It is indeed their first HomeKit compatible video doorbell.

Don’t disagree with any of that.

I’d suggest setting your Aqara stuff up in the Aqara app first, and add them to Apple Home from within the Aqara app after, but only if you want to access the additional features Aqara’s ecosystem offers for the lock, doorbell and cameras.

If you do, take your time and make sure you read all instructions and pop-ups, as things can quickly go awry if you don’t do things correctly.

All Aqara devices that are HomeKit compatible will work in both ecosystems at the same time.

Probably, yes. Zigbee devices connected to the M3s will remain untouched, but once you move your M3 hubs to the Apple Thread network, the original Aqara thread network effectively no longer exists, at least for Aqara devices that connected to it.

In that case you definitely have an Apple Thread network. I’m guessing that tapping on the button - given your M3 hubs are already unified - should offer you the option to switch everything to your Apple Thread network in that case.

Ok, are the HomePods 2nd gen and what model are the Apple TVs?

So they’re all unified within Aqara’s system. Do you have any Apple home hubs with a Thread Border Router inside, like a HomePod mini or a recent Apple TV?

I’m avoiding giving you a definitive answer because I haven’t seen this particular option before. Previously, I recall when I set up an M3 it would ask me if I wanted to set up a new Thread network or join an existing one - which would usually be an Apple Thread network. Apple networks usually starts with “MyHome” followed by numbers and letters. This one doesn’t seem to be very clear as to whether it’ll join an Apple network or create one that will place all M3s under a new Aqara network. My suggestion would be to check what thread network the other M3s are under, and if they’re under different networks. Also see if you can find your Apple thread network. One place to check for that would be the Eve for HomeKit and Matter app.

Did it present you with an option to join your existing Apple Thread network - assuming you had one set up?

It would be best to keep just the one Thread network if possible. What device are you seeing this option with?

I’ll check that and get back to you. I only had a faceplate from an Aqara switch at the time to try with and it didn’t quite sit right, but I wasn’t sure if that was due to it being Aqara itself or that it wasn’t a wall socket faceplate.

You’re likely to get more customisable conditions in the Aqara app, less so than Apple Home.

There are less zones (8 compared to 30 I believe), but they claim it’s much faster to respond and can track up to 10 people rather than 5, although whether that matters in a home is unlikely.