Aqara announces Thread-based smart home lineup coming later this year

Smart home products provider Aqara is announcing today a brand-new Thread-based lineup for its iconic Door and Window Sensor and Motion Sensor products. These products will use Thread technology, which is an IP-based, low-power, wireless networking protocol for smart homes and businesses.

These new Door and Window Sensor and Motion Sensor products are designed to provide consumers with improved connected home experiences with higher compatibility, reliability, power efficiency, and security, according to a press release.

Slated to launch in the second half of 2022, Aqara will make sure these home automation products keep working with major third-party ecosystems including Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home.

The new Thread-based product lineup from Aqara provides users one more option to enter the Matter ecosystem. As one of the pillar connectivity technologies for Matter, Thread enables IoT devices to connect natively to Matter. The Aqara Thread products also integrate Bluetooth Low Energy for a better connection and operating experience.

The Aqara Thread devices will also offer some of the same and most popular features seen from the Zigbee product line, such as the long battery life and low-latency connection.

Alongside this announcement, Aqara promised to bring Matter support to its existing Zigbee-based products by pushing over-the-air update to the Aqara hubs, the M2 and the M1S.

The software update will expose the Aqara child devices to Matter, allowing them to connect with other Matter-compatible third-party devices. This approach assures a seamless interaction between the two protocols, and Aqara users will be able to keep their existing Zigbee devices while accessing the benefits of Matter.

Here, at 9to5Mac, we are always covering new products from the company. I’d recommend you some of our latest articles about its home automation products:

• HomeKit Weekly: Create a low-cost HomeKit setup with the new Aqara G3 hub
• Deep dive looks at how Thread could be the future of HomeKit
• HomeKit Weekly: Hands-on with Aqara Smart Home Starter Kit

What do you think about these new Thread-based products? Are you excited to put your hands in one of them? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.