Platforms & Ecosystem
4 articlesAlexa+ gets a new 'adults only' personality option that curses but won't get into NSFW content | TechCrunch3 min
Alexa+ just got a new āSassyā personality thatās adults-onlyāuseful if you want a more human, less sterile voice assistant, but also a reminder to tighten household controls. Amazon gates it behind extra app verification and disables it with Amazon Kids. It can swear and be snarky, but Amazon says it still blocks NSFW and other unsafe topics.
HomePad reportedly delayed (again), and it's all Siri's fault (again)3 min
Appleās rumored āHomePadā smart display is said to slip to fall 2026ānot because the hardware isnāt done, but because Siri still isnāt reliable enough to be the primary control layer. If true, itās a warning sign for Appleās bigger smart-home push: new hub hardware may arrive late until Apple can ship a voice assistant people trust daily.
Zigbee 4.0 quietly abandoned the 2.4 GHz band, and it might finally end the smart home protocol war5 min
Zigbee 4.0ās big move is getting off crowded 2.4GHz and leaning into subāGHz mesh for longer range and better reliabilityāthink garages, yards, and perimeter sensors that used to need repeaters. It also modernizes onboarding and security, but youāll likely need new radios/coordinators, so upgrades wonāt be painless.
Introducing the Python Apps SDK ā News | Homey1 min
Homey just got more āintegrations velocityā: you can now build and publish Homey apps in Python, not just JavaScript/TypeScript. That could quickly broaden device support and niche integrations, since a lot of IoT tooling and devs already live in Python. It works across Homey Cloud and the current Homey Pro lineup, so additions should reach most users fast.
Product Launches
4 articlesiRobot just launched its āsmallest Roomba robot everā in the UK, and it sounds perfect for my tiny apartment4 min
Small apartments (and tight furniture layouts) are exactly what iRobot is targeting with the new Roomba Mini: a shrunken Roomba meant to navigate cramped spaces without sacrificing cleaning, plus mopping and an auto-empty dock. Itās Ā£379 in the UK/Europe for now, and the launch is also a reassurance that iRobot is still pushing new hardware despite recent turmoil.
Wago Introduces Matter Products for Professionals4 min
Matter is finally getting more āelectrician-gradeā hardware: Wago is launching flush-mounted relays, blind control, and a dimmer in both Matter-over-WiāFi and Matter-over-Thread versions. The hook is professional installation credibility (VDE certification and an industrial security process), trading a bigger module size for safety and trust. Sales start May 2026 in DACH.
Shelly Announces Additional Matter Products for 20264 min
Shelly is doubling down on Matter over WiāFi and Ethernet with nearly a dozen new devices, including plugs, a flood sensor, an energy meter, and its first Matter-equipped DIN-rail āProā module. The big takeaway: more Shelly gear should drop into Apple/Google/Alexa setups with less integration glueāthough Shelly still isnāt betting on Thread.
Nuki Now Puts Matter Right Into the Front Door2 min
Nukiās new Smart Module targets the biggest smart-lock complaints: itās built into new electromechanical doors, so thereās no ugly retrofit motor and no battery to babysit. Itās hardwired, supports Matter for broad smart-home integration, and is slated to be shown with Rehau at Fensterbau Frontale, with sales planned for late 2026.
Reviews & Spotlight
3 articlesTado X review12 min
Tado X is one of the clearest āMatter-over-Thread is worth itā examples: app changes land almost instantly and the system stays reliable even in bigger, multi-room setups. The catch is that the best energy-saving automations (geofencing, window detection) sit behind a subscription, and adding each device to platforms like Apple Home is slow and manual.
Baseus Security X1 Pro camera review: AI dual-tracking security camera with zero subscription fees8 min
If you want an outdoor camera without monthly fees, Baseusā X1 Pro leans hard into local storage and AI tracking while staying wireless with solar top-ups. The review praises its sharp video, accurate people/pet/vehicle detection, and seamless dual-camera tracking, but warns itās picky about weak 2.4GHz WiāFi and zoom detail isnāt great.
I replaced my Ring Doorbell with this $40 subscription-free alternative and I'll never look back6 min
If youāre tired of paying a ācloud taxā just to review doorbell history, this piece makes the case for switching from Ring to TP-Linkās Tapo D210. For $40 (sale), you get local microSD recording and on-device person/vehicle detection, so alerts stay fast and the camera keeps working even if your internetāor the companyādisappears.
Projects & How-To
4 articlesGitHub - calz1/roz7 min
If you like the idea of āyour doorbell tells you what it sawā but hate subscription fees, this DIY project builds it with a webcam + local(ish) vision LLM + text-to-speech. It uses cheap motion detection first to avoid burning GPU/API money, then compares frames so it only speaks when something meaningful changes.
Stop getting surprised by dead sensorsāhow I stay on top of Home Assistant batteries6 min
Dead batteries are the silent killer of āreliableā automations, so this guide shows how to make Home Assistant nag you before sensors vanish. It recommends Battery Notes to track battery type/count and log replacements, a dynamic dashboard that auto-lists low batteries, and alerts using blueprints plus Zigbee availability/last-seen to catch devices that stop reporting.
Automatic bird identification with Home Assistant2 min
If BirdNET-style bird ID has felt cool but too flaky to trust, this setup is the practical version: BirdNET-Go runs reliably, then Home Assistant turns the firehose of detections into one daily nugget worth noticing. The author uses a simple REST sensor to pick the newest āfirst heard in the last 24 hoursā species for an e-paper dashboard.
Belkin killed Wemo Smart Plugs, but I brought mine back to life5 min
Belkin sunsetting Wemo doesnāt have to mean e-waste. This shows how older Wemo plugs still expose a local LAN API, so you can rejoin them to WiāFi with the community pyWemo tool, then let Home Assistant auto-discover and control them locally. Bonus: faster response, more privacy, and no future cloud shutdown risk.
Perspectives
3 articlesOpinion: IKEAās Matter Devices Are Excellent, But the Product Information Is Confusing6 min
IKEAās new Matter-over-Thread lineup looks like one of the best cheap ways to get reliable, cross-platform smart lighting and plugsāespecially for Apple Home with a Thread border router. The catch: boxes and product pages donāt clearly say what you need (like a border router), so newcomers may buy expecting WiāFi setup and give up. Fixable with better packaging, guides, and staff training.
From Iran to Ukraine, everyone's trying to hack security cameras2 min
Your outdoor camera can be more than a privacy riskāit can become free reconnaissance for whoever compromises it. New research says consumer cameras in the Middle East were targeted around Iranās strikes, echoing warnings from Ukraine: militaries are treating insecure, Internet-exposed cameras as an on-demand surveillance network for spotting targets and assessing damage.
Hacking the IoT protocol using AI: An LLM āreadsā ~1,200 pages of docs & finds 67 Zero-Days šØš»š»šØš¬šµš«š1 min
Matterās big risk isnāt featuresāitās the sheer complexity. Researchers fed the 1,200-page spec to GPTā4 to extract fuzzing targets, then used an AI-guided fuzzer to uncover 147 bugs, including 61 zero-days. For smart home builders, expect more disclosure and patch churnāand treat āMatter-compatibleā as ākeep firmware updated.ā