Platforms & Ecosystem
4 articlesHome Assistant just made Matter setup far less painful4 min
Home Assistantâs Matter setup gets a lot less âdrag the device to the server closet.â Matter Server 0.7.1 adds BLE proxy support, letting existing ESPHome or Shelly devices relay the Bluetooth handshake over your LAN so you can commission Matter gear where itâs installedâno phone ecosystem, no USB dongle passthrough, far fewer range headaches.
Google updates Gemini for Home with AI-powered camera automations - Engadget3 min
Googleâs Gemini for Home now lets your cameras become automation triggers: describe an event in plain language (âwhen the driveway camera sees a packageâ) and kick off a routine automatically. Google also claims fewer âcanât do thatâ errors and better multi-request handling, plus Apple Music is backâthough the new Google Home speaker still hasnât shipped.
SwitchBot brightens its smart home portfolio with Nanoleaf acquisition4 min
SwitchBot buying control of Nanoleaf could finally fix SwitchBotâs biggest Matter gap: strong Thread networking. If the teams integrate well, future SwitchBot gear may rely less on WiâFi/Bluetooth hubs and talk locally over Thread to Apple Home or Home Assistant. Itâs also consolidationâplus a shortcut into Nanoleafâs retail shelf space.
Why weâre raising prices on Homey Pro and Homey Pro mini â News | Homey2 min
If youâve been on the fence about a Homey hub, this is your âbuy beforeâ heads-up: Homey Pro and Pro mini prices jump June 1, 2026 (to $449 and $249). Homey blames rising RAM and storage costs passed through from Raspberry Pi, and says current-price stock is limited until then.
Product Launches
4 articlesAqara Unveils the U500 Smart Lock Series2 min
Aqaraâs U500 locks target the doors most smart locks ignore: outdoor gates, frameless glass, and rim-style doors. Thread networking keeps it fast and battery-friendly while working across major ecosystems, and Aliro support hints at more âworks everywhereâ digital keys ahead. Expect premium pricing around ÂŁ280âÂŁ300 in the UK.
This mechanical bird drops dead when your homeâs air quality worsens2 min
If you want air-quality awareness youâll actually notice, Birdie Pro turns rising indoor CO2 into an unmissable âcanary drops deadâ alert â and now adds broader tracking (like mold risk and local pollen) via its app. The smart-home hook is real: it can integrate with Home Assistant/Homey to automate responses (like kicking on an air purifier). Kickstarter is $199 (MSRP $299), with the usual shipping-delay risk.
Eufy announces new AI-powered smart home security platform with no monthly fees3 min
Eufy is betting that âlocal AIâ is the next security upgrade: EdgeAgent analyzes events on-device, aiming for faster alerts, better privacy, and (crucially) no monthly fee for core features. Itâll roll out in H2 2026 and work with existing Eufy gear, adding automated responses like warnings, lights, and escalating alerts when a threat seems real.
Yeedi Releases S20 Infinity Ultra Robot Vacuum with FocusJet at a Lower Price6 min
Flagship robot-mop tricks are starting to hit ânormalâ budgets: Yeediâs S20 Infinity Ultra brings Ecovacsâ FocusJet pre-wetting to loosen dried stains before the roller scrubs, plus a dock that washes and hot-air dries the mop so you babysit it less. Promising on paper, but Vacuum Wars hasnât tested it yetâtreat the claims as marketing until scores land.
Reviews & Spotlight
4 articlesSmart Litterbox - Dan's Garden3 min
A smart litterbox can be more than a convenience upgrade: paired with Home Assistant, it becomes a lightweight health monitor. Danâs 4âmonth take on the Catlink Open-X highlights solid multi-cat tracking via weight and a usable (if rough) HA integrationâplus an automation that flagged abnormal use and helped catch a UTI early.
The fire alarm that talks to your smart home: Best Matter smoke detectors7 min
Matter smoke detectors are finally emerging, but the real âcompatibilityâ gotcha is safety certification: US buyers basically need the one UL-listed option, while several better-value Thread models are EU-only. The guide explains when youâll need a Thread Border Router vs a vendor hub, and which picks make sense if you want smoke-only vs smoke+CO.
Alexa+ vs Gemini: which AI smart home assistant wins in 2026?8 min
Picking an AI assistant in 2026 is mostly picking an ecosystem: Gemini is the smarter âbrain,â but Alexa+ is the better day-to-day home manager if your house runs on Echo/Ring (and Prime can make its $19.99 fee a non-issue). Gemini wins on broad device reach and reasoning, while Amazonâs voice-data moves make trust the bigger deciding factor than features.
Birdfy Review: Smart Bird Feeders and Bird Bath Put to the Test17 min
If you want a âsmart backyardâ camera that turns bird visits into notifications and labeled clips, Birdfy mostly delivers â but the app is the weak link. Hardware and solar charging are solid, yet mounting makes it more squirrel-prone than hanging rivals. AI ID is usually right but noisy: expect lots of alerts unless youâre happy skimming recaps instead.
Projects & How-To
5 articlesA Practical Home Energy OS with Home Assistant22 min
Home energy gets powerful (and risky) once solar, batteries, EV charging, and smart panels all start âhelpingâ independently. This build uses Home Assistant as the shared state graph and a Node-RED-gated policy engine that acts only with redundant proof (like SPAN verifying circuits), plus tests and a drift-sentinel to prevent silent breakage.
Black and white epaper photo frame based on Seeed Studio reTerminal E1003 using ESPHome and Home Assistant â Style over Substance10 min
A rare e-paper frame project that actually feels âprint-likeâ: fast grayscale updates plus deep sleep means it can hang on a wall, change photos on schedule, and not behave like a tablet you must babysit. The author shares an ESPHome+Home Assistant build (AI-assisted) and the key gotcha: youâll need proper dithering and decent ambient light for photos to look convincing.
I put NFC tags on my storage bins so Home Assistant could finally track my junk5 min
Turn âwhere did we put that?â into a one-tap answer: this setup puts NFC tags on storage bins and uses Home Assistantâs local to-do lists as an inventory you can update on the fly. The key trick is iPhone Shortcutsâscan a tag and it deep-links straight to the right HA dashboard view, not just the app home screen. Works great if you keep lists updated.
Automating ADHD7 min
Practical Home Assistant automations aimed at reducing âADHD taxâ: turn real-world actions into reliable reminders. Highlights include a litter-box drawer sensor that creates/nags tasks until completed, and a meds workflow that escalates notifications until a pill jar tilt confirms you took them. Also shows low-friction shopping prompts via Zigbee buttons and iOS Shortcuts.
Your Home Assistant server needs a vacation mode (hereâs how to set one up)5 min
A good âvacation modeâ in Home Assistant is really a bundle of automations: make your house look lived-in using your real device history (not a rigid timer), add an alarm flow that pages you fast, and ensure you can still reach the system when things break. The key takeaway: plan for outages tooâauto-reboot network gear and your server before you leave.
Perspectives
2 articlesThe cost of the smart home is going up6 min
AI is becoming the smart home industryâs new business model â which likely means more subscriptions bundled into your ISP/security apps, not cheaper devices. The author argues todayâs âAIâ mostly upgrades camera notifications and search, while prices keep climbing (Alexa Plus is $20/month). Real value will be proactive anomaly detection, but trust and platform risk remain.
Case Study: Historic Home, Modern Intelligence - Residential Systems6 min
Retrofitting a landmark 1830s estate with automation is less about flashy gadgets and more about hiding the tech without sacrificing reliability. This case study shows how an integrator used URC Total Control to unify lighting, shading, audio, security, and alerts with discreet interfaces and carefully routed infrastructureâproof that âmodern smartâ can be nearly invisible in historic homes.