If there are any highly anticipated smart home products in the just-ended year of 2023, the Aqara Ark Smart Central M3 is definitely among them. Several of my friends have asked me multiple times during the renovation process if there is any relevant information about this product; who would have thought that since its first appearance in November 2022, this product has been waiting for more than a year before it was officially launched.
Since so many people have asked about it, I have also been using this M3 central processor for about half a month, so let's talk about my user experience.
What are the changes
Because it also has gateway functionality, many people will compare the M3 with the previous gateway M2. In terms of appearance, the M3 has a square boxy appearance, which is different from the cylindrical design of the M2. The power supply interface has also been upgraded from the previous Micro USB + USB-A to a USB-C interface. Of course, the M3 also supports power supply through the PoE interface with just one network cable.
According to the official introduction, the M3 supports both ceiling and wall installation methods, and the PoE and power interfaces have been changed to hidden interfaces located at the bottom of the device. This design is naturally for aesthetic considerations, but it also places higher demands on the wiring arrangement in the home. If the installation positions on the wall or roof and the cable layout are not planned in advance, the actual installation may be less visually appealing than simply installing it flat.
By the way, let's briefly complain about the design of this new hidden power interface. Perhaps it is to make better use of the internal space of the device. The power interface channel is almost just enough to allow the cable to pass through. For example, I chose to power it through a PoE Ethernet cable. At this point, it is almost impossible to easily unplug the Ethernet cable with two fingers, of course, once M3 is installed, we hardly need to move it.
In terms of functionality, the protocols supported by M3 and M2 are similar, both supporting Matter, Zigbee, Bluetooth, and IR infrared protocols. However, considering that M3 and the gateway M2, which has supported the Bluetooth 5.0 protocol early on, besides the voice controller, there are no other supporting access-related products. After the launch of M3, we might see new products related to the Bluetooth protocol this year.