Aqara, a global innovator in smart home technology, has announced a major expansion of its support for Matter, the universal smart home standard that’s rapidly gaining traction across the industry. The company is rolling out enhanced Matter device integration and introducing advanced bridging capabilities that make it easier for consumers to connect and control smart devices from multiple brands—all from within the Aqara ecosystem.
These updates mark an essential step forward for smart homeowners looking for flexibility, interoperability, and ease of use. Whether new to smart home tech or expanding an existing setup, Aqara’s new features help simplify automation, improve compatibility, and unlock more powerful connected experiences in your home.
At the heart of this announcement is Aqara’s commitment to cross-platform compatibility. With the latest updates, Aqara Home can now integrate over 50 different types of Matter-enabled devices, including smart plugs, thermostats, air purifiers, video players, and even large appliances like ovens, washers, and dryers.
This means that devices from different brands and ecosystems can work together more seamlessly for consumers. For example, you can buy a Matter-compatible smart plug or thermostat from a third-party brand and easily manage it through the Aqara Home app without switching between apps or sacrificing features. (Note: You need to ensure you have an Aqara hub that is Matter compatible.)
This expanded support is a significant benefit for smart homeowners who want to avoid being locked into one ecosystem and seek more future-proof solutions.
Matter is a universal smart home standard developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), supported by major players like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung. Its goal is simple: make smart devices from different brands work together reliably and securely.
Aqara has been an early supporter of Matter, and its latest announcement shows how deeply the company is embracing this standard to benefit users. According to Tobin Richardson, President & CEO of the CSA, Aqara’s latest rollout is “a testament to our shared vision of a simple, interoperable, and powerful smart home future.”
One of the most exciting developments is Aqara’s Advanced Matter Bridging. This new feature allows the unique capabilities of Aqara devices to be shared with other Matter-compatible ecosystems, such as Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, SmartThings, and more.
Originally introduced with the Aqara Hub M3, Advanced Matter Bridging is now available across all Aqara Matter Controllers and bridges, including older models like the Hub M2 and Hub E1. This feature transforms exclusive Aqara features—like on-device AI detection in security cameras or fall detection in the FP2 presence sensor—into virtual devices (like occupancy sensors or smart plugs) that can be recognized and used by other Matter platforms.
For example, a smart scene you create in the Aqara app can now appear as a virtual device in Apple Home, enabling more powerful automations using your favorite voice assistant or smart display.
This bridging also includes power-based automations, allowing you to trigger routines based on the real-time power usage of a device—something previously limited to Aqara’s app. Now, those same insights can power automations across any Matter ecosystem you use.
In addition to Matter bridging, Aqara is improving support for Thread, a mesh networking technology that makes smart devices more responsive and reliable. Aqara’s Thread Border Routers can now join existing Thread networks from other ecosystems (like Google Assistant or Apple HomeKit), making setup faster and reducing redundancy.
The company is also working on cross-network communication for Thread devices—meaning Aqara hubs will be able to manage devices even if they’re on different local networks (LANs). This update is expected in Q2 2025 and will significantly improve connected devices' overall stability and reliability across a home.
Aqara Camera Hub G3
GearBrain
Here are some of the new Matter device types now supported in the Aqara Home app:
This extended support gives Aqara one of the widest ranges of Matter-compatible devices in the market today, offering flexibility and convenience to smart homeowners who want to build a more integrated and automated living space.
To access these new features, users will need to update to Aqara Home version 5.1.4 or newer and ensure their Aqara Matter Controller firmware is version 4.3.4 or later. Additional Matter device types will be supported in version 5.1.9 of the Aqara Home app, and firmware version 4.3.5, both expected later this month.
These updates are free and available to all existing users with supported hardware.
Aqara Smart Home Devices
Aqara
For everyday smart home users, Aqara’s expanded Matter support and advanced bridging features bring several significant benefits:
However, it’s important to note one current limitation of the Matter standard: that Matter does not support security cameras and video doorbells. While the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) is actively working with its members to define a future specification for these devices, you cannot integrate non-Aqara security cameras or video doorbells into your Matter-connected smart home today.
This means if you want to include indoor or outdoor security cameras or video doorbells in your setup, they must be from Aqara to work within the Aqara ecosystem, even with Matter-enabled controllers.
If you need help troubleshooting integration problems, connecting compatible devices with the Aqara app, or finding compatible products, you can use GearBrain's compatibility find engine. It’s free and easy to use. You can also store all your smart devices’ product information (e.g., user manuals, and warranties) for free.
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