The new Matter standard is getting better at helping Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings play nice with each other, but it often does so at the expense of finer-grained features.
Some Matter-enabled smart lights, for example, can be turned on or off via Matter or change their color, but Matter controllers might not be able to access their lighting scenes or advanced animation modes.
Likewise, smart home manufacturer Aqara found some of its hardware functionality hamstrung by Matter’s limitations, such as the lack of Matter support for facial recognition (which might arrive once Matter finally works with security cameras), or for the fall-detection capabilities of its motion sensors.
One option would be to wait for the Matter specification to catch up and add that functionality—which could take a while, given the slow pace of Matter specification updates.
Instead, Aqara built its own workaround, which involves taking various Aqara scenes and “signals” and turning them into virtual sensors that Matter understands.
Aqara calls its Matter-translating technology “Advanced Matter Bridging,” introducing the tech earlier this year in an update for its Hub M3 smart home hub. Now, Aqara says it’s bringing Advanced Matter Bridging to all its hubs, including the newer Camera Hub G5 Pro and older Zigbee-based models, including the Hub M2, Hub M1S/M1S Gen 2, Hub E1, and Camera Hub G3.
Besides expanding support for its Advanced Matter Bridging functionality, Aqara is adding more than a dozen new Matter categories to its Aqara Home platform, including robot vacuums, dimmable plugs, smoke and CO alarms, smart curtains and shades, air conditioners and heat pumps, laundry washers and dryers, and leak, freeze, and rain sensors.
With those additions, Aqara now supports more than 50 Matter device types, the manufacturer said.
Advanced Matter Bridging will take some work on the part of users to expose Aqara’s more esoteric functionality to Matter.
Using the Aqara Home app, you’ll need to create a “signal” using one or more Aqara conditions–such as a camera recognizing a person’s face, or a door lock being opened by a specific fingerprint–and set those signals as triggers for virtual Matter devices.
For example, if an Aqara cam recognizes a person’s face, it could send an “Occupancy Detected” signal to a virtual Matter occupancy sensor, which could then activate a Philips Hue light automation.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart home systems.
It’s a clever, if somewhat hack-y way to deal with one of Matter’s many rough edges, and it opens up numerous possibilities for integrating Aqara gear more deeply into Matter-enabled smart routines.
Advanced Matter Bridging will work on Aqara Matter controller bridges running firmware version 4.3.4, and you’ll need Aqara Home version 5.1.4 or better to access the feature.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer, TechHive
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he has covered everything from smart speakers and soundbars to smart lights and security cameras. Ben's articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men's Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master's degree in English literature.