HomeKit

E-ink technology is typically found in Kindle devices, but it’s one of the critical features of the Qingping Bluetooth digital thermometer.

Smart outlets are one of the simplest ways to start your smart home journey, and I’ve tried almost all of the ones that support HomeKit. With its new Thread support, the Eve Energy will become my go-to recommendation until other products add Thread supports.

As we reported earlier today, a huge Eufy privacy breach allowed users to view the live and recorded camera feeds of strangers. Eufy has now responded to this security breach, bizarrely attributing it to a “bug” that has since been fixed.

Update: Eufy has acknowledged the issue, and made a statement – below.

A huge Eufy privacy breach has resulted in both live and recorded camera feeds being shown to complete strangers. They also have complete access to the account, including control of pan-and-tilt cameras where fitted.

The issue was first noted on Reddit, and an Eufy cam owner at 9to5Mac has been able to confirm that he saw the same thing …

While it’s entering the humid months here in the southern United States, I am always on the lookout for new HomeKit devices to simplify my life. In the dryer months, my family uses humidifiers to keep our rooms from drying out at night. I recently acquired the VOCOlinc MistFlow smart humidifier for my HomeKit setup. Let’s dive into all it can do.

Back in 2019, Apple, Amazon, and Google teamed up with the Zigbee Alliance to announce the “CHIP” alliance for promoting smart home devices that work across multiple platforms. As the first devices certified by this alliance are expected to hit stores in 2021, the companies behind “CHIP” announced today that the project will have a new name: Matter.

In the process of building a new house, I’ve been putting a lot of thought into what I want to do camera-wise. I’ve even considered putting in Nest cameras outdoors (bridging to HomeKit via Starling Home Hub) and then HomeKit cameras indoors. As part of that process, I’ve been purchasing every HomeKit camera on the market, so this week, I am looking at the Ecobee SmartCamera as a potential option to build around.

Last month, Eve shared a deep dive into how Thread works and why it could be the future of smart home devices. Now the HomeKit-only device maker has announced three new products that are getting upgraded to include the useful Apple-supported Thread connectivity.

Update 4/27: After a short delay from the original launch date, the new Eve Energy smart plug with Thread is now available. Meanwhile, the new Apple TV 4K is another option to pick up a Thread-enabled HomeKit hub.

Before I became an adult, I rarely worried much about the weather. Now, I somewhat obsess over what’s happening and what will happen. After tornados ran through my town in 2020 (yes, a tornado during a pandemic), I especially watch the weather much closer in the spring. Dark Sky has been my weather app of choice with occasional use of Carrot Weather. Both apps are fantastic, but I am taking my weather monitoring to new levels by adding the Netatmo Weather Station into my HomeKit environment.

The popular smart home accessory maker Wemo is out with a new HomeKit-compatible Stage Scene Controller. This accessory is designed to connect with the Home app and make it easy for you to quickly set different scenes.

Back in 2019, Apple joined Amazon, Google, the Zigbee Alliance, and over 170 other companies to work on a new smart home standard called CHIP. After some delays, new smart home devices will be able to get certification for CHIP late this year which means we could see the first products arrive on the market in Q4.

If you’re looking to give your Home app a personalized makeover, HomePaper is a new app designed to help. Apple includes a handful of rather boring default wallpapers in the Home app, but HomePaper lets you take things to the next level by combining your own pictures with custom gradients.

There’s been a lot of discussion about Apple’s decision to discontinue the original HomePod and its relation to what the future of Apple’s Home strategy will become. I highly recommend that you read Zac Hall’s piece on this topic. This week, I want to look at the positive aspects of where Apple is at with its Home strategy. After filling my house with HomePod minis, I’ve now discovered how essential having a voice-driven Home assistant in every room is for your home. Read on to learn why, despite having a lower-quality music speaker, the HomePod mini and HomeKit are the perfect match for each other.

Eve has fully invested in Apple’s HomeKit smart device platform over the years, and now the company is continuing its push into the next phase of connected devices. The second-generation Aqua hose and sprinkler controller with HomeKit is receiving a firmware update that activates Thread compatibility.

The smart home accessory maker Aqara announced today it’s bringing support for HomeKit’s Adaptive Lighting feature to its full smart lighting product portfolio with a new firmware 3.2.4 update.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my wife and I purchased some land that I am starting to think through what some of the HomeKit setup I will end up having as I’ll install everything during construction instead of having to retrofit it. One of the things I am thinking through is cameras. There are several ways I could go. Part of me thinks I should stick with the eufyCam setup I have now, but then part of me wants to look at something hardwired to power like the Logi Circle View. To better prepare my decision-making, I am attempting to test all of the HomeKit cameras on the market to see what I want to include in our new house. This week, I am taking a look at the Eve Cam.

When someone asks me why now is a great time to get into home automation and build out a smart home, I tell them that we’re finally at a place where you can build off of a platform instead of having to buy everything from a single vendor. A product from one company can create triggers to turn on products from other companies. For people in the Apple ecosystem, as long as you see the HomeKit logo, you know that you’ll be able to control it from the Home app and from Siri using your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or HomePod. This week, I want to look at the Eve motion sensor to show you why having motion sensors in all of your rooms is a key part of automating your smart home environment.

Apple’s Friday night move to suddenly pull the plug on HomePod after three years has created a messaging problem. Is everything OK at home, Apple? That’s the question being asked by customers who have invested in Apple’s smart home pitch.

You can trust that Apple will continue to make new iPhones and Macs for the foreseeable future, but Apple’s home products resemble Google’s betting strategy more than Apple’s usual commitment to focus and delivery.

HomeKit Secure Video, in my opinion, is one of the prime examples of what makes Apple great and terrible at the same time. HomeKit Secure Video is the most secure way to record footage inside and outside your home, but it can also be one of the most frustrating Apple technologies at the same time. This week, I want to discuss how Apple can continue expanding HomeKit Secure Video to solve its problems while making it a better service at the same time. Let’s dive into what Apple can include in HomeKit Secure Video 2.0.

Spring will be here soon, which means it’s officially time to start thinking about the summer of iOS 15 and macOS 12 betas after WWDC. From my vantage point, HomeKit is at a real crossroads for Apple. It’s a platform that I have invested thousands of dollars in. Still, it’s time to take it to the next level with expanded product categories, increased automation with Machine Learning, and increased stability – particularly with HomeKit Secure Video. Here are some things I want to see in HomeKit with iOS 15.