Aqara Hub S1 Plus Review

Design and installation

• Fits a standard light socket
• Requires a neutral wire

You might get a bit of déjà vu when you first see the Panel Hub S1 Plus. That’s because it’s basically the MagicPad S1 Plus that rolled out in parts of Asia and the Middle East a while back, but with a lot more features packed in.

And that’s no bad thing. The design still holds up really well. With its all-black glass front, slim bezels, and optional white or black frame trim, it looks sharp and subtle on the wall. At 199 × 113 × 56mm and just over 500g, it’s more compact than bulky options like the Echo Show 15 or 21 and it’s even a bit slimmer than its more direct rival, the Echo Hub.

The screen itself is a 1440 × 720 HD panel, so not mind-blowing, but bright and sharp enough for its purpose, which isn’t watching movies, but controlling your home and viewing security camera and video doorbell feeds. 

It works well even in sunny spots, and the viewing angles are decent.

Along the bottom and top edges you’ll find a few extras: a USB-C port, reset button, and four mics for two-way audio with compatible devices. There are tiny speakers tucked underneath too; not for music, just alerts and communication. And while there’s Bluetooth, that’s purely for pairing Aqara child devices, not for music streaming.

One key thing to note: this isn’t a Matter controller and there’s no Thread border routing, but it can act as a bridge to bring Aqara’s ever-growing array of Zigbee devices into your Matter setup. 

So it works with Matter systems, but it won’t be your main Matter hub.

The S1 Plus is designed to be hardwired into your mains lighting circuit, for homes with a neutral wire at the switch. It’s rated for 200–240V at 50/60Hz for UK and EU markets, and the installation is refreshingly straightforward.

Out of the box, you get the panel, a screwdriver, and a few screws; there’s no wall template or unnecessary plastic bits. The backplate is shaped to fit single-gang switch boxes, though some double-gang options will work too, and it’s rounded to be compatible with both UK and EU styles.

The actual wiring is simple enough — standard L, N, L1, and L2 terminals — and once connected, the unit screws into the box just like a regular light switch. There are two physical relays onboard, meaning it can control up to two dumb light circuits.

If you don’t want to hardwire it, you can remove the power module and power it over USB-C instead, with an optional dock, which is a decent option for renters or table-top placement.

Aqara also supports its own Smart Load tech (via MARS mode), which keeps power flowing to the circuit, which is ideal for Aqara smart bulbs or devices that otherwise wouldn’t play nice with regular switches. You can switch between Normal, Intelligent, and Power modes depending on what you’re controlling, such as lights, smart blinds or thermostats.

Setup and features

• HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings and more supported
• Works with Aqara’s existing kit

Once you’ve wired it in and flipped the mains back on, the S1 Plus boots up with an Aqara logo, and you’re good to go.

Initial setup is easy: pick your language, scan a QR code with your phone, and link it to either the Aqara app or jump straight into HomeKit. I’d strongly recommend starting with the Aqara app as  it’s where all the deep customization lives (themes, wallpapers, button icons, etc).

Once set up, you can still add it to HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings, Home Assistant, or Homey and, as mentioned, it can act as a bridge for connected Zigbee devices via Matter if you want to expose them more widely. 

Likewise, it can also be used to expand the range of your existing Aqara smart home setup as a secondary hub.

But don’t expect everything to work instantly across every platform. My own setup is a bit of a confusing mess, with devices across HomeKit, Alexa, SmartThings, and beyond.

The two wired switches showed up in Alexa fine via Matter, but the wireless ones didn’t. Using the Aqara Skill only pulled in the panel itself, with no buttons. Not a great start.

What I ended up doing was using HomeKit to bridge it all together. I synced the S1 Plus to Apple Home using the on-screen QR code, and because I already had my Hue system synced with HomeKit, I could map the wireless buttons to Hue lights directly.

That kind of integration requires a bit of fiddling, I easily spent a couple of hours getting it all aligned. You might be quicker, or slower, depending on your setup. But the good news is: there are plenty of options. 

As mentioned, Homey, SmartThings, and Home Assistant are all in the mix too.

In-use

While I spent a lot of time wiring up lighting circuits and mapping buttons, the Panel Hub S1 Plus is far more than a smart light switch.

Sure, the two hardwired relays are handy for dumb lights. And the six software buttons (wireless switches) are flexible too; you can map them to almost anything in your Aqara setup. That includes other smart devices (like plugs, curtains, thermostats) or automations from the likes of Apple Home or Homey.

You can rename the buttons, change icons, and make them fit how you use them. The only real downside is that these virtual buttons don’t support double-tap or long-press, it’s just single presses for now.

You can get pretty creative with how you want these buttons to act. Basically, if you can create an automation or scene within your smart home ecosystem of choice, you can map a button to be the initiator.

Think having the shades open, the radio come onto your favourite station, the coffee machine start brewing and the AC all kick off, for example.

But it’s not all about switches and buttons; another standout feature is the camera integration. 

You can view Aqara doorbells or cameras live, either in individual “cards” or as a grouped view. There’s two-way talk, motion alerts, and the ability to trigger views or alarms when faces are recognized, assuming your camera supports it.

The UI is based around “boards” with up to 10 Home Boards and 60 total cards on offer. The default screen shows your switches plus a clock and weather widget. Simply wipe down for the full Home Board with all your shortcuts.

You can tweak themes, upload your own wallpapers or family photos (max 50MB), and switch between light or dark modes. The built-in proximity sensor turns on the screen when you walk past. It’s responsive, and there’s a kid mode too.

Everything is super easy to configure in the Aqara Home app, although a lot can be done on the device itself using the settings menu.

One feature that felt a bit underwhelming was power monitoring, the two wired relays report energy usage via the app, but the data isn’t particularly actionable yet.

The on-device Aqara Copilot assistant is still China-only, so you won’t find it working in the UK or EU versions… not yet, anyway.

Should you buy it?