I’ve been using the Aqara M3 Hub ($129.99) for a few months now, as it was a prerequisite for the new Aqara ceiling light I reviewed last month . Aqara is positioning the M3 as part of a new class of brand-specific hubs that can function as multi-hubs, meaning they can be the only hub in your home and smart home app on your phone. It’s a lofty goal to compete with behemoth multi-hubs like Google, Alexa, SmartThings, and Apple HomeKit, especially since the integrations, like other brand-specific hubs, don’t yet support that goal. You can add just about anything to Google or Alexa, either through those apps themselves or via an integration like IFTTT or Zapier.

But for now, the M3 is for Aqara products, and can support any other Matter device. While plenty of devices come with Matter these days, there are still some weaknesses in relying on Matter over a device’s native app, so ditching the other apps might not be ideal. It probably doesn’t matter whether I recommend the M3 or not – it’s practically required for some Aqara devices. What I would suggest, though, is holding off on trying to make it your multi-hub.

The M3 tries hard to be everything to everyone, including every wireless protocol: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Matter, Thread (as a border router), infrared, and Power over Ethernet under the hood. (The only standard I didn’t see listed was Z-Wave, an older standard similar to Zigbee.) The hub is powered via either USB-C or PoE, giving you a bit more flexibility than most USB-only hubs. The hub is a simple five-by-five-inch square puck that can mount on a wall or be tucked out of the way with whatever other hubs you already own. (I can’t be the only one with a hub for hubs tucked away somewhere.) Since I have an Aqara G3 hub, the puck was a bit of a disappointment, since it was basically a hub with no extra features. I’ve become really enamored with brands that can make hubs so useful that you’d rather keep them out in the open than tuck them away. For comparison, the G3 ($109.99) is a smart indoor pan-and-tilt security camera (with a design some say resembles a cat), and SwitchBot turned its Hub 2 ($69.99) into a clock, thermometer, and hygrometer. Plus, the G3 and Hub 2 were both cheaper than the single-focused M3. The only thing the M3 comes close to is its ability to act as an alarm or announce notifications over a speaker.

One aspect of all the protocols supported here is the built-in IR transceiver. This means the M3 can support heat pumps, air conditioners and more. Support is already built into the app for the hub, which will walk you through setup using this feature. I was impressed that I could control most aspects of my air conditioning or heating via the app. I would still use the native app for fine-tuning, but I got by with the functionality of the Aqara M3 and it meant I could include these devices in automations. I haven’t seen any other hub with this feature.