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Smart homes, but why?
The smart home (opens in new tab) concept has been around almost as long as the home computer itself. But for most of us, Uncle Brian yelling at his Alexa to play REO Speedwagon is the closest.
That’s all good, but the rest of us want more. That’s where beautifully designed smart home technology from the likes of Aqara comes in. But what exactly does it do for your hometown? And why not just do it yourself?
Well, aside from the sheer future joy of having your curtains slide smoothly apart at the exact moment of sunrise, there’s a level of security and convenience here that you have to experience to appreciate.
There was a time when if you wanted to talk to someone you had to call a building and hope they were there. Crazy, right?
That’s what future generations will think if you tell them to go to your front door and open it to see who rang the bell.
Get to know the matter, and why it matters
The smart home story so far has been one of fiddly, expensive, conflicting devices that take more time to set up than they save, and about as happy to talk to each other as Instagram influencers appear in the same outfit.
It’s all a long way from the smoothly automated mansions of the movies. But these days, you don’t need Iron Man’s engineering genius or the billion dollar budget.
the upcoming Matter standard (opens in new tab) is the result of a collaboration between smart home specialists such as Aqara and the likes of Apple, Google and Samsung to create a simpler smart future for everyone.
Built on blockchain technology, the Matter standard ensures smart home kits from across the commercial spectrum will play nicely together. No more frustrating lack of recognition when trying to introduce a home hub on your smartphone. Matter marks a new era of smart home technology – simple, interoperable and proactively intelligent.
Aqara: at the heart of the business
One of the early exponents of the Matter standard, with more than a decade of dedicated development under their belt, Aqara has built a growing range of smart home devices around effortless interoperability and intuitive user experiences.
Factor in solid build quality, award-winning design and price tags that raise eyebrows for all the right reasons, and Aqara’s specialized smart home technology makes for a compelling choice in a post-matter world.
This portfolio of devices covers everything from security to comfort, to ‘I can’t believe no one thought of this before’ innovation.
Everything works of course simple and seamless together (opens in new tab), but is equally happy to be part of an Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa or Google Home setup. So you don’t need to replace technology you already own.
And there’s no need to wait for Matter to become standard either. All of Aqara’s existing portfolios are guaranteed to support the Matter protocol, so you can start building your smart home now, knowing that today’s investment is future-proof and that everything from your doorbell to your curtains will speak the same language.
Environmental Intelligence
So with Matter, smart home technology becomes truly interoperable. But that is not the only evolution. Smart home technology is also evolving towards proactiveness and ambient intelligence.
Ambient intelligence is not a new album by Sigur Rós, but Aqara’s ambitious concept of an adaptive, proactive and personalized smart home system.
A truly smart home is more than just remote-controlled light switches. It is an interconnected hub that runs on autopilot and learns to make contextual decisions with minimal user input. With this in mind, Aqara has built a product portfolio that enables a fully automated home experience.
The heart of Aqara’s truly smart home is the Camera Hub G3 (opens in new tab). This beautiful little home hub can be placed on a tabletop, taped to a wall, or simply pinned anywhere you want. With a 2k resolution and a 360-degree view, it doesn’t miss a thing, with motion detection, abnormal sound detection, auto-cruising, facial recognition and tracking people and pets.
When you’re not home, it functions as a two-way intercom – allowing you to be inside when you’re not home, so you can keep an eye on things whether you’re in the garden, at the office or on vacation. And it backs up everything, both locally and to the cloud.
Once you get back home, the Hub will respond to voice commands, so Uncle Brian will be in his element. Plus, everything works through gesture recognition too, so with the right extras, you can open the door by flashing an ok sign to the camera. If that doesn’t make you feel like you’re in Star Trek, nothing will.
Exploring the rest of the range, Aqara’s door and window sensors (opens in new tab) safely keep track of the comings and goings, and your home security system will activate when one of your doors is opened unexpectedly. The simple clip-on curtain drives allow you to set your curtains to open and close based on the brightness level, sunset and sunrise in your area, or simply when ‘House of The Dragon’ comes up.
And as you build your smart home, there’s a whole host of smart sensors, smart wall switches, and motion-activated lights that will make your life easier while reducing energy waste.
Smart houses, in cubes
Aqara’s instinct for innovation is evident in everything from ambient intelligence to the Matter Standard. But here we think you will have the most fun.
The Akara cube (opens in new tab) is a small, lightweight 45mm cube that takes gesture control to a whole new level. This handy device fits well on any flat surface and responds to a series of kinetic commands, allowing you to dim the lights, open curtains, turn off alarms and more with a roll of the dice.
Do you need to control your home with a wireless dice? Maybe not.
But do you want until? Especially if it costs less than an Uncle Brian’s vinyl album? We think you just could.
So start building your Aqara house and bring smartness, simplicity and fun into your daily life.