Smart Home Archive

Now, instead of having to go to every platform individually to ensure their product works with each platform, manufacturers can submit their Matter-certified devices to the Connectivity Standards Alliance Interop Lab and get approved for all four smart home platforms in one go.

On March 28th, Amazon will disable an optional privacy setting that kept your voice recordings local on some Alexa-powered smart speakers.

The automaker’s bigger EX90 EV got CarKey last year, and now Volvo is adding it to the smaller EX30. Volvo’s software rollout on the EX90 has been buggy, with features like CarPlay arriving slowly and owners complaining that their digital keys don’t work.

Panos Panay told Bloomberg they’re re-engineering Alexa devices for Alexa Plus with new designs and materials, new silicon with edge processing, and better sound. There will also be a new “signature” tier, with the first devices arriving this fall.

After supporting Matter in beta since 2023, the open-source smart home platform is now officially certified as a Matter Controller. This won’t make a jot of difference for users, says founder Paulus Schoutsen, but it’s “the cherry on the cake.”

Apple supposedly set its rumored HomePod with screen for launch in March before delaying it to Q3 2025. Now supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says it will come after WWDC (and the expected reveal of iOS 19) so that the new smart home device’s interface “aligns with new OS updates.”