Aqara spent the last few years building a reputation on sensors, locks, and cameras. At IFA 2026 in Berlin, the company pointed that same energy at smart lighting.. Five new products landed at once, covering everything from a floor lamp to permanent roofline lights, and every single one speaks both Thread and Zigbee.
Aqara’s IFA 2026 Smart Lighting Lineup
The lineup announced by Aqara consists of the Floor Lamp T1, the LED Downlight T2, the LED Strip T2, the Outdoor String Lights H1, and the Permanent Outdoor Lights H1.
All five are on display at the company’s IFA booth in Hall 1.2, Booth 157, with the show running from September 4 to September 8, 2026. Some of these products were previewed earlier in 2026 at Light + Building, but IFA is where the technical detail arrived.
Thread and Zigbee in Every Model
This is the headline feature, and it deserves plain English.
Every light in the series supports both Thread and Zigbee, and all of them are Matter-enabled. Bluetooth is included for initial setup.
Running them over Thread means they connect directly into Matter platforms, including Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings, Home Assistant, and Homey. No Aqara hub is required for that path. You do still need a compatible Thread Border Router in the house, which is the device that acts as the doorway between your Thread gadgets and your regular network. If you are unclear on how that piece fits together, our guide to Matter and Thread covers the basics.
Running them over Zigbee instead unlocks extra features inside the Aqara Home app, at the cost of needing an Aqara hub. Choosing between the two is a genuine decision rather than a formality.
The Three Indoor Products
The Floor Lamp T1 stands 1,420 mm tall, or roughly 4 feet 8 inches. Rather than pointing light at the ceiling, it uses a side-emitting design to wash a nearby wall evenly. A 16-bit, five-channel chip drives 18 individually controllable zones, so color gradients travel smoothly up the pole instead of jumping between blocks. Output reaches 1,000 lumens, the white range covers 2,000K to 9,000K, and the color rendering index is listed at Ra above 90.
The LED Strip T2 arrives in three lengths: 3, 5, and 10 meters, which is roughly 10, 16, and 33 feet. It packs 108 LEDs per meter and provides 18 independently controllable zones every 3 meters. Maximum output is quoted at up to 1,750 lumens, again with Ra above 90, and all three lengths draw 24 watts. It is trimmable for cabinets, shelving, and tight corners, and it supports music-synced effects.
The LED Downlight T2 comes in a plain white CCT version and an RGB CCT version. The CCT model covers 2,700K to 6,500K. The RGB CCT model stretches to 2,000K through 9,000K and adds 16 million colors. Brightness reaches up to 1,200 lumens depending on which size you fit, and both versions are only 20 mm deep, which is the point of the product. Both also include power-off memory, so the fixture returns to its previous state after an outage instead of blazing on at full brightness.
Two Systems Built for Outdoors
The Outdoor String Lights H1 come in 15-bulb and 30-bulb runs. Each bulb produces 40 lumens and covers 2,000K to 9,000K plus RGB color. Every group of 15 bulbs forms its own controllable zone. The bulbs and controller carry an IP65 rating, while the power supply is rated IP44.
The Permanent Outdoor Lights H1 target the roofline. Aqara plans runs of 15, 30, and 45 meters, which is roughly 49, 98, and 148 feet, holding 30, 60, and 90 individual light points respectively. Each LED is addressable in RGB and in white tones across the same 2,000K to 9,000K range. Installation works with adhesive pads or screws, and the runs can be cut down or extended. The lights and controller are rated IP65, and the power supply is rated IP67.
The pitch is simple. You install once, then switch between holiday colors and everyday warm white with a preset, and you never climb a ladder in January again.
AI Scene Creation and Aqara Builder
Aqara is leaning on natural language for setup. Inside the Aqara Home app, you describe the mood or scenario you want, and the system builds a coordinated scene across your connected devices. The company calls this Gen-Scene on the outdoor products. This fits the wider pattern we covered in the shift toward AI-driven lighting.
Aqara’s IFA page also lists Apple Adaptive Lighting among the features of the series. That is a series-level claim rather than a per-product specification, so it remains unclear which of the five actually carry it.
The company also introduced Aqara Builder, a community platform where owners, installers, and developers share automation projects and design ideas, with AI assistance layered on top.
No Prices, No Dates
Here is the part that matters before anyone starts planning a purchase. Aqara has not announced pricing or release timing for any of the five products, in any region.
That makes this a preview of direction rather than a shopping list. The specifications are firm, the platform support is stated, and the hardware is real enough to walk past on a show floor. Everything about cost and availability is still open.
Image Credit: Aqara