| Cult of Mac

Nanoleaf’s nifty portable smart lamp and new bulbs support Matter and HomeKit

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The Cono portable smart lamp can stand up, lie down or be hung up. That's handy.
The Cono portable smart lamp can stand up, lie down or be hung up. That's handy.
Photo: Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf added a handy new portable smart lamp with brand partner Umbra and two new smart bulbs to its Essentials line, the company said Thursday.

All of the products will work through the Matter smart-home standard with HomeKit and other smart-home platforms.

Belkin’s Wemo smart-home brand taps the brakes on Matter standard

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Wemo products like this dimmer switch work with HomeKit over Thread, but forget about Matter certification for now.
Wemo products like this dimmer switch work with HomeKit over Thread, but forget about Matter certification for now.
Photo: Belkin/Wemo

Belkin’s smart-home accessories brand, Wemo, is “backing away from Matter and dimming our dreams of a smart home utopia.” That’s according to a report published Wednesday.

At a time when companies are rushing to ready products for the new smart-home networking standard, which is meant to let different brands work together, Wemo’s hesitation is a surprise.

Its products work only with HomeKit. Now it looks like that won’t change anytime soon.

Test indoor air quality with new Ikea monitor

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The monitor's launch comes in April and its HomeKit and Matter compatibility are expected via a pending Dirigera hub update.
The monitor's launch comes in April and its HomeKit and Matter compatibility are expected via a pending Dirigera hub update.
Photo: Ikea

Ikea unveiled its new indoor air-quality monitor Tuesday. With a name that sounds like a Swedish jet fighter — Vindstryka — it’s designed to help you combat pollutants in your home or office. And it will be HomeKit- and Matter-compatible through the Ikea Dirigera hub after the company updates it.

The Swedish home furnishings giant set an April launch date for the monitor but hasn’t added a price tag yet.

With 190 products certified, Matter smart-home standard looks ahead

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About 190 products are certified for the Matter standard (or soon will be after testing).
About 190 products are certified for the Matter standard (or soon will be after testing).
Photo: CSA

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) showcased companies and products using the newly available Matter home-automation standard at a launch event in Amsterdam Thursday.

The group, which includes Apple, Google and many other companies, emphasized the standard’s building momentum and drew a rough road map of what’s to come.

These are the iOS 16 features we’re still waiting for

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These are the iOS 16 features we’re still waiting for
iOS 16.1 will soon bring features Apple announced months ago.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple announced a plethora of iOS 16 features at WWDC22. But not all of them made their way into the first public release of the OS in September. Some of them will arrive later this year or even in early 2023.

Check out this list of iOS 16 features that we are still waiting for.

Apple-backed home-automation standard Matter finally launches

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Matter is a new interoperable homer automation standard back by Apple, Amazon, Google and m ore.
Matter is going to… matter to fans of home automation.
Photo: Connectivity Standards Alliance

The wait is over for Matter 1.0. The Connectivity Standards Alliance, which includes Apple, Amazon and many more, has introduced the cross-platform home-automation standard after lengthy delays.

It is intended to break through the walled silos of Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa and Google Home, allowing accessories from a wide range of companies to communicate. It might finally make smart homes more common … potentially even mainstream.

Why you won’t want to use iPad as a Home Hub with iOS 16

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You'll still be able to use iPad as a Home Hub when iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 come along, but will you want to?
You'll still be able to use iPad as a Home Hub when iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 come along, but will you want to?
Photo: Apple

The recent news that iPads won’t function as Home Hubs with iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 stands corrected. Apple now says they’ll work. But they won’t benefit from any new features in the revamped HomeKit and Home app.

And that’s likely to be a pretty big drawback.