Aqara Expands Matter Bridge Functionality with Scene and Signal Synchronization

Aqara has unveiled a major update to its Aqara Home app and Hub M3, introducing “Advanced Bridging” functionalities designed to enhance interoperability with the Matter ecosystem. The new features – Scene Synchronization and Signal Synchronization – allow users to integrate their customized Aqara scenes and automated triggers into a wider array of third-party smart home platforms via Matter, including Apple Home, Home Assistant, and Samsung SmartThings.

The Scene Synchronization capability enables users to convert custom scenes created within the Aqara Home app into virtual switches and expose them through Matter Bridge. This allows for seamless control outside the Aqara ecosystem over scenarios that involve complex interactions, such as those using infrared remote controls or camera motion triggers.

Complementing this feature is the Signal Synchronization functionality, which transforms automated triggers from the Aqara Home app, such as gesture recognition from cameras and fingerprint detection from smart locks, into virtual binary sensors within compatible Matter platforms. This makes it easier to manage devices from various brands through simple triggers, considering Aqara is a major brand shipping smart switches and sensors.

As Matter is still in an early stage and the standard adoption across different vendors varies, some exclusive features like camera motion triggers and complex and vendor-specified scenes are less reachable from third-party platforms. The two new features from Aqara break existing barriers and make them accessible from supported Matter platforms via a proxy – the virtual device exposed via Matter Bridge. With the help of virtual devices, you can even bring devices unsupported by Matter to your home automation.

Users must ensure they are operating on the latest firmware version (V4.3.0 or higher) for the Aqara Hub M3 as well as the updated Aqara Home app (V5.1.3) to utilize these new features. Currently, the Matter bridging service is available exclusively on the Aqara Hub M3, with plans for broader support across other Matter-enabled Aqara gateways like M1s and M2 in future updates, according to Aqara (CN).