2 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Smart Home Archive

Archives for July 2025

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
When in Rome, this Echo speaks Roman.

The new Echo Dot Rome Limited Edition will respond to the command “Alexa, speak Roman,” with some colorful expressions in the city’s local dialect.

The €89.99 smart speaker is designed to celebrate the city of Rome, and features eye-catching artwork by Italian artist Ale Giorgini highlighting St. Peter’s, the Colosseum, and the Trevi Fountain.

The smart speaker with Italian flair is only available in Italy and has been released in honor of Rome’s Jubilee.

The Echo Dot Rome is the first European limited edition Alexa, according to Panos Panay.
The Echo Dot Rome is the first European limited edition Alexa, according to Panos Panay.
Image: Amazon
Thread count: Ikea is stitching together a smarter home

With plans to launch more than 20 Matter-over-Thread devices, Ikea is embracing Matter in a move to make its smart home simpler and more affordable.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
How SharkNinja took over the home, with CEO Mark Barrocas

The head of the home appliance giant on grilling, product design, and the future of viral marketing.

Nilay Patel
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Ikea’s smart home hub is now a Matter controller.

The Swedish retail giant’s latest update for its Dirigeria hub adds the feature in beta. Matter controller functionally means you can add Matter devices from other brands to the hub and control them with Ikea’s Home Smart app. Ikea’s David Granath told The Verge it hopes to send the update to all users by “the beginning of next week.”

The hub is already a Matter bridge, allowing its lights, blinds, and sensors to be used on other Matter platforms (Apple Home, Alexa, etc.). With a Matter controller, Ikea can become a Matter platform in its own right.

Updated July 3, added comment from Ikea.