Platforms & Ecosystem
4 articlesApple HomeView is here — alongside a new Apple TV, HomePod mini and a wave of Matter gear5 min
Apple is finally giving Apple Home a shared, always-visible control point: the $299 HomeView combines device control, multi-camera viewing, sensors and video calls in a tabletop or wall-mounted display. A new Apple TV and HomePod mini also become stronger voice- and Matter/Thread hubs, while LG and Schneider add first-party-style cameras, locks and thermostats. It’s a major ecosystem expansion, but Siri AI is still future software and availability is notably limited outside Europe.
UniFi Network 11 finally gives Matter and Thread devices the network monitoring they deserve5 min
UniFi Network 11 could make Thread troubleshooting far less opaque for UniFi owners. It adds Matter-over-Thread devices to UniFi’s topology view, exposing identity, signal and battery data, plus a history of network changes that may reveal what happened before an outage. It’s a diagnostic layer, not a smart-home controller, and every device must be paired manually—an awkward limitation for large Matter setups.
LEDVANCE joins Works with Home Assistant6 min
LEDVANCE is bringing 116 OSRAM SMART+ devices to the Works with Home Assistant program, giving users a broad new lighting range that connects through Matter over Wi-Fi without a dedicated hub. The important part is local control: bulbs, fixtures, plugs, switches, and outdoor lights can run automations without LEDVANCE’s cloud. Matter also preserves flexibility if you later change platforms.
SmartThings Update: Matter 1.6 and Local App Control3 min
SmartThings’ update makes Matter 1.6 useful beyond headline compatibility: energy meters, gates, irrigation gear and soil sensors can now join the ecosystem, opening a path to smarter gardens. More immediately, the app can talk directly to a local hub when you’re home, improving responsiveness and offering limited resilience during internet outages. SmartThings Now adds context-aware prompts, but its suggestions may feel more like Samsung’s curation than automation.
Product Launches
4 articlesEufy’s new window-mounted security camera beats Ring and Blink with easy installation and no subscription fees — provided you don't mind the power cable3 min
Eufy’s $79.99 E10 Window Camera offers an appealing alternative to subscription-based security cameras: stick it inside a window, record locally to microSD, and monitor the outside without drilling or outdoor wiring. Its 2.5K video, glare-reduction aids, and person, pet, and vehicle detection add useful polish. The catch is significant, though: a power cable limits placement and makes discreet installation harder.
The new ESP32 put Wi-Fi 6 and gigabit ethernet on a chip that used to blink LEDs6 min
Espressif’s ESP32-S31 turns the once-basic ESP32 into a credible hub and edge-device platform: it combines Wi‑Fi 6, Thread, Zigbee, Bluetooth 5.4 and a gigabit Ethernet MAC with enough CPU, memory and media acceleration for cameras, displays and local AI. The catch is that Wi‑Fi 6 is 2.4GHz-only, and gigabit Ethernet still needs an external PHY, so board complexity remains.
Mosqitter is turning its mosquito traps into an AI-powered surveillance network | TechCrunch5 min
Mosqitter is turning a connected mosquito trap into an early-warning tool for homes and public health. Its AI identifies captured species, combines results with weather and humidity, and aims to spot population shifts before outbreaks become obvious. The $199 Mini targets residential spaces, but the bigger opportunity is Febris, a monitoring service for governments and institutions—not a system that can diagnose infected mosquitoes.
Aqara Launches U600 for UK Doors With HomeKey and Matter Over Thread, But no UWB4 min
Aqara’s U600 tackles a real UK smart-lock problem: it fits common multipoint doors without drilling or replacing the existing mechanism, while adding Apple Home Key and Matter over Thread. That makes it a strong renter-friendly option for Apple Home households, with Samsung Wallet, fingerprint and PIN entry as backups. The trade-off is no UWB, so truly hands-free proximity unlocking is off the table; it costs £229.99.
Reviews & Spotlight
3 articlesHomey Self-Hosted on Raspberry Pi: Tested vs. Home Assistant24 min
Homey Self-Hosted turns a Raspberry Pi into a simpler local alternative to Home Assistant: setup is quick, Flows are approachable, and automations kept running offline in testing. The trade-off is app-based device support, so check exact models before paying, along with less flexible automation. With the lifetime license and Bridge, the complete setup costs $218—attractive for mainstream devices, but less so for tinkerers.
Sonoff SenseGuard Zigbee Siren SNZB-09P Review10 min
Sonoff’s SNZB-09P is a well-rounded Home Assistant siren with a genuinely useful backup battery and independently controllable sound and light. It can provide anything from a quiet visual alert to a very loud alarm, making it practical for security and everyday notifications. The key caveats are that it does not extend your Zigbee mesh, and ZHA users need Sonoff’s custom quirk until native support lands.
Installing Hydrific Droplet to Keep an Eye on Our Water Use18 min
Hydrific Droplet turns the home’s main water line into a live usage sensor without cutting the pipe, while its Home Assistant integration can turn awareness into leak-response automations. The clever installation uses PoE from a battery-backed network rack. One calibration test improved a 0.50-gallon reading from 0.46 to 0.49, but the author rightly avoids claiming laboratory accuracy. Start with alerts and observation: family activity makes tagging and automatic shutoff thresholds tricky.
Projects & How-To
3 articlesYour robovac is a privacy nightmare, but these open-source exploits can make it fully offline and private5 min
Cloud-connected robot vacuums can expose floor plans, habits, and camera footage, but you don’t necessarily have to trade privacy for automation. This guide rounds up open-source ways to bring control back home: Valetudo, local Roborock and Ecovacs servers, OpenNeato, and dorita980 can restore offline control or Home Assistant integration. The catch is model support—and some options require rooting, soldering, or blocking internet access.
Automating a Hello Kitty Halloween Inflatable with Home Assistant and Tempest Wind Data13 min
Home Assistant can make an outdoor Halloween inflatable genuinely hands-off—and safer—by combining a smart plug with Tempest wind data. This setup runs Hello Kitty on a daily schedule, shuts her down immediately when gusts exceed 14 mph, and requires 30 minutes below 10 mph before restarting. The author learned the hard way that 20 mph was too high, but stresses these are site-specific safeguards, not manufacturer limits; sensor outages still need attention.
Meshtastic in Home Assistant: MQTT or HACS Integration24 min
Meshtastic lets Home Assistant monitor remote sheds, garages, or greenhouses over LoRa, without Wi‑Fi or cellular at the sensor. This guide compares two bridges: the HACS integration is fastest and creates entities automatically, but may break as Home Assistant evolves; MQTT takes more setup yet uses built-in tools and shares data with Node-RED. Readings arrive only about every 30 minutes, and MQTT exposes packet data and messages unencrypted on the broker.
Perspectives
3 articlesChaos isn't a Pit. Chaos is a Countertop.9 min
Apple’s $299 HomeView could become a useful shared control center, but its launch raises more questions than excitement. The device mixes home controls, personal apps, and multi-user authentication without a clear identity, while requiring an iPhone or iPad for full recognition. The author’s sharpest concern is that Siri and app permissions may turn everyday family tasks into a confusing “who owns this app?” puzzle, compounded by a fixed power cord and no obvious living-room role.
The Internet of Very Cheap Things6 min
Cheap connectivity has turned smart-home experimentation from a luxury into an impulse purchase: the author finds Zigbee bulbs under £5, four-packs of door sensors around £15, and smart plugs near £7.50. That makes monitoring and automating almost anything tempting, while appliances increasingly include Wi-Fi at no meaningful premium. The catch is ecosystem lock-in, privacy, and durability—cheap hardware is only appealing when it remains safe and useful.
The still unregulated solar power clouds: notes from 9th E.DSO – EE-ISAC - ENCS – ENISA Cybersecurity Forum - Bert Hubert's writings33 min
Your rooftop solar, home battery, or heat pump may be part of a grid-scale cyber risk: Europe’s distributed devices are increasingly controlled through vendor clouds, some with alarmingly weak access controls. Bert Hubert argues that ransomware could disrupt gigawatts of capacity, while current rules barely cover the “behind-the-meter” layer. The takeaway is urgent: audit these clouds, enforce secure design, and fund hands-on security—not just compliance paperwork.