Smart Home Hub for the Wall: Aqara S1 Plus with Siri and AirPlay Connectivity
Aqara has upgraded its smart home control center for Apple users – before Apple is likely to launch such a product itself.
(Image: Screencap Aqara-Video)
The Aqara Hub S1 Plus now supports Siri: Apple's voice assistant system can be activated on the smart home control panel designed for wall mounting – including with a "Hey Siri" command, as the manufacturer announced. It is said to be the world's first such control panel with "built-in Siri." However, Siri is not completely independent on the S1 Plus; the integration only works if a HomePod or HomePod mini also serves as a control center in the home network. Siri commands are apparently processed via the Apple hardware, with the S1 Plus likely serving merely as an additional microphone-speaker combination. According to an Aqara promotional video, the old Siri user interface is still used as the interface for Aqara.
Aqara delivers Siri and AirPlay support
In addition to the Siri connection, the new firmware 4.5.1 of the S1 Plus also brings support for Apple's AirPlay protocol, allowing audio content to be streamed to the Aqara Hub. This feature is apparently still in beta. According to Aqara, Apple's Intercom system is also supported for exchanging voice messages within the house (and while on the go).
A similar Siri integration has been available on Ecobee thermostats for several years, but other smart home manufacturers have shown little interest in it so far.
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Siri unreliable, innovations only in 2026
According to rumors, Apple has been planning its own smart home initiative for some time, including a new control center with an integrated screen. The market launch was expected as early as 2025 but may have been postponed because Siri is not progressing. The system is considered outdated and unreliable, and appears incredibly unintelligent compared to chatbots based on modern language models. Extensive new AI functions that Apple originally announced for Apple Intelligence in iOS 18 are still pending – only the Siri user interface has received a fresh coat of paint. The company states that the functionality will follow next year; according to reports, a variant of Google Gemini will be used in the backend.
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