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Apple announced HomeView, a $299 smart display, on October 13. The device arrives roughly nine years after Amazon's Echo Show and eight years after Google's Home Hub introduced similar wall- or countertop-mounted screens for homes.
Bloomberg reports Apple has partnered with LG to produce a wide range of smart home hardware, including a video doorbell, smart deadbolt, thermostat, temperature sensor, indoor and outdoor cameras, and a floodlight camera. The products will carry LG branding and LG will handle manufacturing and support, though Apple reportedly contributed to their design, features, and engineering. Apple's own smart home hub is expected to debut around October 13, with the LG-made accessories following later.
A bug had prevented some users from changing smart light colors through the Google Home app and Nest speakers or displays, with the color selector and automated routines also failing. Google has now rolled out a fix, and at least one affected user on Reddit confirmed the issue was resolved.
Users report that Google Home has stopped letting them change the color of connected smart lights, whether via the Google Home app, voice commands through Nest Hub displays, or automated routines. The issue affects lights from multiple manufacturers, including Philips Hue, while turning lights on/off and adjusting brightness still work normally. Google has not publicly acknowledged the problem.
Bloomberg reports Apple is preparing to release two variants of a smart display within the month, alongside a new Apple TV and HomePod mini, as part of a broader home hardware push tied to iOS 27. The move would mark Apple's first serious first-party entry into a smart display category long dominated by Google Nest and Amazon Echo devices.
Users on Reddit reported slowdowns and error messages, including an 'Internal error encountered' prompt, when using the Google Home app on iOS and Android, while the web version continued working normally. Google's official Nest Community account confirmed it is actively rolling out a fix, though no timeline was given for when all users will receive it.
Home Assistant founder Paulus Schoutsen announced the open-source smart home platform is rebranding Home Assistant Cloud as Home Assistant Link, saying the company doesn't want the word 'cloud' associated with its service. The change is largely cosmetic, with the same remote-access features plus backend speed and reliability improvements, still priced at $6.50 a month or $65 a year. Schoutsen told The Verge the rename also clears up confusion among users who mistakenly thought the platform itself ran in the cloud rather than locally on users' own hardware.
Google has released its third Google Home app update this September, focused on making Gemini for Home better at filtering background noise to register voice commands and respond faster. The update also improves multilingual recognition, Find My Phone reliability, smart light controls, camera tiles, and device setup, alongside fixes for Matter switches, Favorites tiles, camera playback, Onn camera history, and Automations.
Google's new Home speaker acts as a Gemini-powered voice assistant that also handles multi-room music playback without requiring any subscription beyond a music streaming service. It works with Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and Amazon Music, and is set up and controlled through the redesigned Google Home app, which also supports speaker groups and moving audio between rooms. The speaker uses a single 58mm driver, making it noticeably quieter and less clear than pricier alternatives like Sonos' Era 100, though two units can be paired for stereo sound.
Amazon has cut the price of the Arlo Video Doorbell 2K (2nd Gen) from its $79.99 list price to $28.50, a 64% reduction. The device supports wire-free or hardwired installation, records in 2K with a 180° field of view, and includes two-way audio, motion alerts and night vision. It works with Alexa and Google Home, and the discount requires an Amazon Prime membership.
Google confirmed to Engadget it has stopped manufacturing the Nest Mini and Nest Audio speakers, following the launch of a new smart speaker earlier this year, but will keep providing software updates and support. Factory resets on these devices require physical button presses rather than voice commands or the Google Home app, with slightly different steps for the 1st-gen Home Mini, 2nd-gen Nest Mini, and Nest Hub displays.
Google Home users reported receiving repeated motion-detection notifications even while present in their own homes, according to a Reddit thread with multiple similar complaints. One affected user posted screenshots showing several alerts within minutes of each other, and later said the issue appeared to resolve itself, though it's unclear if others saw the same fix.