I’ve been waiting for this tape Very for a long time.
I’ve been wanting to cover my house with smart LED strips for a long time. This is a great way to create pops of color out of the blue. And this is also an excellent element of smart lighting, which, with the help of automation, goes far ahead simply as “luminous strips”.
The only thing that stopped me was the desire to stick on the maximum modern tape with a good controller and top-end functionality, so as not to bother with replacement later. I would especially like to see a model that supports Matter (this is the inevitable future) and includes segment-by-segment color management.
Add to this wishlist parallel compatibility with HomeKit and Alice for additional ease of management… and the list of ready-made solutions available for purchase and connection in Russia has been reduced to zero.
But now there is the Aqara T1 LED strip. It contains absolutely everything that I listed above. This is one of the most advanced smart LED strips that does not require any modifications. She was warmly welcomed abroad and praised wherever possible.
I will also praise it after using it for a couple of weeks.
Characteristics of Aqara LED Strip T1
In addition to the tape, the kit includes a power supply with replaceable sockets and a connection cable with a control panel. Most likely, you will not use this remote control, and it will only be shown during initial setup.
The length of the tape is exactly 2 meters, width 12 mm, height 2.8 mm. The size is slightly larger than the standard one, but there is still enough profile for it.
One meter of tape fits 30 RGB LEDs, 30 “cold” and another 30 “warm”. The color temperature is 2700K for cold LEDs, 6500K for white LEDs.
The degree of protection of the tape is IP44. This will allow you to install it in any room, including the kitchen and bathroom, without fear of damage from splashing water. It can also be carried out outdoors under a roof or canopy. It is not worth gluing it in a completely open space; rain and snow are observed.
To extend the tape, sets of extensions of 1 meter each are provided. In total, one controller can hang up to 10 meters of tape.
The tape is divided into independent, separately controlled segments, each 20 cm long. Accordingly, there are 5 such segments in each meter of tape. Between them there is a cutting line for adjusting the tape under installation conditions.
What are the support standards for Aqara LED Strip T1
The tape supports the following smart home standards and systems:
▪ Zigbee 3.0
▪ Apple HomeKit
▪ Matter (will appear in a software update)
▪ Yandex smart home (will appear later)
I don’t see any support yet Sbera And Marusi. Perhaps some of this will appear later or will enter the ecosystem as products from relevant companies.
But this is not critical. The most modern Zigbee and especially Matter (after future updates) absolutely allow you to add the tape to any more or less modern smart home “setup” without losing anything in functionality or automation. I don’t see an alternative to segmental control over this money in Russia – that’s all there is to “collective farming.”
Connecting and setting up the Aqara T1 LED strip
The first switching on and turning is best done before gluing or laying the tape. Fortunately, all this takes a couple of minutes.
To ensure the best tape setup, you must have an Aqara smart home hub with Zigbee 3.0 support. Now these are the models:
▪ Camera-hub Aqara G3
▪ Aqara Hub M1S Gen 2
▪ Camera concentrator Aqara G2H
▪ Akara Hub M2
▪ Akara Hub E1
Next is the Aqara Home application (available in the App Store and Google Play). Adds a new device to the Light section, Aqara T1.
Next steps: select a room, visual representation of the feed in the interface of the Aqara Home application, integrated with HomeKit (optional). All.
Now you can choose the mode of operation of the tape or create your own section. It is clear that you can change the color, turn it on pulsating along a long ribbon and the like. This won’t surprise anyone.
A completely different matter is segment-by-segment animation modes. And here there are already a lot of opportunities. If you want, choose one of the preset ones, changing the color palette from the ready-made ones. Or create your own from any direction.
The editor is quite understandable, I had no problems with it. The created script can then be used, among other things, for automation. For example, if you want to have a running police siren when a motion sensor is triggered. Or a rave when the music is turned on.
Automation with Aqara T1 LED strip
All of the following can be configured in the Aqara Home application. It is better not to enter the automation program in mode change mode, and the system feed itself can be simultaneously “thrown” into another smart home. For example, in Apple Home.
Here are some examples of what you can do using automations and scripts with the Aqara T1 LED strip. The more other sensors and smart home devices you have, the wider the possibilities for automating and personalizing the behavior of the feed appear.
▸ Entertaining lighting element. Segment control allows you to support not only changing the color of the entire tape on one controller, but also its individual parts. Therefore, you can enable effects such as garland mode, or control different parts of one tape separately from another.
There is a function Color music: Its brightness and tape color will be adjusted by external sound.
▸ Interactive interior lighting. Segment-by-segment color adjustment Allows you to use a single tape for multiple tasks. Let’s say your design project includes two or more zones with different color accents. If you place the Aqara T1 LED strip on the ceiling around the perimeter of the room, force the strip to reinforce the separation between zones, highlighting each one with the next color.
You can also stick such a tape next to the step – and then, together with motion sensors, you will get the effect of sequential light propagation from the first step to the last.
▸ Alarm for security systems. The strip can light up in any color you want, including tracking segments, responding to motion sensors, increasing temperature, measuring air quality, doorbell, and a host of other triggers that require your attention.
Let’s say the Aqara G4 video call detected movement – and the tape worked, or its segments would light up in red. You can also add a ripple effect.
▸ Smart lighting. By adding a group of strips along with other lamps and strips to one room, you can instantly change color, brightness, tone, and simply turn the lighting on and off by voice, by timer, or at a preset time.
If you have an Apple smart home, you can use HomeKit Adaptive Lightning. The color temperature tape will change depending on the time of day. For example, it will be colder during the day and warmer in the evening. All this will allow you to forget about the fact that the tape needs to be turned on or off at all.
What’s the result?
Critically and objectively, the Aqara LED Strip T1 simply has no downsides as a device. Want the best out of the box? Here, receive it and sign it – an alternative in terms of functionality, to take it out of the box and stick it on, which I have not seen in Russia.
The only drawback of the product, and even then at a stretch, I would say is the price. It can scare away those who unknowingly equate it with cheap “stupid” rolls of LEDs with an IR remote control. Yes, 5 thousand rubles for the main module and 2 meters is more expensive than “smart” alternatives from other Chinese manufacturers, as well as options with independent purchase of the tape, controller and setting of settings.
You can buy 1 meter of Aqara LED Strip T1 for 1999 rubles. Accordingly, a 10-meter tape will cost 13 thousand rubles.
The extra payment for help, in my opinion, is still justified. There is no need to “farm” anything here. Ready to work in all major smart home systems, as well as the ability to implement private developments based on HomeBridge and other Zigbee-based solutions. A modern moderator, already ready for the Matter-future, has the functionality of the feed itself – almost the maximum capabilities of existing controllers. Finally, the basic kit costs less than the original case on the latest iPhone.
Sales of Aqara LED Strip T1 will begin at the end of October. Search in marketplaces and officially on the Aqara website.
📸 All photos in the article:
Source: Iphones RU
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
