Amazon is now offering a 3-pack of Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 LED Bluetooth Smart Bulbs shipped for $89.99. Not only lower than the usual $135 price, today's offer is also at 33% in savings, beating the Black Friday listing by $10 to mark the second best price yet. A notable package for […]

As you already know, part of a feel-good atmosphere for us is the right scent. While half of our team is into Moodo's fragrance capsules, the other half is into essential oils. In the past, we used the VOCOlinc MistFlow humidifier for this purpose. Although the 2.5l tank does not require frequent refilling, it is […]

We are approaching Christmas Eve with big steps and wish all our readers a happy third Advent. As usual, we have summarized the events of the last seven days in this post. Automation of the week: Controlling Christmas lights in the front yard depending on the position of the sun In our latest Automation of […]

Announced earlier on Sunday, multi-user mode on the HomePod is now available in this country. The voice recognition provides you, if activated, personalized music results and more. This is a feature many of you have been eagerly waiting for, as Apple had actually announced Multi-User Mode for more countries, including Germany, back in iOS 15. […]

If you mention a new smart home device these days, chances are someone will ask "Is it Thread?" even if the device in question will never be able to function with Thread - like a video doorbell or security camera, for example. The appeal of this technology and its promises are so great that many […]

It's the fourth of Advent and thus the last weekly review before Christmas Eve. Before we recap the events of the past seven days, we would therefore like to wish all SmartApple readers a Merry Christmas in advance. HomeKit blinds: Omniablinds starts pre-ordering The first Eve Motion Blinds are set to launch early next year, […]

The popular Twinkly Christmas tree lighting received a HomeKit update a while back. But other lighting products from the manufacturer have also been given HomeKit integration. Reason enough to take a closer look at the Light Strip alternative Twinkly Flex and the Light Strip Twinkly Line. The range of functions of both devices is identical. […]

IKEA has added the words "Last chance!" to the bookshelf speaker that the furniture giant offers in cooperation with Sonos. Only available for a short time." The same fate befell the lamp speaker shortly before a new model appeared. The IKEA SYMFONISK shelf speaker is a top seller. For 99€ you get a solid speaker […]

Thanks to the HomeDevices app database, we knew what to expect in terms of tech features even before we got our hands on the Meross MAP100 Smart Air Purifier. Or just, not expected. But first, let's take it in order. The Meross air purifier is available directly from the Meross online shop. We also received […]

We wish all our readers a very happy 1st Advent. Light the first candle on the Advent wreath, grab a hot chocolate and the iPad, sit back in your reading chair and recap with us the events of the last seven days in the HomeKit world. HomePod mini available in more colors Apple had already […]

Eve Systems is continuing to transition all Bluetooth devices to Thread and now offers the Eve Room indoor climate and air quality monitor with the new wireless standard. Thread appears to be the future for low-power, low-traffic smarthome devices. Munich-based Eve Systems was one of the first HomeKit vendors to start equipping its own Bluetooth […]

Titled "The Smart Home Remote I Wish You Could Use", developer Bastian Andelefski shows how a HomeKit control with the U1 chip could look like. In the video, it is enough to let the iPhone point in the direction of individual devices to get the corresponding control displayed. With the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 […]

Following its European launch last month, Aqara's Camera Hub G3 is now available in Germany. For 129€ the most versatile Aqara Hub is now available on Amazon. If you don't want to miss out on almost any of the benefits of Aqara's individual hubs, we recommend reaching for the Camera Hub G3. In addition to […]

As reported by our colleagues at Homekit.Blog, Aqara has unveiled numerous new devices, including some HomeKit devices. In addition to an exciting "overhead light", a new door lock with HomeKey support and a thermostat, a pet feeder and a towel dryer are also among the new devices. At the Light Art Skylight H1 is a […]

IKEA's ÅSKVÄDER modular power strip is a very interesting product in itself, but it also comes with some limitations. Some modules are now available in this country. How often have you been annoyed by the fact that the power strip has no more free space? Or that the cable of the power strip is a […]

We have already introduced you to the IKEA SYMFONISK frame speaker in detail. The AirPlay 2 speaker, which IKEA offers in collaboration with Sonos, hides behind a wall picture. The picture can be exchanged, but the choice was limited to a few images that IKEA offers. Unisk now wants to change that. It was only […]

Next year, there will be several blind manufacturers offering blinds with motors from Coulisse and HomeKit technology from Eve Systems. Omniablinds is now the first manufacturer to take pre-orders. Until now, those who wanted to buy a roller blind with HomeKit technology had to resort to IKEA's two available models. Other manufacturers offer either only […]

Both the official Philips Hue app and the popular third-party app iConnectHue received an update this week. While Philips Hue can now flash the bulbs at the end of a timer, iConnectHue delivers support for gradient bulbs. Philips Hue makes lamps blink Signify already updated its own Philips Hue app to version 4.9 on Wednesday. […]

Whew! Another desk lamp? There is now a selection of such lamps from various manufacturers that can also be integrated into the HomeKit ecosystem. And even within the range of a manufacturer like Meross, there are already two models. The latest in this regard is the sleek Meross MDL110M Smart LED Desk Lamp, but it […]

Smart home behemoth-in-waiting Aqara prepares for release (initially in mainland China, of course) of its latest sensor device, the Aqara Human Presence Sensor FP1. You are forgiven if you think, "oh great, another motion sensor"But for once we have something completely new, as this device does not rely on a PIR sensor that you would […]

Until now, teaching new devices to the IKEA TRÅDFRI gateway often required a remote control. With the latest app update, IKEA has finally changed that. The IKEA TRÅDFRI system is delightfully affordable. Once you have purchased the gateway for 20€, you can then integrate a wide variety of switches, lamps, drivers, sockets and blinds into […]

It was only in 2019 that we reported on Sam Jadallah joining Apple as head of Home Services. As MacRumors reports, the latter has already left Apple after less than three years. Sam Jadallah had worked for Microsoft until 1999. Before he started at Apple, he had his own company, Otto, for luxury smart locks. […]

Way back in the early 2020s, smart device manufacturer wemo their brand new multi-button wireless device, the Stage Scene Controller. Soon after this CES2020 unveiling, however, COVID took hold, and inevitably this product, along with many others, were postponed.About a year later, and an FCC filing spotted by Dave Zatz showed an update on the […]

You can tell there's no Christmas celebrating in China. Just a day before Christmas Eve, Aqara has unveiled its new Camera Hub G2H Pro, Homekit.Blog reports. The HomeKit Secure Video camera doubles as a Zigbee hub and offers some improvements over its predecessor. Visually, the Pro model is no different from the Aqara Camera Hub […]

Aqara has a firmware update (from v3.3.2 to v3.3.4) which addressed a few issues with their current flagship product, the Camera Hub G3. This update includes a fix for the center position the camera is set to, which previously shifted over time, causing the camera to point off center. Perhaps the most requested update, however, […]

You may have seen the recent news that Chinese tech company ZemiSmart has introduced a new Zigbee hub with official HomeKit compatibility. This hub exposes many of ZemiSmart's own Zigbee-based devices to HomeKit, and, the company claims, also certain other branded devices that Tuya Certified, which is a first in the Zigbee world, if you […]

Wozart, the Smart Home tech company based in Hyderabad, India (which we highlighted back in 2018), have unveiled their latest product designed to work with Apple HomeKit. The Sense Pro multi-sensor is designed to work as an occupancy sensor, in addition to incorporating a variety of other functions. The Sense Pro uses a combination of […]

British smart switch company Lightwave has unveiled its latest smart home product, and possibly one of the first of its kind, at least for UK HomeKit users. The L92 smart heating switch is essentially just a smart switch, although as the name would imply, this switch is designed for heating-based products in your home. These […]

About 18 months ago, there weren't too many choices for HomeKit cameras, but a lot has changed in this relatively short time, with offerings from Eufy, Eve, Vocolinc, Aqara and others, all of which contribute to a respectable lineup of decently specified and affordable cameras. With Matter due to appear in 2022, we can expect […]

While HomeKit can't compete with the number of devices compatible with Google's or Amazon's own ecosystems (maybe not for much longer as Matter works out...), there are still a large collection of products that HomeKit enthusiasts either own or want, and a new app by Yannic Fries, the main man on the German Apple/HomeKit site […]

While there is a wide selection of smart locks from both Aqara and Xiaomi, many with HomeKit compatibility these days, but that's not stopping the last company of the two from releasing yet another smart lock, this time under the name the Smart Door Lock X. What makes this lock different you might ask, to […]

I regularly review Eve products for HomeKit because I've come to appreciate their support for Thread and their privacy orientation. One of their products that I'm just now starting to use is the Eve Aqua with Thread support. HomeKit Weekly is a series focused on smart home accessories, automation tips and tricks, and everything related […]

It seems that after a long wait, and a bit of a disappointment over a year ago, TP-Link have finally added a smart plug with HomeKit support to their smart home lineup - the HomeKit smart plug KP125. Originally, the company announced on CES 2019 that their HS105KIT Smart plug would receive an update to […]