The ultimate cheat sheet to the company's smart wares this holiday season
Aqara may have only burst onto the scene in 2016, but it’s quickly become one of the lynchpins of the modern smart home, releasing over 100 connected products over the last few years.
By offering such a wide range of choices – and also emphasizing beautiful-looking products above just purely functional designs – many of the company’s wares represent the perfect present at this time of year.
Given that Aqara’s devices also support all the major smart platforms – Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa and Google Home – you don’t have to worry about them fitting into somebody else’s home, either.
But picking between them and finding the right one for a specific member of your family is easier said than done.
That’s where this gift guide comes in. Whether you’re trying to find the right gift for your parents, or simply trying to include your pet, there’s something in the Aqara stable for the whole family.
Best device for the family: Aqara Cube T1 Pro
If you’re looking for the device to bring the whole family together this Christmas – or you simply want a definite crowdpleaser – the Cube T1 Pro is the perfect pick.
Like the iconic original version of the Aqara Cube, the T1 Pro still registers the likes of shakes, rotations, flips and taps in order to control various connected devices around your home.
It also functions much like a regular six-sided dice, with each able to be customized to begin a scene or routine. For example, users are able to flip the T1 Pro to Side 5 and see linked-up smart lights turn on.
With so many different functions available, there’s something for all the family to enjoy – just make sure to keep it in a shared living space to ensure you don’t end up fighting over who used it last.
Best device for pets: Aqara Smart Pet Feeder C1
While your special pet would no doubt enjoy all of Aqara’s collection of connected gadgets, the dedicated Pet Feeder C1 is especially useful, with Christmas representing an ideal excuse to treat them to some connected smarts.
Thanks to the 4L tank and a link-up to the range of Aqara Hubs, you’re able to remotely release food by using the Aqara Home app, create schedules for food to be delivered and even integrate it into routines alongside other devices. To help you keep track of how much your pet is eating, you’re also given information and graphs regarding food consumption per day.
And to help keep in contact with your cat or dog, a built-in microphone is also able to record a message and then broadcast it at will.
Best device for Grandma: Aqara Curtain Driver E1
If you’re looking for a practical gift for your Grandma this Christmas, the Curtain Driver E1 is a superb tool to help simplify morning and evening routines. Instead of having to pull the curtains manually constantly, Aqara helps automate the entire process.
With a built-in light sensor, curtains can automatically react to specific brightness levels, or they can be set up to work with a physical controller (like the Cube T1 Pro detailed above). If app control is more convenient, the Curtain Driver E1 can even be set up to work to specific schedules, weather forecasts or geo-fencing zones.
With two versions to pick from, as well, Aqara has your specific type of curtain rail covered. And perhaps best of all, the rechargeable battery is able to last a full year in between charges.
Best device for Grandad: Aqara Thermostat E1
While Grandma’s present is covered off with the Curtain Driver E1, you can take care of Grandad’s gift with the Thermostat E1 – another smart Aqara device that takes a manual task (in this case, getting up to fiddle with the radiator) and automates it for maximum convenience.
Compatible with most radiators, thanks to its M30 x 1.5mm thread connection and the included adapters for RA, RAV and RAVL valves, the Thermostat E1 is designed to be incredibly easy to set up. And once it is, it’s able to use its internal sensor to help regulate room temperature and even turn the radiator off and save energy when a paired Aqara Door and Window sensor is detected as open.
As with other Aqara wares, there’s also a wide breadth of other automation, meaning you can use the Thermostat E1 to set up pre-set temperatures for different times of day and tap into geofencing in order to fire up the radiator when you’re within a certain proximity.
Best device for Mum: Aqara Motion Sensor
If you’re Mum is the kind to try and keep track of all your home’s comings and going, the Aqara Motion Sensor is the ideal device to gift this Christmas.
With three different sensitivity modes, it’s able to be set up to only register motion events that actually happened – and not false alarms – as well as deliver information such as event length in the Aqara Home app. The beauty of the Motion Sensor P1 is that it can also be built into routines involving connected devices like smart lights, as well, not just track motion.
And with a built-in light sensor, it’s able to decipher when smart lights actually need to be turned on – and won’t if it detects ambient light is already present.
Best device for the DIY Dad: Aqara M2 Hub
If your Dad loves to tinker with things around the house, there’s no better gift than Aqara’s M2 Hub. It opens up a world of possibilities in the connected home, acting as the hub that links up to 128 devices, sets up smart routines and can act as a chime for linked doorbells or alarms.
Think of the M2 Hub as the brains behind the smartest of smart homes; with support for Zigbee 3.0, it’s able to connect with Aqara’s wide range of sensors, as well as control all your IR-controlled gadgets after being set up in the app.
If you’re already using a smart assistant such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa or Apple’s Siri to bring all these things together with your voice instead of a companion smartphone app, rest assured that the M2 is also compatible and able to fit neatly into enabling routines.
