Don’t want a smart speaker listening to you at home? This AI-powered ‘pebble’ only turns on its microphone when it’s picked up
If you like the idea of a smart speaker to control devices like your thermostat, lights, and switches, but aren’t keen on having a buzzing device constantly listening in on your home, smart home company Aqara may have a solution.
Rather than passively waiting for you to say an activation phrase (like “Hey Google” or “Alexa”), Aqara’s button-like device with a microphone only starts recording when you pick it up.
Smart speakers don’t work by constantly recording everything in your home. Instead, they use software that recognizes the distinctive acoustic patterns of their wake phrase and ignores everything else. However, not everyone is comfortable with a hot microphone in their room.
The AI-enabled Voice Mate H1 gets around that problem by requiring physical interaction. That means you can’t use it hands-free, which is one of the biggest draws of smart speakers, but it should alleviate the privacy concerns that plague even the best smart speakers and keep many people from trying one.
While the cordless puck-like design is unusual, it makes the device easier to operate than a button and means you can easily take it with you to different rooms throughout the day.
Compatibility Check
The Voice Mate H1 works with Aqara’s voice assistant, Copilot, which was launched earlier this year. The button requires the Aqara Hub-M3 to work, and according to The EdgeVoice commands will be deleted from the hub once they are completed.
Of course, all of this is only useful if the Voice Mate H1 works with the rest of your smart home tech. The Hub-M3 supports Aqara’s own Matter-compatible Zigbee devices and functions as a Matter bridge, but according to the company, it’s currently only compatible with third-party sensors (occupancy, light, and contact), light bulbs, switches, thermostats, and plugs.
The Voice Mate H1 should work just fine if you’re sticking with Aqara’s own lineup of devices. However, if you’re going to mix and match your smart home tech, you’ll want to make sure they’re all compatible with the Hub-M3 first. Cautious homeowners will also want to check Aqara’s full privacy policy to see what information the company collects and how it is used.