This hub makes a solid connection to my 2.4 gHz WiFi network and provides good coverage.
Most (and so far for me, all) Aqara smart items bridged through it can be addressed in HomeAssistant through the HomeKit integration. No need to bother with Matter - unless you want to. The IR blaster, however, only functions with the phone app and does not expose paired items with HomeAssistant - and that it's only minus in my opinion. However, as I view the IR blaster as a nice bonus, and not core to the product I didn't dock the item a star in my rating. However, if the IR blaster were to be exposed - now, that would be something special!
Devices are easy to set up and this hub performs a good as advertised. It's price point makes it a good choice for any home wanting to add good Zigbee coverage for the Aqara ecosystem. Nice.
Also, note that I run this hub alongside another Zigbee coordinator (a USB stick) and both networks function without issue even though my 2.4 gHz spectrum is pretty saturated with competing networks. Again, nice!