Aqara Doorbell G400

HomeKit Secure Video Users can all say a big “finally”…or can we? Aqara is shipping a wired doorbell with vertical video and support for HomeKit Secure Video. I reviewed it on the channel, and it’s impressive. If you want battery power or landscape video, there’s always the G410 from Aqara, too. But as I mentioned in my video, it’s still not a pure Apple-centric solution like the Logitech Circle View. That said, based on CES this year, if you want the latest and greatest in Apple Home, it’s almost impossible to use anything but Aqara.

Also, as shown by the massive HomeKit Secure Video outage this week, having multiple places to store your video with a camera like the Aqara Doorbell G400 is more resilient.

Aqara also launched its new touchscreen switch here in the US. I bought one, and I’m excited to play with it. They also announced a separate version with a mmWave sensor built in.

AirPods Max 2

This was a surprise announcement from Apple on Monday. It looks to be a minimal update, although potentially what you are looking for if you have a Lightning-connector-based original pair of AirPods Max. These add many of the features from the AirPods Pro 3 to the AirPods Max, including the H2 chip. This chip enables head nodding to Siri, live translation, and conversational awareness. AirPods Max 2 also support lossless audio over USB-C.

They are available to pre-order this Wednesday, March 25th, and they’ll be shipping “early next month”…whatever that means 🤷🏼‍♂️

iPad discount on Big Sprint Sale

If you are looking to buy a new iPad to use as a home display, thanks to Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, the base model iPad is down to $299 on Amazon. While I don’t plan to do the regular deal roundup video, I will have some ideas on how to use this with Homey, which I'll cover in a video soon.

Also, I plan to post on my website’s Deals page later this week, linking to some useful deals.

The Schedule

Last week, I published a video on the Aqara Doorbell G400 and a video on the Aqara Camera G350. I also worked my tail off on several new videos, and didn’t do a live stream in part to not conflict with March Madness, and because I needed the extra time for making new videos.

Also, while the Apple Fellow Phil Schiller interview did take place this past week at SXSW, I haven’t seen any video posted online.

With Amazon’s Big Spring Sale around the corner, you’ll likely see lots of sponsored content from your favorite creators. Please consider supporting us by watching these videos and using our links in descriptions. It’s weeks like these that pay for so much else we do.

I hope you have a great rest of your Sunday,

Eric