On this episode of the HomeKit Insider Podcast, we cover a surprising amount of news for a holiday week including new leaks and new Matter products.
One of our most oft-recommended apps, HomePass, was updated to version 2 this past week with a huge list of new features. It’s a must-have app for managing your smart home.
It’s a great way to store your pairing codes for your accessories which is very helpful when troubleshooting or changing things in the future. The version 2 launch builds upon that for both Apple Home and Matter accessories.
Developer Aaron Pearce added the ability to add images to accessories for things like placement or manuals, bridged devices such as individual Hue bulbs, and the ability to display QR codes for all accessories. Pearce’s other apps received updates too with new icons.
We also revisited the Level Lock saga yet again in our attempt to add it to Matter. While our update went smooth, Home Key stopped working.
We’ve now received word from Level, as well as from several of our listeners, that Home Key should work. This is a bug that has been escalated to Apple, who is investigating.
As a stopgap solution, Level recommends removing and re-pairing the Matter-updated Level Lock. Some users have reported up to three attempts to get Home Key to appear once more.
In other news, Eve is supposedly working on new honeycomb smart shades. This comes by way of a leaker who posted a shot of regulatory information for these unannounced MotionBlinds.
They’d likely support Matter over Thread, like the other models. Eve may offer some colors itself, while licensing the motors to other companies to integrate into their fabrics.
Meross released several new products, primarily for the EU market. We saw a new smart roller shutter belt winder, a first for Apple Home, that can be used with external roller blinds.
Then there is the Meross outdoor smart plug and a global temperature and humidity sensor. For what it’s worth, the sensor does require a hub to work with Apple Home.
Signify has finally added new multi-bridge support to Philips Hue systems after being announced earlier this year. This is ideal for larger homes that had to use multiple accounts to manage different Hue bridges.
Finally for the news, SwitchBot has two new Matter relays. These go behind a wall switch to enable smart control without replacing the switch itself.
We spend the rest of the episode talking about a new smart home project for the holidays as well as ideas for holiday lighting. Your host made a smart fireplace that uses a Hue light to illuminate logs, giving a fire-like effect.
Lastly, we go hands-on with the new Nimble travel charger. This eco-friendly charger is entirely carbon neutral, uses cactus leather, and has an ultra-premium feel with certified Qi2 15W charging plus fast charging for Apple Watch.
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