Hey , Share my experience as someone who’s pretty deep into smart home stuff but lives completely outside the Apple ecosystem — yes, no iPhones, no iPads, no HomePods.
When I first got my hands on a few Aqara sensors (motion, door/window, temp/humidity), I’ll admit I panicked a little after realizing how Apple-centric the whole thing seemed. But good news: you do NOT need Apple gear to run these babies like a pro.
My setup? I use a Zigbee-compatible hub (in my case, a Conbee II stick) paired with Home Assistant running on a Raspberry Pi. Paired the Aqara devices via ZHA, and they’ve been rock solid. Automations are responsive, way customizable, and I don’t have to rely on iCloud or anything Apple-y.
Bonus: I can even integrate them with Google Home and Alexa, and the flexibility is way better than being locked into HomeKit alone.
So if you’re in the same boat, trust me — Aqara sensors are still totally worth it even without Apple in the mix. Anyone else running fully Apple-free and loving it? Curious what integrations others are experimenting with!