Aqara has confirmed that they have released the Aqara M2 and Aqara M1S hub to the UK market. This is following years of speculation of when Aqara would release its hubs, but now both HomeKit compatible hubs along with several accessories are available from its euro reseller Alzashop.
They released the Aqara M2 hub to the EU market at the back end of 2020, and it was only natural that the UK would be next. This is because the M2 hub power is provided by a USB cable, rather than integrated plug.
Aqara M2 hub UK specs
The Aqara Hub M2 is the company’s latest HomeKit hub, and it serves as a smart home control center for a wide range of sensors, controllers and other child devices. Aqara has moved away from its white circle design to a sleek black round design.
It supports Zigbee 3.0 protocol, which is faster, more stable and energy-efficient. Because of this, the hub can connect up to 128 devices. It also has a LAN port for wired Internet connection via Ethernet RJ45, which provides extra stability and shorter response time.
Moreover, with an IR transmitter built in, the Aqara M2 can control a IR home appliances, such as turning on TVs and air conditioners. Another feature is that power is via a USB cable. Which mean it does not take the socket space like the original Aqara hub and the M1S.
Aqara M1S UK Specs
The Aqara M1s is an update to the current hub and features the same form factor as the original. Like the original, it includes the integrated plug, but now features Zigbee 3.0 compatibility as found on the Aqara M2 and the Aqara G2H HomeKit camera.
It also features an improved LED ring, and all four alarm modes being exposed to HomeKit. These modes can be synced between Apple HomeKit and Aqara app.
Aqara M2 and M1s UK availability
Both the Aqara M2 and Aqara M1S hubs are available in the UK from its retail partner Alzashop. Pricing for the hubs is £51.99 for the M2 and £44.99 for the M1S. You can also buy the hubs for the EU market via the same retailer. It is worth mentioning that Alzashop is listing “awaiting Stock” and Aqara tell me it will arrive within days.
Aqara is also said to be working on bringing its products to EU amazon stores, but no word on when that will be. So don’t forget to follow for more news on Aqara on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
Worth noting that Alzashop says that it has suspended its service to the UK because of Brexit. This has been the case for a while now and, I think, renders your headline factually incorrect.
Given that the M2 is powered via a USB cable, is there actually any difference between the ‘official UK’ version and those available via AliExpress etc?
Region locked I think, so you may only be able to connect to the China server
I have spoken to Aqara support regarding the UK version and they have confirmed the following over release in the UK
Hi Martin,
Our team is working on selling the Aqara devices on Amazon. UK and should be this year, we will notify you once it is released in UK.
Sincerely,
Anya
Aqara Technical Support
I have a different email from the team at Aqara. The issue is that the retailer can’t ship to the UK