A recent string of hacks on South Korean apartment complexes makes the need for better smart home security crystal clear.
HomeKit
Last-Minute Cyber Monday Smart Home Deals
These Cyber Monday smart home deals are waiting. Get your HomeKit accessories at prices you likely won’t see again for quite some time.
Eve Black Friday Deals to Up Your HomeKit Game
If you want to up your smart home game, this is the time to do it. These Eve Black Friday deals can save you up to 30% off retail prices.
Apple's Self Repair Program and Smarthome Pain Points, with Jeff Gamet - ACM 561
For a limited time, new users can get $10 in free Bitcoin when you sign up today at Coinbase.com/ACM
Apple’s Home Services Head Leaves, Destination Unknown
Apple’s head of Home Services, Sam Jadallah, has abruptly left the company. Apple has not yet announced his replacement.
Smart Home Networks And You – TMO Daily Observations 2021-11-09
Jeff Butts and Dave Hamilton join host Kelly Guimont to discuss the latest developments in smart home networking and why it matters to your home.
Honeywell Home T9 Adds HomeKit Support
A popular smart thermostat, the Honeywell Home T9 is HomeKit-compatible. Owners can use Siri or Home app to control their home temperature.
Smart Home Technology Finally Has a Standard
The Matter standard is doing what we’d hoped for: unifying smart home technology with a standard way for devices to talk to each other.
Digging into Arduino, Getting Started with Smarthome Tech, with Jeff Butts - ACM 559
Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Butts get geeky with a deep dive into Arduino and a look at how to get started with all this smarthome stuff, especially Apple’s HomeKit.
Latest Amazon TVs Will Support AirPlay 2, HomeKit
Amazon released its Omni and 4-Series Fire TVs on Wednesday. It also announced that the devices will soon support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, according to The Verge.
Amazon has already rolled out AirPlay 2 and HomeKit to some of its “Fire TV Edition” TVs from Toshiba and Insignia. Curiously, these features have yet to come to the company’s standalone Fire TV streaming devices — including the just-released Fire TV Stick 4K Max. I’m not sure if that’s an intentional choice, but it’s a bit odd that Amazon is ready to announce support on day one for its brand-new TVs with nothing to share about AirPlay 2 coming to its cheaper devices. (Roku supports AirPlay 2 on both its players and Roku TVs.)
Nanoleaf Lines Improve Decor Possibilities in Smart Lighting
Nanoleaf has been offering unique possibilities for blending smart lighting with home decor for years. Its latest product lineup, Nanoleaf Lines, gives you even more ways to light up your space. Each segment is 11 inches long and provides up to 20 lumens of brightness. You can set the lights to more than 16.9 million colors, and each segment has two color zones. This allows you to easily blend your color palette within your design. You can configure your Nanoleaf lines to sync with your music or Mac’s display. Nanoleaf Lines supports Apple HomeKit and also works as a Thread border router, allowing you to extend the reach of your smart home network without additional hubs. The starter kit, retailing for $199.99, comes with 9 light lines, a controller, a power supply, and everything else you need to get started. Expansion packs provide you 3 more light lines for $69.99. The smart lights are available for preorder now, with shipping expected in late November 2021.
Eve MotionBlinds Motors With HomeKit Release Announced for 2022
Eve Systems and Coulisse announced that MotionBlinds, the smart technology for window coverings, will add Eve MotionBlinds motors.
Smart Bulbs vs. Smart Light Switches, Digital IDs, with Jeff Gamet - ACM 555
Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet dive back into smarthome tech, with a focus on using smart light switches instead of smart light bulbs. This includes Jeff’s recommendation for a smart light switch. They also discuss digital IDs and the perils and promise they offer.
Remembering The Hokey Pokey — Mac Geek Gab 887
How much Cool Stuff Found can your Two Favorite Geeks share? You’re about to find out! Listen as John and Dave share all of your (and their) Cool Stuff Found, PLUS answering a slew of your networking and networking-related questions. Good stuff this week, folks, and it’s all because of you. Press play, listen, and enjoy learning five new things!
HOOBS: Simplify Your Homebridge
A Deep Dive Into HOOBS & HomeBridge! Learn More About HOOBS in this video tip from Mac Geek Gab 884.
Arlo Update Fixes Apple HomeKit Issue
Arlo confirmed to AppleInsider that it has fixed a bug that prevented users adding its smart home devices to Apple Homekit. The fix came was included in the latest version of its iOS app – version 3.5.1
That version, which has a release date of August 6, is currently available from the App Store. “Arlo appreciates the patience of our loyal customers, and is excited to share that an iOS app release with a remedy to the HomeKit issue is now available,” the company said. Earlier in August, AppleInsider began receiving reports from users about issues adding new Arlo devices to HomeKit. The problem appeared to affect HomeKit tokens, which caused users to get stuck on the “Requesting HomeKit info” screen when adding devices to the Apple smart home platform.
Deep Dives into Chargers, Cord-Cutting, Hard Drive Maintenance, and More — Mac Geek Gab 884
Your geeks take you on a few mini Deep Dives (snorkels?) today, covering topics like Cord Cutting, Chargers, HomeKit (and HOOBS), Docker, Hard Drive Maintenance, and more. Dive in with John and Dave to learn at least five new things. And Don’t Get Caught!
Offsite Backups, Blocking Scammers, Quick Tips, and More – Mac Geek Gab 872
As Apple users, we have lots of technology needs which extend beyond that which are made by the fruit company. Listen as your two favorite geeks share their thoughts and answers to your questions about Offsite Backups, Blocking Scammers, DVRing today’s video content, and much more. Press play and learn at least five new things along with Dave and John.
Eve Energy Smart Plug With Thread Available to Purchase
Eve Systems announced the fourth generation of its HomeKit smart plug product called Eve Energy, and it supports the Thread protocol.
Adding Car to HomeKit for In-App Controls and Automation
Self-confessed “home automation enthusiast” Siobhán Ellis integrated an electric car into her Apple HomeKit setup. In a blogpost (spotted by MacRumors) she explained what she did and how she did it.
After I initially wrote this blog post, I wondered if there was a HomeBridge integration into the Jaguar InControl API. InControl enables a number of things, such as remotely seeing if the car is unlocked, how much it’s charged and if it is charging. It also enables pre-conditioning, which is the warming up of the car before you travel somewhere so the batteries work at peak efficiency. As it happens, there is a plugin, called Jlr Incontrol. Installation was easy, although I must say it came up with a few warnings.
An iCloud Issue, Home Automation, NFC Tags, and a Smart Home Friction Point, with Jeff Gamet - ACM 545
Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet dig deep into smart home tech and home automation, starting with an iCloud account issue Jeff had with a new HomePod mini. They also discuss NFC tags, a home automation friction point Bryan has experienced, and other aspects of smart homes.
Eve Systems Adds Thread Support to Eve Aqua
Eve Systems announced on Thursday that it added Thread support for Eve Aqua in its latest firmware update.
Shortcuts and Automations – TMO Daily Observations 2021-03-26
Andrew Orr and Dave Hamilton join host Kelly Guimont to discuss the Shortcuts app on iOS, and branch out into HomeKit Automations as well.
Eve for HomeKit 5.1 Update adds Support for Eve Weather
The Eve for HomeKit app from Eve Systems received a 5.1 update on Friday. It adds support for Eve Weather and more improvements.