Xiaomi eco-chain products enter HomeKit, not a gimmick. Safer and more convenient. Aqara！

At the beginning, I will give you the content you care about, the advantages and disadvantages of this product. If you don't like long speeches, you can see our conclusion at a glance after reading them.

Advantages:

1. can support HomeKit and mijia dual platforms.

Products in 2. The eight packages basically support HomeKit, covering common functions in the family.

3. It is the most cost-effective in the HomeKit family.

4. Dual control of equipment can be realized through Mijia app and HomeKit.

5.HomeKit is used for remote control, which is more secure and can be encrypted at the end.

6. Simple installation and exquisite workmanship

Insufficient:

1. Some sub-devices cannot realize all the functions in home app.

2. not all Aqara devices support HomeKit.

3. The function of 3.Aqara Home needs to be strengthened.

4. The 5GHz WiFi network connection is not supported yet.

With the advent of the Internet of Everything era, smart devices and more and more families have become popular. Thanks to the popularity of Apple devices, HomeKit devices, a smart home standard led by Apple, has also been favored by many users, but the expensive price has also discouraged many people. Xiaomi smart home is the most popular among domestic enterprises. Xiaomi eco-chain enterprise Green Rice Technology focuses on Xiaomi smart home products, and its sub-brand Aqara locates the whole house intelligence. This product not only has a single device, but also can automate the whole family. Recently, Aqara's second-generation gateway has been able to access the devices supported by HomeKit with Siri control, and it can be controlled by Apple's home App and Mijia App at the same time, which is more playable.

The Aqara Apple HomeKit series package we are going to evaluate today contains 8 products, which can basically realize most functions in the family, and can also purchase more sub-devices independently according to the family situation. The software package already contains Aqara gateway, which can connect 32 sub-devices. For a basic three-bedroom apartment, a gate is enough. If it is a larger villa, you can connect multiple gateways to expand the number of equipment.

The price of this set is only 1000 yuan. If you buy all the products of other brands of HomeKit, it may cost several thousand yuan, and the products are more suitable for the needs of domestic users. For users who need to access HomeKit, part of it is for Siri's voice control, and the other part is for cross-platform needs. There are different brands of products at home. Another advantage is that the communication of Apple HomeKit adopts end-to-end encryption and authentication technology. Generally speaking, when you remotely control, the relevant data will be encrypted during transmission, and Apple cannot know which devices you control and what operations these devices will perform.

Let's see what products are included in this package. Aqara Apple HomeKit series package includes 8 devices:

1.Aqara Gateway is a smart home control center.

2.Aqara door and window sensor senses the switch state of doors and windows.

3.Aqara human body sensor senses human movement,

Intelligent transformation of 4.4. Aqara LED bulb with adjustable color temperature,

Remote control transformation of 5.5. Aqara wireless switch, double keys attached to the wall,

6.Aqara immersion sensor immersion monitoring alarm,

7.Aqara temperature and humidity sensor can check the temperature and humidity status in real time.

8.8. Intelligent transformation of lighting control. Aqara wall switch (single fire double key version)

To tell you the truth, I am very excited to get this set of products. As a person who is very concerned about cutting-edge digital technology, there are many smart products at home, but there are not many such series, and I have a heartfelt impulse. Let's take a look at the functions of each device separately.

The box of Aqara Gateway is not much different from before, except that Works with Apple HomeKit is marked on the front, and the gateway is also the largest device in the whole suite.

For the gateway three-hole plug, the time test will occupy an adjacent hole of the plug strip, and the wall socket will also block the two holes behind it. At the bottom of the gateway, there is a QR code sticker to connect with HomeKit. This logo proves that the product has been certified by Apple and has the code of HomeKit on it, which can be scanned or manually entered.

There are dense holes at the top and bottom of the gateway, which can speed up heat dissipation on the one hand. There is a speaker at the top, the logo of Aqara is printed on the front of the top, and the white circle in the middle of the fuselage is nightlight.

There is only one button for the whole gateway. Click the switch nightlight, double-click the reminder to turn it on and off, press the pairing device for three times, press 10 to restore the factory settings, and press 10 seconds or more to reset the gateway, so that other devices or apps can be unbound and bound, and the configuration of paired sub-devices inside will not be lost.

Aqara Gateway is a second-generation gateway and does not support access to the first-generation HomeKit. Aqara Gateway can connect up to 32 sub-devices and act as the control center of smart home. It also has three functions, which can be nightlight, doorbell and audible and visual alarm. Of course, these functions need to be matched with other accessories.

The communication connection between Aqara gateway and other sub-devices adopts Zigbee protocol. Why not use Bluetooth or WiFi? That's because Zigbee technology is suitable for short-distance, low-power scenarios and has very high security and reliability. Ad hoc network can accommodate more sub-devices, with short delay, faster response and ultra-low power consumption. Many sub-devices are made of button cell, which can be used for more than one year. Even if the WiFi at home is unstable or interrupted, the accessories can still work normally and respond quickly.

As the general hub of the whole smart home, Aqara Gateway's compact body design is simple and integrated. The CPU is NXP i.MX6, equipped with 256M memory and 256M flash memory+Apple certified encryption IC. To access Apple HomeKit, you must use an Apple-certified IC, and the price is relatively high. Built-in 18 high-quality LED bulbs, saving energy and electricity, and emitting light evenly and stably.

The flame retardant grade of PCB has reached FR-4. After practical use, the calorific value of this gateway is very small. It is also because the large-area opening at the bottom and the opening at the front panel form air convection, which improves the heat dissipation efficiency and quickly dissipates heat, thus ensuring the long-term and reliable operation of the gateway. Overheating for a long time is the fatal killer of electronic products.

The gateway can be installed anywhere with a socket. The gateway comes with RGB nightlight, which is extremely rich in color. The color and brightness of the light can be adjusted at will. With the human body sensor, people can turn on the lights when they come, and turn off the lights when they leave. It is very useful at night. I set the night light at 10 until 5 am. When people are detected to be moving, they will be turned off after 2 minutes, and the brightness level will reach 5%, which will not affect others. It's really convenient for the elderly.

Aqara door and window sensors are very small, a small part is a magnet, and most of them are the main body. You see, it's three or four times smaller than my original burglar alarm. Both parts have double-sided tape, which can be fixed on doors and windows.

The sensor is powered by button cell, so don't worry about long battery life. Every time you open or close the door, you will be notified on the app, or you can look it up in the log.

When installing, it is best to align the notch marks on the two pieces, so that the response will be more accurate and sensitive. The sensor is mainly used for burglar alarm. When your doors and windows are forgotten to close, the sensor can remind you that someone opens the door when they shouldn't. You can also receive tips on the app, and you can use the camera to observe the situation at home.

Aqara human body sensor can be said to be an important device in spacesuit. Many automatic settings require it as an input condition. For example, someone needs to call the police when they detect activities within a certain period of time, and turn on the lights when they detect activities after work. You need to explore settings, and everyone can set their own unique functions and scenes.

The Aqara body sensor is also powered by button cell. According to the official statement, the battery can be replaced every two years. I will share this with you in two years.

From the packaging point of view, the human body sensor is very small and cylindrical, with an opening on one side as a scanning window and a bracket. The connection between the bracket and the sensor is completed by double-sided adhesive tape, and there is also a 3M adhesive tape on the base, which can be attached at any position, but according to my experiment, it should not be too low or too high, and the best height is about 2m.

I installed it directly opposite the entrance door, and this passage is also the only way to the bedroom, kitchen and restaurant. Through the bracket, the human body sensor can rotate180, and the position of the scanning window pair can be adjusted, so you don't have to worry about taking it down and pasting it again.

Aqara human body sensor has its own illuminance sensor, which can judge how much lux illuminance is generally displayed by the brightness of indoor light, sense the movement of people or pets, and can respond quickly within15 ms. When the illuminance set by the app is lower than that, when someone passes by, the nightlight can be turned on.

Aqara LED bulbs are the same size as ordinary bulbs, but they integrate complex intelligent functions and support HomeKit to control with Siri voice, which is very sensitive. Through wireless switch or human body sensor, it can realize automatic control and emit light with different bright spots and color temperatures at different times.

This light bulb is only 9 watts, but its brightness is very high. It should be the lowest power bulb in my house, and it can adjust the color temperature, that is, the temperature of light. Friends who like photography should be very familiar with it. This kind of light bulb can create different light perception when used in photography, and can also create different ambient light when eating and watching TV.

The universal E27 screw can be applied to most lamps at home, and its service life is long enough to reach 25,000 hours. If you change all the light bulbs in your house to this one, you can turn off the lights in the whole house in one sentence, turn on all the lights through Siri, and turn on and off individual lights.

Aqara wireless switch is a two-button wall-mounted switch, which mainly realizes surface wiring control of household appliances. Many of them are decorated earlier, and there may be no dual control of lighting. It's really uncomfortable to turn off the lights at night in winter, but it's unrealistic to wire separately. It's convenient now, and it only needs dozens of dollars to solve it.

The front of the wireless switch is the same as the ordinary switch, that is, there are two buttons, and there are two small holes at the bottom of the switch, which is the position of the indicator light. There is nothing special on the back, and there is 3M glue on it, which can be attached to any position as required, making it easy to use. It is also powered by the built-in battery and can be used for 2 years.

To pair with the gateway, just select Add Device in the app, then press and hold the right button, and wait for the indicator light to continuously flash. I found the connection between the gateway and the sub-device very sensitive and quick.

The left and right buttons can trigger different functions through different clicking methods. This is a two-button version, which can be controlled with one button: click, double click, long press and double-button short press.

Aqara water immersion sensor looks like a round oblate sphere with a water drop pattern on its surface. This section has a button to pair with the gateway. If you press the button for a long time, there will be a blue indicator light that flashes three times in a row, and the pairing is successful. The water immersion sensor is fully sealed and supports IP67 waterproof, and only two metal contacts are exposed.

There is a metal contact on the left and right sides of the bottom of the water immersion sensor, which is 0.5mm from the ground. When the water level exceeds 0.5 mm, an alarm can be triggered. At this time, the gateway will light up with a red light, make a harsh alarm sound, and a prompt will pop up on the mobile APP.

There are two installation methods, one is to put it directly on the plane where water leakage needs to be detected, and the other is to install a metal wire on two contacts, and the end of the metal wire is placed on the liquid level of the detected container. Once the liquid level exceeds the height, an alarm will be triggered.

If the electromagnetic water valve is installed on the water pipe at home, it can be automatically closed through linkage, so that the full automation of monitoring and processing can be realized and greater losses at home can be avoided.

Aqara temperature and humidity sensor can detect indoor temperature and humidity and atmospheric pressure, but it can't adapt to the function of detecting atmospheric pressure in Apple Home App. From the appearance, the temperature and humidity sensor is a small quadrangle with a thermometer mark on the front.

One pole of the factory battery has insulating plastic to prevent power loss during storage or transportation. Before use, you can charge the battery by pulling out this blue plastic.

Followed by the parameters of the temperature and humidity sensor. Coins can be inserted into the groove on the back, and the back cover can be opened by rotating.

Button cell is also used, the reference life is 2 years, and the worst is expected to be more than one year.

The installation of the temperature and humidity sensor is very simple, and it can be attached to any position in the room that needs to be tested by tape. Of course, we should also avoid being too close to the heating or direct sunlight, so as not to cause too much error. Of course, you can also put it on the bookcase or shelf at will.

Aqara wall switch (single-fire double-key version) has four kinds of switches, single-fire single key, single-fire double key, zero-fire single key and zero-fire double key. In fact, most lighting lines have no zero line, and my family only has load lines and wires.

The appearance is standard 86-shaped, which is the same as the basic size of the switch panel commonly used at home. It fits perfectly after replacement. Same style as before. The material is fireproof V0 PC, and the outer surface is coated with anti-ultraviolet layer. Long-term use will not change color like I did before.

The front looks no different from an ordinary switch. It has two buttons, but it is more beautiful than my original Simon switch. The feeling of the key is smaller than the original mechanical sound, and it is lighter to press. The number of presses can last up to 50,000 times.

Seen from the back, there are three holes in the upper right corner. The first L-hole connection wire, L 1 and L2 connection lamp wire.

There are two buckles at the bottom of the switch. After wiring connection, press and open the front panel with a screwdriver, and fix the switch on the bottom box with the attached screws. You can see the effect of my installation. In fact, any science and engineering man has no problem.

The minimum power requirement of the single fire version is 3W, and the zero fire version has no minimum load power requirement. The total power of the entire switch load cannot exceed 2500W. Don't worry about this, household lighting has never seen such high power.

Application usage evaluation:

This Aqara gateway supports three apps: Mijia APP, apple Home App and Aqara Home. Before connecting APPle Home App, you need to connect and set up sub-devices through Mijia or Aqara Home, so that all sub-devices can be automatically discovered when connecting APPle Home. The picture below shows Aqara's house, Mi's house and Apple's house in turn. It is good to control the Apple family with Siri, but it is impossible to realize remote control without setting up a family center. The function of Aqara Home is too simple and needs to be improved. Mijia is arguably the best.

The first time you run Mijia app on iOS, you will be prompted to allow access to family data. Otherwise, how do you access it? After agreeing to Mijia's privacy policy, it will automatically detect HomeKit accessories available in the LAN, scan the QR code on the gateway and connect to the gateway.

The connection is very simple, and the gateway can be set up very simply according to the instructions. Just note the following points: 1. There must be a 2.4GHz WiFi network. If the route supports dual-band integration, be sure to turn it off. 2. Upgrade the firmware to the latest version, the current version is 1.6.0.0. 3. Install Mijia on iOS, connect all devices first, and it will be automatically imported into HomeKit home. Don't connect the device with home app first, which will make Mijia unable to connect. The aqara home application must initially be used to set up the device first. Recently, Mijia has been upgraded frequently and can replace Aqara Home.

Then add your own sub-devices one by one. At present, 27 Aqara and Xiaomi devices have been supported, and the number should increase in the future.

When each device is added, there will be instructions for use. Generally, the button is pressed for a few seconds, and the indicator light flashes and releases, and the addition can be successful. My eight devices have never experienced the problem of slow addition or failure. I have not added them once, and I have tossed them for several times, of course, in order to better test the stability. If adding a device requires subsequent settings, the interface will pop up automatically, or you can ignore it and set it later.

Home app has four commonly used scenarios built in. Of course, you can also define new ones yourself. I like Apple's iconic operating interface very much, which can be used conveniently by the elderly at home and automatically deployed when going out, provided that your corresponding linkage equipment is in place and the settings are automated.

After the Mijia is set up, we can see all the equipment when we enter the home APP. Aqara's design is very good Apple only needs to join the gateway, and other devices will automatically connect. In home applications, the gateway is regarded as two devices, the night light and the security system. In Mijia, it is just a gateway. You can rename the device in the future, because the default is to add a serial number to the English name of the device, which is not conducive to voice control. You can also assign devices to each room and set up scene automation later.

However, if you want to use Apple Home App to remotely control the accessories supporting HomeKit or set up automation, you need a HomePod set as your home hub or an APP TV with tvOS 10.2 or an iPad with an iOS 1 1.0 or above, which is unnecessary unless you have a lot of money and need Apple's end-to-end security encryption very much.

Using Siri for voice control, you need to open Mijia's iOS shortcut, which is located under the laboratory function and seems to be improving, but it feels very smooth to use.

Every automation function you add to Mijia will be displayed as a shortcut in Siri. You need to record voice control commands for each shortcut key, which is more flexible. You can define the voice content at will, such as turning off the lights in the master bedroom and all the lights.

In the gateway interface, all modules with control functions will be displayed in a row, and the switch can be controlled by clicking directly. The following information is the latest action of each sub-device, and the top is a one-button switch reminder function. Sliding on the left can control the nightlight function of the gateway. Can be viewed or controlled at a glance in this interface,

In voice control, Mijia does not need to record voice in advance, and the recognition rate is 100%. Of course, I didn't define particularly complicated voice commands. When there are multiple related options, I will be prompted to choose.

After completing the voice command with Siri, Mijia will also pop up a prompt window. It seems that there is no Apple device as the hub, and finally Mijia responded to the voice control instruction.

Although Aqara Home app has the most basic functions and the smoothest settings, there are still many places to be improved. For example, setting automation cannot define the time period, and the default is all day. My automatic nightlight function only wants to be turned on after 10 in the evening, which can't meet the demand.

There are not many devices using Apple HomeKit, and many big brands are expensive, but in China, Xiaomi's eco-chain smart home products are still very advantageous. After several years of development, it has developed from a few simple products to cover all aspects of the family. Xiaomi has also been looking for a way to dock with HomeKit. Now Aqara's access to Apple HomeKit can be regarded as the gospel of domestic users. Experience cutting-edge technology at a very low cost, mainly because life is convenient. When I used to go to work, I suddenly felt that I forgot to turn off the light or close the door, but I couldn't go home to watch it. Now the situation at home is clear at a glance I'm going to buy a camera and smoke gas sensor, and it will be more perfect with a few smart wall sockets.