CR is collecting consumer stories on installing solar panels. If you’ve bought solar panels for your home and want to share you story, you can do so here: https://www.consumerreports.org/stories?questionnaireId=331

Belkin sold Phyn to an investor group led by the Propety Brothers’ Jonathan Scott for $24.9 million

This is a real bummer. The Symfonisk line was a great way to try out Sonos without spending Sonos levels of money. Maybe that’s why the partnership is ending… https://www.theverge.com/news/661491/sonos-ikea-symfonisk-discontinued

I had the pleasure of going on the HomeKit Insider podcast to chat about the latest #smarthome news and all the cool smart home work CR does. You can listen to the episode here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eufy-omni-e28-esr-find-my-wallet-more-with-consumer/id1515834398?i=1000706327138

The spiritual successor to Nest Secure, ADT Plus, now has its own Yale smart lock that can disarm the system with just your fingerprint
https://www.theverge.com/news/658636/yale-zwave-smart-lock-disarms-adt-system-fingerprint-reader

Aqara also announced a custom feature called Advanced Matter Bridging that will add Aqara triggers and scenes as virtual occupancy sensors and plugs (respectively) to third-party Matter platforms. This allows you to use them in automations on those platforms.

Aqara is becoming a full fledged Matter platform with support through version 1.4 coming this month. That means it’s further along than Apple, Amazon, and Google.

I’m surprised Samsung is claiming Ballie will ship this summer despite all the tariff chaos. And it will now have Google’s Gemini built-in. https://www.techradar.com/home/smart-home/samsungs-ballie-ai-robot-companion-will-have-gemini-onboard-when-it-launches-this-summer-in-the-us-and-korea

Interesting move. I would argue Ring has floundered a bit since Jamie’s departure. Maybe he can make it innovative again? https://www.theverge.com/news/644013/amazon-ring-founder-jamie-siminoff-return

Looks like the tariffs might derail Nintendo’s launch plans for Switch 2…
https://www.theverge.com/news/643483/nintendo-switch-2-preoders-delayed-tariffs

Switchbot just announced official integrations with Home Assistant! There are three to choose from: Bluetooth, Matter, and the cloud. More details on supported devices here:
https://us.switch-bot.com/pages/home-assistant

Does anyone know of a no-neutral smart switch or dimmer that is compact enough to fit inside old, no-longer-to-code metal switch boxes? I’ve tried Leviton and Lutron but both are too big for the box 😤

We recently completed our first-ever tests of smart thermostats for mini splits, window ACs, and heat pumps! You can see our top picks here: https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/thermostats/best-smart-thermostats-of-the-year-a4768074255/

Given all the rumors over the last few years, I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple’s rumored HomeOS is just a rebranded and overhauled tvOS… https://www.macrumors.com/2025/03/04/tvos-18-4-smart-home-hub-hints/

If more window shade companies start offering these, smart shades could become much more mainstream.
https://apple.news/AgLEz0X8LRPeS5PCsAFlB5w

My personal favorite example of Alexa+ is how you can email it your kids’ soccer schedule, have it add the games to your calendar, and set reminders for the games where you’re on snack duty! If it truly works, it will be a game changer for parents.

There is so much new stuff to cover with Alexa+. It can book a lunch reservation, order an uber for guests meeting you at the restaurant, and text them about it all in one interaction.

Alexa+ is $19.99/mo, but it’s free for Amazon Prime members!

So many new smart home abilities for Alexa! You can create routines by voice, move music around your home with normal conversation (no more Alexa speak), and even ask it to search your Ring cameras for things like “did anyone walk the dog recently”.

“Smart home has transformed with Alexa+” says Panos. This is the new smart home widget for Echo Show