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If you’re using the Xiaomi Mi Home app and have it set to the EU server *, there’s an update which, once installed, asks for permission to access your Home Data, which is essentially the same request you receive whenever you install any 3rd party Home app. Before you get too excited, bear in mind that the current Xiaomi/Mijia gateways that have been around for a while aren’t actually HomeKit compatible, and are unlikely to become so, but it could, from the rumours we’ve heard, be part of a plan to incorporate the Aqara hub (already HomeKit compatible) into the Mi Home app, which would then possibly open up more devices to HomeKit.

Alternatively, it could be that Xiaomi/Mijia are planning their own HomeKit compatible hub. This is all speculation at present, but we have heard of two large software/firmware updates from Aqara are on the horizon, both due to drop this month (November).

According to an answer in the Aqara forums, the Aqara hub will be allowed to be added to the Mi Home app in a few weeks time. What this means for HomeKit integration is anyone’s guess at the moment, but at best, given that the Aqara hub is HomeKit enabled, AND the Mi Home app update asks for permission to access your Home data, then it could mean that anything that currently goes through the Mi Home app and the Aqara app, would then be exposed to HomeKit, assuming the HomeKit framework supports a particular device.

This would then beg the question as to what use the current Aqara app would serve. It could still stay around of course, as Yeelight products can be added to the Mi Home app, and their own Yeelight app.

Stay tuned as we find out more.

Thanks to Mariusz for the tip.

* UPDATE – Nov 9, 2018:

We’ve now had a report that the same request comes up when you’re using the Mainland China Server too, so this would seem to be a worldwide rollout.



* UPDATE – Nov 10, 2018:

some of our visitors are now reporting that the Aqara hub can now be successfully added to the Mi Home app, with the hub appearing in the Apple Home app as normal.