use of a SIM card to connect to fire services directly.
The current list price on popular Chinese online sites is RMB249, which roughly converts to around US$40/EU€35/UK£29, although if it does get an international release, these prices will no doubt be different.