Aqara’s name is a combination of the Latin words “Acutulus” (smart) and “Ara” (home), so not surprisingly the company designs and develops hardware and software solutions for the smart home, with over 12 million customers in more than 170 countries and territories. Aqara recently introduced two new products of note, the Aqara Ceiling Light T1M and Aqara Smart Lock U200.
The Aqara Ceiling Light T1M is a smart ceiling fixture that includes a central white light and a colorful gradient ring for a blend of everyday and atmospheric illumination. It is designed for rooms of approximately 54 to 215 square feet.
The main light produces warm-to-cool whites (2700-6500K), and the outer light ring produces more than 16 million colors with a color rendering index (CRI) of over 90. This guarantees that it faithfully reproduces lifelike and highly discernable colors.
Similar to other Aqara Zigbee devices, the Ceiling Light T1M supports Matter and other major platforms, such as Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, IFTTT and Home Assistant, via the Aqara M2 Hub.
Integration and the ability to control the central light and color ring independently provides a wealth of automation opportunities. For example, the central light can provide interior lighting for a home while the light ring can provide status information. The light ring could be set to different colors depending on measurements taken by an indoor air quality monitor. Of course, the Aqara Ceiling Light T1M tightly integrates with Aqara’s product line of smart home devices, including light switches, the Aqara Cube, and the Aqara FP2 presence sensor.
The Smart Lock U200
Aqara has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for their new Smart Lock U200. This campaign completely sold out, with more than 1,500 backers purchasing locks in just 24 hours. Everyone else will have to wait a few months for the U200 to become generally available. I hope to do a full review of the product at that time.
This new lock provides a wide range of features. These include native Matter over Thread support for integration with a wide range of smart home platforms and unlock using your fingerprint; the fingerprint sensor has a 98.6% identification rate and the lock provides fast unlocking in just half a second and can also recognize up to 50 different fingerprints.
The lock also can be unlocked using passcodes, NFC tags, a voice assistant command, remotely using the Aqara app, and using a temporary passcode that could be shared with a maid service or contractor. The lock features an IPX5 waterproof design and an operating temperature range of -0.4 degrees Fahrenheit to 150.8 degrees Fahrenheit and boasts six-month battery life using four AAA batteries. Silent lock and unlock mode on the Smart Lock U200 minimizes the noise made by the lock so it won’t disturb family members when it is operated late at night.
Additional enhancements are planned for after the initial release of the lock through over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates. First is an auto-unlock feature that utilizes a phone’s Bluetooth and GPS positioning capability. This will automatically unlock the U200 when a homeowner approaches the lock. Second is an Auto-Lock feature that can automatically lock the U200 as soon as the door closes through measurements from the gyroscope built into the U200. The U200 will be available in silver, black, and white.
