Homey Pro 2026

Athom, makers of the Homey line of products, announced the Homey Pro 2026 model. This replaces the Homey Pro introduced in 2023 and retails for the same $399 USD price tag. The big feature change is doubling the RAM from 2GB to 4GB. Homey says this will enable you to run more “apps”, which is their term for integrations with other smart home platforms. They don’t specify a specific number of apps increased, which makes sense to me since it could vary widely depending on the options you choose. The hub otherwise looks the same and has the same features. I still think the Homey Pro mini is a more compelling set of features for half the price at $199, but if you want the best of the best from Homey, Homey Pro just got better.

More signs of HomePad

MacWorld claims to have an internal iOS build. This means it has all kinds of details that are usually stripped out or hidden from the builds we run on our devices in public, even if we are on a beta from Apple for a new release. MacWorld found feature flags referencing a whole host of products, but most importantly here, the HomePad and upgraded Siri powered by Gemini appear to be on track to come with iOS 26.4 in the spring. Even taking these claims skeptically, they corroborate past reports from other sources. This will be a huge moment for Apple and smart home tech, and I will be doing my best to bring you everything you need to know about the new device and experience.

IKEA Matter over Thread landing in stores

I hovered over the buy button earlier this week on IKEA’s new Matter-over-Thread devices, now that they are listed on the website, but I didn't pull the trigger. What a bad decision on my part! Days later, they are harder to find in stores in the US, but still available in some places and online. Reddit user Catstronautilusrex has an update linked above, detailing their experience with different products, including attempts to pair with HomeKit with some success. I am excited to try these when I can. $6 for a Matter over Thread button makes anything else look expensive. As I mentioned when these were first announced:

IKEA operates on a global scale few other smart home companies do. This change will put Matter and Thread on a much bigger stage than usual.
I love that IKEA is using its scale to also drive the prices down.

I love that IKEA is using its scale to also drive the prices down.

The Schedule

Last week, I did a Friday afternoon live stream instead of Thursday night. I will probably do more of these in the future, as I think it's a better time for the live stream if I can make it work with my schedule.

My latest video on the Hisense PT1 projector is available to channel members right now, and will be published to everyone at 7:00 AM central time.

I hope you have a great rest of your Sunday,
Eric