On the latest episode of the HomeKit Insider Podcast, Dan Turk joins to talk through the latest smart home news for the week and review the Aqara G5 Pro camera
Dan Turk, a PR representative from Max Borges, joins us for his third time on the podcast. He provides unique insight into the inner-workings of tech agencies bringing new products to market.
This past week, saw several new smart home devices come to market. Starting with Aqara who had three new options available for the US market.
The M100 is a sub-$30 Matter hub that plugs into a USB-A port. It also supports Zigbee and Thread, plus the latest advanced bridging for Apple Home.
The Aqara Y100 Security Starter Kit is a four-piece kit that bundles three sensors with its 2K Camera Hub G3. The sensors are motion, contact, and vibration.
Finally the Aqara W100 is a new temperature and humidity sensor. It connects over Zigbee 3.0 or Matter over Thread, has a two-year battery life, and has three buttons that can be customized to any action or command.
Roku announced its latest budget streaming options, the Streaming Stick Plus and entry-level Streaming Stick. They also announced new cameras, though they don’t support Apple Home.
Smart vacuum brand iRobot has had its 9th release this year. The Roomba Max 705 brings back the much-beloved dual roller design that works great with pet hair and has support for Matter.
After being announced at CES, Hisense is releasing two new AC units with Matter support. The first is a wall mounted option while the second is a portable unit that also includes a heat pump.
While on the topic, we also answer a listener question from Aaron who was curious about dehumidifiers that work with Apple Home. Though there are few options, there may be more coming soon thanks to Matter.
Finally, we wrap the episode by reviewing the Aqara G5 Pro camera. With its lightning-fast response rate, it may be the best camera we’ve tested for Apple users.
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