Entry Mac mini is more expensive

Perhaps the Mac most relevant to the smart home just got $200 pricier. This was driven by the AI memory chip shortage, and the popularity of Mac mini in 2026 to be an always-on AI agent, combining cloud AI models with your local Apple data.

By removing the $599 model that came with 256 GB of storage, Apple’s entry-level Mac mini now starts at $799. But the specs remain the same for that existing price tier, which comes with a 512 GB SSD. Between Homey self-hosted, Home Assistant, controlling Apple Home, serving as a network-attached storage or media server, the Mac mini has myriad uses in the smart home. This new price increase pushes it out of range for many of those use cases and budgets.

Put another way, external pressures mean Apple is backing out of its most recent, unofficial smart home product category.

Dreame Next - ambition

Dreame had a massive brand showcase and event this week at The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. I was invited but unable to attend. This year at CES, Dreame had two massive booths showcasing everything from vacuums and pool cleaners to hair dryers and cameras. This showcase took the product span even further to a new line of phones, and an electric supercar that looks gorgeous!

Dreame still makes great robot vacuums, I just hope all this expansion doesn’t lose the focus of what got them here.

SpatialAware and Philips Hue’s 5.66.0 update

If you’ve been underwhelmed by the display of colored lights in your room, Philips Hue has a new app update to help. It can use your iPhone camera to understand the details of where the lights are in your space, and better position the light colors. This requires the Philips Hue Bridge Pro and was previously announced around CES, but it’s now shipping. I haven’t tried SpatialAware myself, at least yet.

Like the MotionAware feature I tried, which uses your Hue lights as a mesh-based presence sensor, SpatialAware is an impressive technical achievement but has little practical value in my view. The more I try MotionAware, the fewer scenarios I see where it would be a viable option. Any mmWave sensor gives you more control over where presence should be detected.

The 5.66.0 app update also adds video calls so you can talk to people in front of your Hue doorbell. I haven’t tried this doorbell or Hue cameras since they don’t yet work with Apple HomeKit, but please let me know if you’d like me to try Philips Hue cameras by replying to this email. It might be a polished option for people not able to run Ethernet cables.

The schedule

This was another week where I worked hard on a number of upcoming videos, with no recent uploads to show for it. We did have a live stream with special guest George Langabeer on Thursday night.

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