HomeTech.fm Podcast

Seth Johnson

The HomeTech Podcast features news, opinions, insights, and advice on all things Smart Home | Co-Hosted by Home Automation Pros Seth Johnson and Jason Griffing

  • Episode 570 - The Gift and the Curse

    On this week's show: Google finally lets Workspace users into the Google Home party, Aqara keeps busy with new hubs, thermostats, and sensors, Samsung trims the price tag on its 2026 Frame TVs, Hisense adds a smaller CanvasTV that still wants to be art, LG shows off a mighty new MAGNIT Micro LED system, and Sony teases some serious RGB tech. There’s also a peek at the Home Assistant roadmap, project updates, and so much more!

    11 April 2026, 2:23 am
  • Episode 569 - Ring Goes 4K, Home Assistant Goes '95

    On this week's show: Ring launches 4K video doorbells and a whole developer portal while Ubiquiti sends AI to the edge with a new series UniFi G6 cameras. Reolink shines bright with its solar floodlight cam, Nuki taps into Apple Home Key, and DEWENWILS dives into Matter with a smart pool pump timer. Matter 1.5.1 gets better camera streaming, Heatit joins Works with Home Assistant, and backup encryption gets a serious upgrade. Plus, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

    3 April 2026, 7:19 pm
  • Episode 568 - Smart Home, Dumb Ads

    On this week's show: Josh.ai takes smart homes to a whole new level of language learning, Amazon’s Alexa+ crosses the pond with a serious accent, Telus launches an all-Canadian AI butler, and Hisense decides you need ads with your HDMI inputs. The FCC bans foreign-made routers (so, almost all of them), and Brava joins the long list of smart gadgets that got cooked by their own cloud. All this, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

    28 March 2026, 3:21 am
  • Episode 567 - Wago Matters

    On this week’s show: UniFi drops Protect 7.0 with customizable dashboards, smarter event review, local AI image search, and a $4,999 Enterprise NVR Core to store all that footage—plus a $39 Relay and a whole lot of 25G. WAGO says Matter is finally electrician-friendly, while Ikea proves Matter still means “it depends.” Aqara launches the first Matter-certified camera, a new PoE doorbell with HomeKit Secure Video, and we check in on a Navimow mower integration for Home Assistant. A pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

    21 March 2026, 12:50 pm
  • Episode 566 - Peculiar Projects

    On this week’s show: iRobot comes back from bankruptcy with a tiny Roomba Mini that won’t launch in the US, Homey adds Python support to open the app floodgates, Sonos launches a new portable Play speaker and a mic-free Era 100 SL while also admitting its Apple TV rival is dead, IKEA pushes a Dirigera update to fix Matter pairing, and Zooz gets Z-Wave Long Range sensors certified for Alarm.com. All of this, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more

    13 March 2026, 7:23 pm
  • Episode 565 - Shark Sees Stains

    On this week’s show: Sonos accidentally leaks the Play, and UniFi drops a WiFi 7 U7 Mesh with big range claims. Aqara adds Samsung Home Key as Aliro finally becomes real, Shark’s $1,300 robot hunts stains with UV, and Samsung promises to ask Texans before watching what they watch. Meta smart glasses get creepier (and detectable), BGR says hubs are dead (sure), Home Assistant spring cleaning begins, robotic mowers get their own pet-aware gate, plus a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

    7 March 2026, 2:39 am
  • Episode 564 - E-Ink Everything

    On this week’s show: Google Home lets you delete its pre-made routines, Sonos shows profit but not growth, IKEA’s leaked Matter light driver, Heiman joins Works with Home Assistant with Thread-based safety sensors, a pick of the week, project updates, AI updates, and so much more!

    27 February 2026, 3:03 pm
  • Episode 563 - Auto-Man

    On this week’s show: Ring’s Super Bowl ad fallout keeps getting worse as Search Party, Flock, Axon, and leaked emails raise bigger surveillance questions, Fire TV gets its biggest UI update ever, Eufy promises five-year motion sensors, and Third Reality drops new Zigbee gear. Ubiquiti goes industrial with a new Cloud Gateway, Shelly leaves garage doors wide open (literally), and OpenAI picks up the founder of OpenClaw. All of this, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

    21 February 2026, 3:35 am
  • Episode 562 - Goodbye HomeKit, Hello OpenClaw

    On this week's show: Ring’s Super Bowl ad creeps everyone out with AI dog-finding (and maybe people-tracking) technology, TI drops $7.5 billion on Silicon Labs in a bold smart home chip move, Apple kills the old HomeKit just in time for Valentine's 2026, and SwitchBot dreams big with AI agents and RTSP cameras in a mystery lunchbox-shaped hub. Plus: a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

    13 February 2026, 10:19 pm
  • Episode 561 - 8K Is Dead, Long Live Buttons

    On this week’s show: Control4 previews shiny new touchscreens and subscriptions, Google Home finally wakes up to buttons, and Ikea’s Matter devices can’t seem to "Thread the needle." Home Assistant wants your device data (respectfully), the 8K dream is officially dead (RIP pixels), and Nice and Yubii have ecosystem updates. Plus, a new dirt-hugging soil sensor, a pick of the week, project updates, an AI bot forces Gavin to spend money, and so much more!

    6 February 2026, 7:35 pm
  • Episode 560 - Sidewalks, SwitchBots, and Sonos Zones

    On this week’s show: [Gavin as a Service](https://www.youtube.com/@GavinAsAService) officially launches on YouTube and we have the exclusive! Sonos drops a new multi-zone Amp while Sony seems ready to drop the whole TV business. Amazon Sidewalk quietly infects Canada. ESPHome gets Control4 support, SwitchBot launches an AI hub with Home Assistant inside, and Zooz Z-Wave joins Apollo’s party. Seth tests drives a new AI assistant, TJ is all in again with Sonos (not really), a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

    30 January 2026, 6:57 pm
  • More Episodes? Get the App