HomeTech.fm

On this week's show: Apple finally throws a real “Welcome Home” punch with HomeView, a new Apple TV 4K, and even ADT on install duty, Ring ditches the backup key for a hand-crank smart lock, Amazon rolls out a new Alexa tablet lineup, Aqara is now selling in Canadian Tire, Zooz joins Jasco, plus a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: Apple’s smart home plans keep leaking from every direction, with LG-branded locks, doorbells, thermostats, and cameras rumored alongside Apple selling Aqara’s new thermostat; Google Home gets better at hearing you over the chaos; Amazon quietly takes away Alexa aux voice control; UniFi Protect 7.3 squeezes more history out of your storage; Inovelli’s roadmap starts moving again; Home Assistant renames Cloud to Link because, well, “cloud” has baggage; a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: Schneider Electric wants Shelly, Apple’s smart home hub may finally be real, Amazon refreshes the Fire TV Stick 4K, Disney raises streaming prices because apparently doubling profits wasn’t enough, ULTRALOQ rolls out new Matter and Aliro-ready locks, Home Assistant’s latest beta overhauls maps, and the local-control crowd keeps cooking with June oven and Roborock cloud-escape projects. We also hit some custom-install gear from Crestron and NextLevel, a weird little Pro-Ject streaming amp, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: your smart TV is probably spying on you, so we talk through what to turn off and why “just don’t connect it” keeps sounding smarter; Matter 1.6.1 finally locks in Groupcast to help grouped devices act like a group; a local Sofabaton integration gives Home Assistant users more remote-control fun; Crestron and Hubitat get a pro-friendly upgrade; D-Tools says the CI market is growing and also very much not growing, depending on who you ask; plus a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: CEDIA says the crowds showed up, Apple unveiled a foldable iPhone, LG is pushing back on smart TV spying claims, Google wants outside AI agents in your home, Aqara and IKEA both have new Matter-friendly hardware, SimpliSafe would like a human guard at your doorbell, plus a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: TiVo decides skipping commercials should cost something, LG TVs face some very ugly privacy claims, Home Assistant 2026.9 brings a big Modbus cleanup, UniFi tries a friendlier whole-home Wi-Fi pitch, and Sonos rolls out Beam Ultra, Ace Ultra, and a whole new Sonos 27 software story. We also hit new gear from both CEDIA and IFA, a full mailbag of feedback for Gavin, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: CEDIA’s first-timer list hints at where custom integration is heading next, Sonos teases a new soundbar, Control4 gets new Google Home and Google TV integrations, Wyze builds privacy right into a $40 indoor cam, Amazon raises prices on Echo, Fire TV, and Kindle gear while also handing some Fire TV users Alexa Plus for free, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: the Open Home Foundation puts Community Day 2026 on the calendar, Apollo makes ESPHome a little less breadboard-y, Petlibro reminds everyone why cloud-dependent pet gear is a terrible way to miss dinner, and Whisker proves AI still can’t always tell one cat from another. We also hit Brilliant’s new managed-service subscription, Comcast turning routers into motion sensors with a privacy asterisk, Aqara pushing Matter camera controls forward, Sonos news, plus CEDIA-bound gear from DreamWall and DoorBird, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: CEDIA Expo 2026 is almost here with hundreds of product debuts on deck, GE talks up US-made chips in connected laundry, Home Assistant finds a new way to boss around Apple devices, Google Home on iOS may be turning lights on just for fun, Alexa+ lands in Australia, Sonos learns some Lutron tricks, OpenAI’s hockey-puck AI speaker rumor rolls on, ESPHome gets a much friendlier desktop app, plus a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more.

On this week's show: the FCC’s robot ban turns out to include future robot vacuums and mowers, which may make the next robovac harder to buy without making it much safer; Roku decides budget streamers are a premium experience now; Apple’s smart home hub and Siri refresh are reportedly getting closer; Sonos is teasing some kind of AI move for September; UniFi adds a Thread border router and beefs up Protect; plus new gear from Zooz, Aqara, Xiaomi, Homey, SmartThings, and Home Assistant, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: OpenAI may be building a screen-free AI home companion, Nice is skipping CEDIA 2026 and insisting everything is fine, the 2026 TV Shootout crowns both Samsung and Sony, Philips Hue might stick a camera on your TV, and a TP-Link Kasa camera vulnerability report is a rough reminder to patch your gear. We also chat about a touchscreen Zigbee switch from Zemismart, an open-source robot vacuum project, Matter Server 9.1.0, the Only Fan Controller update, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: Apple wants smarter Home cameras, but only if you spring for the 2TB iCloud plan, IKEA quietly makes Matter less annoying, and Matter cameras from Tapo, Aqara, EZVIZ, and friends are finally becoming a real category. We also get into Josh.ai adding DMX and DALI for the fancy-lighting crowd, Sonos trimming some of the people you’d think it should keep, a coax-powered floodlight for those Wi-Fi dead zones, Ecowitt’s Kickstarter water tester, new Home Assistant-friendly gear from IoTorero and Third Reality, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: Apple makes Apple Home hubs a lot pricier, Samsung puts a $5 toll booth in front of the SmartThings API, and Matter itself keeps inching toward “maybe this really will work.” We also hit a THIRDREALITY timer clock, an interesting universal remote hub, Level’s rough week, Netflix’s new profile email rule, project updates, a pick of the week, and so much more!

On this week's show: Hue brings wired wall modules to Europe and keeps pushing Matter, Schlage’s UWB smart lock finally gets a date and a price, Amazon rolls Alexa+ into Brazil, Google launches a new Gemini-powered speaker while retiring a couple of old Nest favorites, Sonos keeps trying to fix the app it broke, Matter 1.6 tries to make Matter less Matter-y, and a report says your smart TV apps may be doing more networking than streaming. Plus a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

On this week's show: Alexa+ finally opens up across Canada in English and French, Prime Day deals are already leaking out of Amazon’s cart, Fox wants to buy Roku in a massive streaming-and-ads play, and ADI layoffs have Control4 watchers a little nervous. We’ve also got project updates featuring cameras, deck drama, Starlink, a new show notes server, a pick of the week, and so much more!

On this week's show: Apple Home gets Thread 1.4, 4K video, and energy tracking, Amazon gives the Echo Hub a makeover with smarter Ring features, and Google teaches Nest cams to recognize your pets. We also check out Eufy’s biometric locks, UniFi’s campus-level security gear, WiiM’s first soundbar, a Donut Lab battery scandal that’s gone flat, and Music Assistant’s sonic smarts. All that, project updates, and so much more!

On this week’s show: SwitchBot flips the switch on Nanoleaf, eero dials back to the landline era with a new Telephone Adapter, Home Assistant welcomes Sensereo’s smoke and CO alarms, and the latest Home Assistant beta brings new toys for dashboards, automations, and IR nerds alike. A pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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On this week's show: We talk TV (shows), Govee is shelf shocked, Linkind launches a fiery new Matter bulb, Bell wants your internet unstoppable with mobile and UPS backups, Ubiquiti patches some serious UniFi holes, Google hints at new Gemini-powered speakers, and Open Home Foundation brings e-paper displays to the smart home world. All that, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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Show Notes

On this week's show: Google I/O 2026 is all about agentic AI and Search that answers before you ask, Homey hikes hardware prices and Plex triples its Lifetime Pass price, Hubitat hooks up with Ring, UniFi announces a new 5G backup, Birdie Pro faints at bad air, and iGarden’s robot goes for an Olympic clean. A pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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Show Notes

On this week’s show: Ubiquiti doubles down with a new UniFi NVR and a major Protect 7.1 update, Unraid ditches the USB stick (finally) with internal boot, and smart vacuums are getting weirder, Blink goes 2K on a budget, Yarbo promises to close its mower’s backdoor, the FBI is resetting routers, and over a million cameras were alarmingly open to hackers. All of this, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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Show Notes

On this week's show: TJ gets ready to head to Canada, Apple pays for promising too much from Siri, ULTRALOQ goes tap-to-unlock with Aliro, and Homebridge 2.0 finally speaks Matter. The Roomba creator builds a furry robot friend, Matter.JS Server gets smarter debugging, BEGA lights up Home Assistant, and the new HA beta tunes into sub‑GHz RF. Plus, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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Show Notes

On this week's show: Walmart’s Vizio TVs can’t stream without an account, La‑Z‑Boy gets loud with Klipsch‑powered furniture, and Govee keeps lighting up everything from ceilings to patios, one fixture at a time. Home Assistant hikes the price of Green, eero gets a government seal of approval, ubisys joins the club, and Unraid teams up with 45HomeLab for a monster NAS. Plus ap pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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Show Notes

On this week's show: Alexa+ learns Italian while Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick gets slimmer and smarter, Netgear dodges a router ban, Ecovacs blasts stains with cleaning jets, and Aqara quietly launches a new Matter sensor. Ubiquiti unveils EAV switching for pro AVs, Apollo celebrates open source with a new ESPHome starter kit, and BLUETTI wants to keep your fridge alive through any storm. All this, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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On this week's show: Google finally lets Workspace users into the Google Home party, Aqara keeps busy with new hubs, thermostats, and sensors, Samsung trims the price tag on its 2026 Frame TVs, Hisense adds a smaller CanvasTV that still wants to be art, LG shows off a mighty new MAGNIT Micro LED system, and Sony teases some serious RGB tech. There’s also a peek at the Home Assistant roadmap, project updates, and so much more!

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Show Notes

On this week's show: Ring launches 4K video doorbells and a whole developer portal while Ubiquiti sends AI to the edge with a new series UniFi G6 cameras. Reolink shines bright with its solar floodlight cam, Nuki taps into Apple Home Key, and DEWENWILS dives into Matter with a smart pool pump timer. Matter 1.5.1 gets better camera streaming, Heatit joins Works with Home Assistant, and backup encryption gets a serious upgrade. Plus, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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On this week's show: Josh.ai takes smart homes to a whole new level of language learning, Amazon’s Alexa+ crosses the pond with a serious accent, Telus launches an all-Canadian AI butler, and Hisense decides you need ads with your HDMI inputs. The FCC bans foreign-made routers (so, almost all of them), and Brava joins the long list of smart gadgets that got cooked by their own cloud. All this, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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On this week’s show: UniFi drops Protect 7.0 with customizable dashboards, smarter event review, local AI image search, and a $4,999 Enterprise NVR Core to store all that footage—plus a $39 Relay and a whole lot of 25G. WAGO says Matter is finally electrician-friendly, while Ikea proves Matter still means “it depends.” Aqara launches the first Matter-certified camera, a new PoE doorbell with HomeKit Secure Video, and we check in on a Navimow mower integration for Home Assistant. A pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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On this week’s show: iRobot comes back from bankruptcy with a tiny Roomba Mini that won’t launch in the US, Homey adds Python support to open the app floodgates, Sonos launches a new portable Play speaker and a mic-free Era 100 SL while also admitting its Apple TV rival is dead, IKEA pushes a Dirigera update to fix Matter pairing, and Zooz gets Z-Wave Long Range sensors certified for Alarm.com. All of this, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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On this week’s show: Sonos accidentally leaks the Play, and UniFi drops a WiFi 7 U7 Mesh with big range claims. Aqara adds Samsung Home Key as Aliro finally becomes real, Shark’s $1,300 robot hunts stains with UV, and Samsung promises to ask Texans before watching what they watch. Meta smart glasses get creepier (and detectable), BGR says hubs are dead (sure), Home Assistant spring cleaning begins, robotic mowers get their own pet-aware gate, plus a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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On this week’s show: Google Home lets you delete its pre-made routines, Sonos shows profit but not growth, IKEA’s leaked Matter light driver, Heiman joins Works with Home Assistant with Thread-based safety sensors, a pick of the week, project updates, AI updates, and so much more!

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Show Notes

On this week’s show: Ring’s Super Bowl ad fallout keeps getting worse as Search Party, Flock, Axon, and leaked emails raise bigger surveillance questions, Fire TV gets its biggest UI update ever, Eufy promises five-year motion sensors, and Third Reality drops new Zigbee gear. Ubiquiti goes industrial with a new Cloud Gateway, Shelly leaves garage doors wide open (literally), and OpenAI picks up the founder of OpenClaw. All of this, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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On this week's show: Ring’s Super Bowl ad creeps everyone out with AI dog-finding (and maybe people-tracking) technology, TI drops $7.5 billion on Silicon Labs in a bold smart home chip move, Apple kills the old HomeKit just in time for Valentine's 2026, and SwitchBot dreams big with AI agents and RTSP cameras in a mystery lunchbox-shaped hub. Plus: a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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Show Notes

On this week’s show: Control4 previews shiny new touchscreens and subscriptions, Google Home finally wakes up to buttons, and Ikea’s Matter devices can’t seem to "Thread the needle." Home Assistant wants your device data (respectfully), the 8K dream is officially dead (RIP pixels), and Nice and Yubii have ecosystem updates. Plus, a new dirt-hugging soil sensor, a pick of the week, project updates, an AI bot forces Gavin to spend money, and so much more!

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On this week’s show: Gavin as a Service officially launches on YouTube, Sonos drops a new multi-zone Amp while Sony seems ready to drop the whole TV business. Amazon Sidewalk quietly infects Canada. ESPHome gets Control4 support, SwitchBot launches an AI hub with Home Assistant inside, and Zooz Z-Wave joins Apollo’s party. Seth tests drives a new AI assistant, TJ is all in again with Sonos (not really), a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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On this week's show: Josh.ai and Control4 settle but at a cost —voice control stays, but touchscreens and remotes get benched. CES 2026 brings a flurry of floor interviews straight from Vegas, and we dig into a listener letter on Homey Self-Hosted. All that, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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Show Notes

On this week's show: CES 2026 gave us everything from refrigerators with ads and humanoid laundry bots to pool cleaners smarter than your thermostat. Amazon and Samsung double down on AI (for better or worse), IKEA floods the market with affordable Matter gear, and Ring keeps dancing with Sidewalk and privacy. Kwikset locks in a new Matter smart lock under $200, SwitchBot wants to do your chores, and Roborock dares to climb stairs. Plus, Home Assistant gets a powerful new Music Assistant, Bose open-sources old gear instead of bricking it, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!<...

On this week's show: Live from CES! The HomeTech team joined Justin and Kyle on the Apollo Automation monthly livestream on in Las Vegas at CES 2026. We had a great time and wanted to share the conversation on our feed as well.

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Show Notes

On this week's show: iRobot vacuums up a bankruptcy filing and is scooped up by Picea, Apollo launches a new four-button mini-keyboard, Shelly drops a new all-in-one smart plug, WiiM continues its crusade against Sonos with a compact speaker, Homey launches a self-hosted option, and Emerald (parent company of CEDIA Expo) might be for sale. All this news, letters from the mailbag, CES Pre-Game discussions, and so much more!

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Show Notes

The 11th annual Technology.fm Fireside Chat brings together a group of smart home podcasters for a year-end roundtable on the biggest developments of the past year. Richard Gunther and Adam Justice from the Smart Home Show join Gavin, TJ, and Seth to reflects on key products, platforms, and trends that shaped the smart home, what worked, what disappointed, and what it all means heading into the year ahead.

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Show Notes

On this week's show: Chamberlain locks down garage integrations (again), Doma reinvents the smart door with a motor and facial recognition, Homey Pro gets a RAM boost, Firewalla goes Zero Trust Wi-Fi 7 on the go, and Home Assistant throws a party for Music Assistant 2.7. All this, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

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Show Notes