Aqara Expands Advanced Matter Bridging to Older Hubs, Adds Support for New Device Types

I don't get it, I really don't.

Matter was meant to simplify things providing an interoperability between manufacturers & allow devices not designed to work with a platform visibility.

Apple appears to have pretty much deserted HomeKit, or at least looking at the Apple Store it gives that impression.

11 years I've been waiting for smarter things to make my life easier and better from when apple introduced HomeKit in 2014, 11 years!

What's happening is maybe the law of unintended consequences where on the face of it, matter is delivering, albeit it slowly.

Scratch the surface and what you find is manufactures, Aqara being one of the most guilty, deliberately gimping their products unless you use their bridge and their app.

I want Matter to succeed, in the same way I wish HomeKit delivered albeit quicker.

I have a matter hub in the Apple TV or I've got the HomePods, I don't need any bridge or other hardware/software to support it.

What I don't want is to have to use an Aqara hub.

What I don't want is to use an Aqara app.

I want everything to be controlled from within the home app so that Apple guards the security & privacy and it's only the hardware dealings that I have with any other manufacturer.

As it stands, it's lipstick on a pig & we're no better off other than the early days where hardly any manufacturer supported HomeKit as they're all after your data, slowly we're walking back to the future.

I don't mind paying extra for apple gear, what I want though is Apple to get their finger out and destroy the home market, give us everything & more that works in the home app that was once promised - cameras, cleaners, lights everything.

The money they could make of the matter standard which opens their products to Android & Alexa customers could be staggering.

As it stands, 11 years seems like a short time given it's likely to take longer to see any improvement with Apple's current strategy i.e none - don't make things nor sell them.

I have around 120 Aqara devices at home, including several of their hubs, so I feel somewhat competent to respond to those who are wondering what the deal is with 3rd party apps.

The Aqara app, for example, is needed if you want to simplify programming automations and/or make them more powerful compared to what's possible in Homekit alone. Programming automations within the Apple Home app is a pain in the rear and the possible conditions and triggers are simply not cutting it. Example: try programming within Homekit (and without using virtual switches via Homebridge) something like: if Motion or Occupancy has not been detected for 3 min then do something.

Or if Motion has been detected after a period of more than 3 min then do something, etc...

Homekit also simply doesn't offer enough and flexible manipulation controls and interfaces for devices. So manufacturers have no choice then to offer this via their own apps.

I also find that my devices via hubs run way more reliable than WiFi/Thread controlled items directly from Apple Homepod or TV hubs.

But yes, it's Apple's fault. They have been lazy.

I don't get it, I really don't.

Matter was meant to simplify things providing an interoperability between manufacturers & allow devices not designed to work with a platform visibility.

Apple appears to have pretty much deserted HomeKit, or at least looking at the Apple Store it gives that impression.

11 years I've been waiting for smarter things to make my life easier and better from when apple introduced HomeKit in 2014, 11 years!

What's happening is maybe the law of unintended consequences where on the face of it, matter is delivering, albeit it slowly.

Scratch the surface and what you find is manufactures, Aqara being one of the most guilty, deliberately gimping their products unless you use their bridge and their app.

I want Matter to succeed, in the same way I wish HomeKit delivered albeit quicker.

I have a matter hub in the Apple TV or I've got the HomePods, I don't need any bridge or other hardware/software to support it.

What I don't want is to have to use an Aqara hub.

What I don't want is to use an Aqara app.

I want everything to be controlled from within the home app so that Apple guards the security, privacy and software updates are vetted via the home app, it's only the hardware that I obtain from other manufacturers.

As it stands, it's lipstick on a pig & we're no better off other than the early days where hardly any manufacturer supported HomeKit as they're all after your data, slowly we're walking back to the future.

I don't mind paying extra for apple gear, what I want though is Apple to get their finger out and destroy the home market, give us everything & more that works in the home app that was once promised - cameras, cleaners, lights everything.

The money they could make of the matter standard which opens their products to Android & Alexa customers could be staggering.

As it stands, 11 years seems like a short time given it's likely to take longer to see any improvement with Apple's current strategy i.e none - don't make things nor sell them.

& neither do I disagree with you, you've accepted Aqara as a manufacturer, I'm just not so trusting.

I'm not advocating for HomeKit to stay about in its current format. You're right totally about the cameras and motion detection in HomeKit, it's abysmal, it rightfully gives apple the title of fisher price software that others have mocked it for being for ages, it hasn't been updated in what, ever .

What I'm saying it that the more forks that you have in a standard, the more companies insist on being gatekeepers to their products and not fully committing, the bigger the likelihood it will fail.

I wanted the choice on who I give my data to and who I feel is best equipped to deal with it & for me guided or misguided, I consider that Apple.

I want them to deliver the software updates via the home app where the only relationship I have to have with a 3rd party manufacturer is buying the device.

What I don't want to have to deal with is multiple logins spread across numerous companies who are sniffing & moneytising god knows what.

They move quicker as they get more data.

I have a Logitech camera and a bunch of Eve hardware (light switches, motion detectors and smart plugs). Logitech doesn't even have an app for their camera, it sets up (and is controlled/viewed) directly through the Apple Home app.

Eve has an app, but it doesn't require registering, providing any information, or logging in - it connects directly to the devices through Matter/Threads. It's only needed if you want to access more advanced features than Apple includes in the Home app (including advanced scheduling), but all the Eve devices are directly controlled through the Apple Home app.

In setting up my smart home I'm deliberately avoiding any devices which require an additional hub. I don't want to have a bunch of hubs sitting around, nor do I want to have to use their apps. If it can't be accessed and controlled through my HomePod mini and Apple Home app, I'm not interested in it.

I am not disagreeing with you. I also wished I could do everything and in a simple way within one centralised app. It's just that the current Homekit framework of pretty much everything (automation control, conditions, triggers, hardware control) is way too limited. But is really Aqara (or other manufacturers) to blame? They move quicker to respond to customers demands compared to Apple

& neither do I disagree with you, you've accepted Aqara as a manufacturer, I'm just not so trusting.

I'm not advocating for HomeKit to stay about in its current format. You're right totally about the cameras and motion detection in HomeKit, it's abysmal, it rightfully gives apple the title of fisher price software that others have mocked it for being for ages, it hasn't been updated in what, ever .

What I'm saying it that the more forks that you have in a standard, the more companies insist on being gatekeepers to their products and not fully committing, the bigger the likelihood it will fail.

I wanted the choice on who I give my data to and who I feel is best equipped to deal with it & for me guided or misguided, I consider that Apple.

I want them to deliver the software updates via the home app where the only relationship I have to have with a 3rd party manufacturer is buying the device.

What I don't want to have to deal with is multiple logins spread across numerous companies who are sniffing & moneytising god knows what.

They move quicker as they get more data.

There you have it - It's needed?

Why is it needed, why is the Aqara app needed?

What your seeing is Aqara making a gameplay to derail the matter standard.

A platform within a platform does not an open interoperability make.

How much can you trust a 3rd party company with your data - I certainly don't, after all the early reports of cameras being hacked. but the thing is, it's now not just cameras, it's your life.

This is not what HomeKit was touted as nor what Matter originally promised.

I could've of course start messing about in HomeAssistant & all the other flavours of things that are out there, but in the same way that I like apple, I'd rather not, I want a simple life.

I am not disagreeing with you. I also wished I could do everything and in a simple way within one centralised app. It's just that the current Homekit framework of pretty much everything (automation control, conditions, triggers, hardware control) is way too limited. But is really Aqara (or other manufacturers) to blame? They move quicker to respond to customers demands compared to Apple

what's the matter with that?