Xiaomi‘s ecological chain company Lumi Technologies which sells smart home products under the Aqara brand has launched the Aqara Cube T1 Pro and a set of smart wall switches dubbed Aqara E1 Smart Wall Switch.
The Aqara Cube is an existing product that brings automation to the control of lighting and other smart home gadgets. The T1 Pro comes with several upgrades over its predecessor. With the Aqara Cube, you can easily control the lights by pairing the wall switch with the Cube or your smartphone. For instance, pushing the Cube turns on and off the lights while rotating the Cube could trigger the brightening or dimming of the lights.
The new Aqara Cube T1 Pro brings along different motions such as push, rotate, shake, tap, flip 90º, and flip 180º. It has different markings on each side just like dice and this will make for easy identification of the various sides and their preset functions. Just like its predecessor, the T1 Pro utilizes gyroscope technology to sense which of the six sides of the Cube is up. This will then determine the automation or scene that will be triggered.
Further, the company has promised to push a firmware update that will deliver HomeKit compatibility to the Cube T1 Pro. The device is presently compatible with the Mi Home app and Aqara Home app only. It also uses Zigbee 3.0 protocol which means it may only work with Zigbee 3.0 hubs.
There is no word yet on when the product will be available but it carries a price tag of 179 yuan (~$28). 
Aqara also unveiled a set of smart switches. The switches are dubbed Aqara E1 Smart Wall Switches and come in both wired and wireless versions. The two versions equally come in single and double rocker options while the wired switches are offered in both neutral and no-neutral options.
The Aqara E1 Smart Wall Switch comes with a voice prompt via XiaoAI and Siri voice assistants. That means it is compatible with both Apple HomeKit and Xiaomi’s Mi Home app. The portable design makes it easy to install and you won’t need a new line different from the existing one for the wired version. The smart switch can be connected to other smart home gadgets after pairing with the app in other to control all paired devices when it is turned on or off.
Just like the Aqara Cube T1 Pro, the E1 Smart Wall Switch uses Zigbee 3.0 protocol, making it compatible with only Zigbee 3.0 hubs.
The Aqara E1 Smart Wall Switch is presently available in China for 89 yuan (~$14) via Jingdong (JD.com).
