In January, at CES 2025, Aqara announced an avalanche of new devices. The Panel HUB S1 and the FP300 with a strong presence stole most of the headlines.
However, the Aqara Hub M100 could prove to be the biggest hit from CES launch bonanza.
Furthermore, it boasts not only issues with Aqara branded devices, but also thread border routing capabilities like the flagship Aqara Hub M3.
This means that you can control threaded devices other than Aqara. Think of a NanoLeaf smart light and smart lock like the Kwikset Halo Select. It also serves as a thread extender to enhance your mesh network.
Aqara shows that the M100 can connect up to 20 Zigbee devices and 20 threaded devices at the same time.
Obviously, Zigbee is not part of the problem standard, so it acts as a bridge of problems that allow you to control your Aqara ‘Child’ devices within your Smart Home system, whether using Alexa, Google Home, Homekit, Homey, Smartthings, or Home Assistant.
If necessary, you can also control or extend the Aqara smart home system by completely ignoring the material and using the M100 as a dedicated Aqara hub.
However, the M100 also has access to Aqara’s recently announced Advanced Matter Bridging feature, so if you did it, you’ll miss out on some nifty bells and whistles.
Originally introduced in the M3, automation and triggers can be transferred from the Aqara system to other substance platforms.
You can create a virtual switch to start a kick, for example using it as part of a routine in Google Home Matter setup, or have human recognition from the camera Hub G5 Pro Act AA trigger for actions on the HomeKit system.
It looks like the Aqara Hub E1 that started in 2021, but the M100 is a USB-equipped controller that connects to a regular USB-A port (minimum 5V, 0.5a) and fires.
It’s only 2.4GHz, and there’s no IR blasting like the M3, nor edge computing skills, but since it’s under 20% of the cost of Aqara’s top dogs, there’s a few compromises expected.
Stateside at $19.99 and £19.99 in the UK, it’s a very attractive option for anyone considering expanding the smart home system in question. Available directly from Aqara or Amazon.
Like the M100, Aqara also excludes the cover of the climate sensor W100.
It has a 3.4-inch display, allowing you to view temperature and humidity measurements, and has three buttons, including HVAC control and scene activation.
The W100 is a native matter device with both threads and Zigbee built in.
For $39.99/£39.99, it can be obtained directly from Aqara or Amazon.
The final bit of Aqara News is the launch of the Camera Protect Kit Y100 bundle, which includes the camera hub G3, door and window sensor, motion sensor P1, and vibration sensor T1.
For $139.99/£139.99, it can be obtained directly from Aqara or via Amazon, as well as the two new releases above.
