On our most recent IoT Podcast, Dennis called in to our voicemail hotline with a HomeKit question. He's wondering which HomeKit hub would be best for a smart home. Remember that the HomePod speakers, an iPad or an AppleTV can be used as a HomeKit hub … [Read more...]
CES 2021: A deep breath for the smart home to determine its future
Although the Consumer Electronics Show 2021 event is technically only half over, most of the big news typically lands in the first half of the week. So barring any groundbreaking announcements in the latter half, I think we can call this one early. … [Read more...]
HOOBS promises a HomeKit home with non-HomeKit devices. Does it deliver?
Over the holidays, I've been testing and using HOOBS, a pre-built smart home server that runs the open-source Homebridge software. HOOBS, which stands for Homebridge out of the box, is $169 and is comprised of a RaspberryPi with an included SD card … [Read more...]
DIY smart home hubs are going retail: Here’s why that’s a good thing
For years, there have been two kinds of hubs that run smart homes. One is the kind you buy from a retailer, such as the Amazon Echo Plus, Hubitat, Samsung SmartThings, or Wink hubs. And one is the DIY kind where you download and install software to a … [Read more...]
It’s almost 2021: Do you want or need hubs in your smart home?
On our most recent IoT Podcast episode, Derrick called into our voicemail hotline asking what the purpose of hubs and if he should be considering products that work with smart home hubs. It’s a timely question because the market appears to be … [Read more...]