Aqara’s New Thermostat Is Also a Home Hub, Presence Sensor, and Video Doorbell Monitor
Aqara recently announced a slew of new smart home products at CES 2026, all of which are Matter-compatible, equipped with an advanced presence sensor, and broadly compatible across all different wireless standards. Among them is the Aqara Thermostat Hub W200, such a device, in a way more than a smart home thermostat.
For starters, the Hub W200 features a 4-inch touch screen that lets you control smart home devices, both third-party (via Matter). It can also show you who’s at your door and let you lock or unlock it (as long as you’re using an Aqara video doorbell and smart lock.) It also comes with millimeter sensing, which is a wireless sensing technology that allows for things like automatic triggers based not just on motion, but when someone is in the house. The Hub W200 connects to your network via Wi-Fi (2.4GHz or 5GHz).
The device also has exclusive compatibility with the new Apple Home features, Adaptive Temperature and Clean Energy Guidance. The first allows the thermostat to use your iPhone’s location to predict when you’re home, on your way home, away, or too far away (for example, on a trip), to adjust your heating and cooling. The Clean Energy Directive allows the thermostat to adjust its operation to select times when energy is cleaner and cheaper. It also works with utility companies’ time-of-use rates.
In person at the press conference, the W200 looks remarkably similar to the Ecobee thermostat, with the same square, rounded square covered in glossy black plastic. Which is good. I’m not saying that the appearance of thermostats is a fully solved problem, but I have no quarrel with the appearance of the Ecobee.
One of the Smart Locks the Hub W200 will work with is the Smart Lock U400, which the company also announced. The U400 will feature Aliro, a new smart lock protocol from the Connectivity Standards Alliance (the same group behind Matter) that can be unlocked by both iPhone and Android phones using NFC and UWB.
Aqara says the U400 can tell, using UWB power from your phone or smartwatch, when you appear to be approaching a door to open it, or you’re walking past it—like you’re not ready to go in but you’re going, say, to your porch. Sitting and drinking, I don’t know, mint juleps on a hot summer day.
During the press conference, I watched as the box with the iPhone in it—currently, using Apple’s Home Key UWB implementation—slides in and out of the lock, repeatedly locking and unlocking it as it approaches. It didn’t do that reliably, however, when others tried it with a different demo unit, moving to and from the key.
A few last things: the U400 features automatic locking, fingerprint unlocking, passcodes, and voice command unlocking with your smart home platform of choice. It uses Matter-over-Thread, which means it’s compatible with all major smart home platforms, as long as you have a Thread Border Router, like the HomePod mini, on your network.
The U400 is available today for $269, with the Hub W200 coming later.
Gizmodo is in Las Vegas all week bringing you everything you need to know about the technology unveiled at CES 2026. You can follow our CES live blog here and find all our coverage here.
