HomeTech.fm Podcast

1 hour 34 minutes

Episode 593 - Just Crank It

On this week's show: Apple finally throws a real “Welcome Home” punch with HomeView, a new Apple TV 4K, and even ADT on install duty, Ring ditches the backup key for a hand-crank smart lock, Amazon rolls out a new Alexa tablet lineup, Aqara is now selling in Canadian Tire, Zooz joins Jasco, plus a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

16 October 2026, 12:00 pm

49 minutes 18 seconds

Episode 592 - The Theme is Updates

On this week's show: Apple’s smart home plans keep leaking from every direction, with LG-branded locks, doorbells, thermostats, and cameras rumored alongside Apple selling Aqara’s new thermostat; Google Home gets better at hearing you over the chaos; Amazon quietly takes away Alexa aux voice control; UniFi Protect 7.3 squeezes more history out of your storage; Inovelli’s roadmap starts moving again; Home Assistant renames Cloud to Link because, well, “cloud” has baggage; a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

9 October 2026, 12:00 pm

55 minutes 33 seconds

Episode 591 - Schneider buys Shelly

On this week's show: Schneider Electric wants Shelly, Apple’s smart home hub may finally be real, Amazon refreshes the Fire TV Stick 4K, Disney raises streaming prices because apparently doubling profits wasn’t enough, ULTRALOQ rolls out new Matter and Aliro-ready locks, Home Assistant’s latest beta overhauls maps, and the local-control crowd keeps cooking with June oven and Roborock cloud-escape projects. We also hit some custom-install gear from Crestron and NextLevel, a weird little Pro-Ject streaming amp, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

2 October 2026, 12:00 pm

48 minutes 4 seconds

Episode 590 - Hacking the Echo Dot

On this week's show: your smart TV is probably spying on you, so we talk through what to turn off and why “just don’t connect it” keeps sounding smarter; Matter 1.6.1 finally locks in Groupcast to help grouped devices act like a group; a local Sofabaton integration gives Home Assistant users more remote-control fun; Crestron and Hubitat get a pro-friendly upgrade; D-Tools says the CI market is growing and also very much not growing, depending on who you ask; plus a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

25 September 2026, 12:00 pm

1 hour 27 minutes

Episode 589 - A Person Living in Your Doorbell

On this week's show: CEDIA says the crowds showed up, Apple unveiled a foldable iPhone, LG is pushing back on smart TV spying claims, Google wants outside AI agents in your home, Aqara and IKEA both have new Matter-friendly hardware, SimpliSafe would like a human guard at your doorbell, plus a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

18 September 2026, 12:00 pm

1 hour 50 minutes

Episode 588 - CEDIA and IFA 2026

On this week's show: TiVo decides skipping commercials should cost something, LG TVs face some very ugly privacy claims, Home Assistant 2026.9 brings a big Modbus cleanup, UniFi tries a friendlier whole-home Wi-Fi pitch, and Sonos rolls out Beam Ultra, Ace Ultra, and a whole new Sonos 27 software story. We also hit new gear from both CEDIA and IFA, a full mailbag of feedback for Gavin, project updates, and so much more!

11 September 2026, 12:00 pm

1 hour 16 minutes

Episode 587 - CEDIA 2026, Hacked Cameras, and the $80 Echo Dot

On this week's show: CEDIA’s first-timer list hints at where custom integration is heading next, Sonos teases a new soundbar, Control4 gets new Google Home and Google TV integrations, Wyze builds privacy right into a $40 indoor cam, Amazon raises prices on Echo, Fire TV, and Kindle gear while also handing some Fire TV users Alexa Plus for free, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

28 August 2026, 5:03 am

1 hour 7 minutes

Episode 586 - Distracted by Paperclips

On this week's show: the Open Home Foundation puts Community Day 2026 on the calendar, Apollo makes ESPHome a little less breadboard-y, Petlibro reminds everyone why cloud-dependent pet gear is a terrible way to miss dinner, and Whisker proves AI still can’t always tell one cat from another. We also hit Brilliant’s new managed-service subscription, Comcast turning routers into motion sensors with a privacy asterisk, Aqara pushing Matter camera controls forward, Sonos news, plus CEDIA-bound gear from DreamWall and DoorBird, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

21 August 2026, 12:00 pm

1 hour 6 minutes

Episode 585 - Bad Gavin, Smart Donut

On this week's show: CEDIA Expo 2026 is almost here with hundreds of product debuts on deck, GE talks up US-made chips in connected laundry, Home Assistant finds a new way to boss around Apple devices, Google Home on iOS may be turning lights on just for fun, Alexa+ lands in Australia, Sonos learns some Lutron tricks, OpenAI’s hockey-puck AI speaker rumor rolls on, ESPHome gets a much friendlier desktop app, plus a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more.

14 August 2026, 12:00 pm

1 hour 30 minutes

Episode 584 - First, They Came for the Robot Vacuums

On this week's show: the FCC’s robot ban turns out to include future robot vacuums and mowers, which may make the next robovac harder to buy without making it much safer; Roku decides budget streamers are a premium experience now; Apple’s smart home hub and Siri refresh are reportedly getting closer; Sonos is teasing some kind of AI move for September; UniFi adds a Thread border router and beefs up Protect; plus new gear from Zooz, Aqara, Xiaomi, Homey, SmartThings, and Home Assistant, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

7 August 2026, 12:00 pm

1 hour 21 minutes

Episode 583 - OpenAI Wants In, Nice Wants Out

On this week's show: OpenAI may be building a screen-free AI home companion, Nice is skipping CEDIA 2026 and insisting everything is fine, the 2026 TV Shootout crowns both Samsung and Sony, Philips Hue might stick a camera on your TV, and a TP-Link Kasa camera vulnerability report is a rough reminder to patch your gear. We also chat about a touchscreen Zigbee switch from Zemismart, an open-source robot vacuum project, Matter Server 9.1.0, the Only Fan Controller update, a pick of the week, project updates, and so much more!

25 July 2026, 3:00 am