I would like to ask whether Aqara plans to allow installation of a native Home Assistant application on the Panel Hub S1 Plus, or if there is perhaps a new version of the panel planned that will support this.
At the moment, this is a very important feature for many smart home users. A lot of smart panels from other brands already offer this kind of flexibility, and some even go further. For example, the Sonoff Panel comes with the F-Droid app market preinstalled and supports the native Home Assistant app, which makes it much more attractive for users who already rely on Home Assistant as their main platform.
In my case, most of my smart home devices are Aqara, so I would strongly prefer to stay within the Aqara ecosystem. However, I am still holding back on buying the S1 Plus specifically because it does not currently offer native Home Assistant app support.
I believe adding this feature would make the Panel Hub S1 Plus much more appealing, especially for advanced users who want deeper integration between Aqara devices and Home Assistant.
Could you please share whether:
native Home Assistant app support is planned for the current Panel Hub S1 Plus,
sideloading or app installation may be enabled in the future,
or a newer panel model is being developed with this capability in mind?
This device supports Matter Bridge, allowing you to connect to various devices via Matter. There are currently no plans to support the Home Assistant app.
Hi @yinni_zhang_a1294 can you tell us the reason why there are no plans for Home Assistant? At all I also hoped to get more and more possibilities with the S1 panel plus
Out of interest, what are you wanting to do with the S1 Plus that would require native HA and / or why would you need a S1 Plus and not just a powered tablet that runs HA?
For me, it is because I already have about 25 Aqara devices, plus 100+ devices from other ecosystems, all integrated into Home Assistant via Zigbee2MQTT and Matter. I also use custom dashboards and advanced automations.
So while a powered tablet could do the job, I would rather have a dedicated Aqara wall panel that fits cleanly into my setup and can also display/control my full Home Assistant environment, not just the Aqara part of it.
I could, but I do not think a battery-powered tablet mounted permanently on a wall and kept continuously charged is the right solution. Even with charge limits or automations to stop charging at 80%, it is still not something I am comfortable with long term.
In my case, fire safety is also a serious concern because I live in a wooden house. That is why I would much rather use a device specifically designed for permanent wall installation and continuous powered use, instead of adapting a consumer tablet for that role.
Also, the market is already moving in this direction. SONOFF’s NSPanel Pro now supports F-Droid and lets users install the official Home Assistant app, and SONOFF also documents Home Assistant integration for the panel. Shelly also promotes Home Assistant support across its wall-display line, including the Wall Display, Wall Display XL, and Wall Display X2/X2i, Also some Tuya Wall panels offers home assistant.
So from my perspective, asking Aqara for native Home Assistant support on the S1 Plus is not unreasonable. It is already becoming a normal expectation on competing smart panels. Since I already have around 25 Aqara devices and more than 100 devices from other ecosystems unified in Home Assistant through Zigbee2MQTT and Matter or WiFi, plus custom dashboards and advanced automations, native HA support is exactly what would make an Aqara panel worth buying for me.
I completely agree with the points raised here. It is honestly baffling why Aqara hasn’t tapped into the full potential of the Panel Hub S1 Plus even after a year on the market.
A major point of criticism for me is the current pricing policy. The panel initially launched for under €150, but here in Germany, you now have to pay at least €250. That is a massive price hike for a device whose software functionality still lags far behind its hardware capabilities.
Many users have already spent hundreds of hours perfecting their Home Assistant setups. We want to stay within the Aqara ecosystem because the hardware quality is excellent, but being locked out of our primary dashboards is a total dealbreaker. While Aqara’s own app is solid, it simply doesn’t offer the flexibility and depth we require for our individual setups.
If Aqara wants to remain relevant for power users, they need to follow the lead of brands like Sonoff and allow for more freedom—whether through native HA support or at least the option to sideload apps.
I am also holding back on purchasing the S1 Plus for these exact reasons. I would love to see a clear roadmap from the team: Will we ever see this integration, or should we be looking for other control centers?