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HomeKit Weekly: SwitchBot’s Evaporative Humidifier gets smarter with Matter 1.4 support

SwitchBot released its Evaporative Humidifier last year, and it’s now even better thanks to newly upgraded firmware that includes Matter 1.4 support. The update brings faster setup and better cross-platform compatibility for a device type that is typucally stuck as a “dumb appliance” in your house. Some of my favorite gear eufyCam 2C Upgrade your home security with wireless cameras that includes HomeKit compatibility. Unlike a lot of humidifiers, the SwitchBot Evaporative Humidifier uses cold

HomeKit Weekly: This Aqara kit is the HomeKit starter pack I wish I had years ago

When people ask me where to start with HomeKit, I usually give them a list of products that work well together that are easy to set up: a motion sensor, a door sensor, and maybe a camera if you want one. Aqara has made that question a lot easier to answer with its new Aqara Camera Protect Kit. It’s a true HomeKit starter kit in a box. You get a 2K camera that doubles as a Matter hub, plus three devices that cover most use cases right out of the gate. Some of my favorite gear Abode Home Security

Homekit-steam-user-switcher: A way to remotely switch Steam users using HomeKit

HomeKit Steam User Switcher This script exposes a virtual HomeKit Television accessory where each input corresponds to a Steam user. Selecting an input updates the Steam’s AutoLoginUser; turning the "TV" off restarts Steam. Why We regularly game on a headless machine and wanted to switch Steam users easily without fiddling with a KVM. HomeKit provides a convenient way to control devices, and by exposing Steam user accounts as HomeKit inputs, we can seamlessly switch users with our existing Ho

Apple’s ‘HomeKit’ brand could disappear in big new smart home push

Apple is gearing up for a new investment in the smart home that’s coming soon, and according to changes in the latest tvOS 26 beta, it seems part of that may be the replacing of the HomeKit brand with a fresh, unified name. ‘Apple Home’ looks set to be the new branding for smart home products and technology Rumors last fall indicated 2025 would be a big year for Apple and the smart home. This was expected to kick off in March with a brand new product: a smart display that’s like a mix between

Matter enhancements enable cheaper HomeKit devices and slicker control

The Matter standard – which brings HomeKit compatibility to a far broader range of devices – is getting a significant upgrade. The latest version will enable the production of lower cost HomeKit-compatible smart home devices, as well as slicker control over your existing ones … A quick recap on Matter and HomeKit Originally, brands wanting to offer HomeKit compatibility had to comply with an Apple-specific standard, and submit their devices for approval. The Matter standard eliminates both st

New iOS app takes the mystery out of HomeKit troubleshooting

HomeKit, Apple’s smart home framework, is great most of the time, and awfully frustrating when things go wrong. This new iOS app wants to change that. HomeCare for HomeKit HomeCare for HomeKit is designed as a complete toolkit for diagnosing and fixing smart home problems. At its core, it scans your entire setup to instantly identify devices that are unresponsive, slow, or running on low battery. Each failing device shows a “Last Time Online” timestamp to help pinpoint when trouble began. The

HomeKit Weekly: The ultimate HomeKit survival kit for dorm life

When I was in college, smart home technology was still something that was super futuristic. Today, that’s changed a lot. If I were starting college today, though, I’d bring a few HomeKit items to make dorm life more comfortable and functional. Between cramped desks, bad overhead lighting, and shared everything, a little automation can go a long way. Whether it’s turning off lights from bed or checking if your fan’s still running, here’s what I’d pack today if I were heading off to campus. Some

HomeKit Weekly: Tracking local weather in HomeKit is simple with the Eve Weather

Local weather is one of the most underrated variables in Homekit automation. Over the past few years, I’ve used sensors for everything from knowing when to drip faucets in freezing weather to adjusting the sprinkler schedule with the Eve Aqua on hot days. The Eve Weather has been part of my setup for a while now, and with its 2024 Matter upgrade from last summer, it’s now even more useful across more platforms. Some of my favorite gear Aqara Smart Lock U50 Upgrade your doors with Apple Home Key

Belkin is ending support for nearly all its Wemo smart home devices

is a news editor with over a decade’s experience in journalism. He previously worked at Android Police and Tech Advisor. Belkin has announced that it’s made the “difficult decision” to end support for almost its entire line of Wemo smart home devices from January 31st, 2026. The only models that will continue to work after that date are those that have been configured through Apple HomeKit. The news was shared in an email to customers and on Belkin’s website, and confirms that from next Februa

Belkin ending support for older Wemo products

Wemo Support Ending – What You Need to Know July 10, 2025 After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to end technical support for older Wemo products, effective January 31, 2026. After this date, several Wemo products will no longer be controllable through the Wemo app. Any features that rely on cloud connectivity, including remote access and voice assistant integrations, will no longer work. Over the last decade, since Belkin first launched Wemo in 2011, we’ve been commi

Aqara’s G410 Doorbell Camera Hub launches with HomeKit Secure Video, Matter, and RTSP support

Aqara has announced the release of its new Doorbell Camera hub, the Aqara G410 (use code AQARAUS7 to save 15% through 7/13). This smart video doorbell also functions as a Matter smart home hub. For those of us in the Apple ecosystem, the standout feature is full support for HomeKit Secure Video and Matter, making it one of the few battery-powered doorbells on the market to support Apple’s smart home video storage feature. Some of my favorite gear Aqara Smart Lock U50 Upgrade your doors with App

HomeKit Weekly: Eve Aqua is still the easiest way to automate outdoor watering

It’s that time of year again. The sun is shining, grass is growing, and flowers are blooming. Summer weather is here. Here in the South, we’ll go from weeks of rain to stretches where it’s 95 degrees with no clouds in sight. I’ve never wanted to mess with a professionally installed irrigation system. Too much maintenance. That’s why I’ve continued using the Eve Aqua to handle outdoor watering without digging a hole or hiring anyone to install it. Some of my favorite gear eufyCam 2C Upgrade your

Topics: app aqua eve home homekit

SwitchBot Hub 3 gains ‘Works with Apple Home’ certification

The SwitchBot Hub 3 is officially certified as ‘Works with Apple Home‘. It’s the company’s first Hub/bridge device to earn Apple’s smart home badge, which allows for easier control of SwitchBot devices inside the Home app and HomeKit. Some of my favorite gear eufyCam 2C Upgrade your home security with wireless cameras that includes HomeKit compatibility. For users deep in the Homekit ecosystem, it means hacks/workarounds. You can now bring your SwitchBot gear into the Home app and let it run l

Apple reminds us it will soon end support for the old HomeKit architecture, with two options

Apple introduced new HomeKit architecture back in 2022, with the primary aim of making the smart home system more reliable. At the time, users could choose between upgrading or remaining on the original version of the platform. Fast–forward to March of this year, and 9to5Mac discovered code showing that the company was planning to drop support for the old version. That was subsequently confirmed by Apple, and a further reminder has now been found in the latest iOS 18.6 beta – with a little more

HomeKit Weekly: Aqara’s W100 Climate Sensor brings precision monitoring and smart control to your HomeKit setup

Last night, I had forgotten to take my upstairs Nest off Eco mode, and I was shocked to see the difference in one of my son’s rooms based on my Nest Temperature Sensor. In my dream world, I’d have a variable system that could heat and cool rooms independently, but nevertheless, I didn’t buy bitcoin when it was $1, so I cannot afford that. With that being said, I do like having the knowledge of what’s happening in individual rooms and having that data in HomeKit. The new Aqara W100 Climate Sensor

Robot vacuums in HomeKit: Here are the supported models

When Apple released iOS 18.4 to everyone earlier this year, and it came with a big upgrade to the Home app. With iOS 18.4, users can now add robot vacuums to HomeKit for the first time thanks to the Matter smart home standard. Here are the robot vacuums compatible with HomeKit… What can you do with a robot vacuum in HomeKit? Once you add a compatible robot vacuum to the Home app, you’ll see the device alongside all your other HomeKit accessories. You can integrate your robot vacuum with diff

HomeKit Weekly: Protect your wood floors with a HomeKit-enabled water leak sensor from FIBARO

Water damage is one of my biggest fears as a homeowner. With hardwood floors throughout my house, even a small leak could turn into a massive repair bill and a huge inconvenience. A slow drip from a sink can quickly become thousands of dollars in damage for your floors and cabinets. Thankfully, with a HomeKit-enabled flood sensor from FIBARO, you can catch leaks early and avoid a major headache. The FIBARO water leak sensor is one of my oldest HomeKit devices I am using, but it still works great

HomeKit Weekly: Hands-on with the new Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro with HomeKit Secure Video support

Internally at 9to5Mac, there have been a few conversations about the lack of releases in new HomeKit cameras in recent years. The challenge with HomeKit Secure Video is that the manufacturer sees no option for recurring revenue, so I suspect that might be part of it. The wait for something new is over, though. Today, Aqara has released the new Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro with HomeKit Secure Video support. I’ve had my hands on one for the last two weeks, so I am excited to share my experience. Some