This is all achieved via an update within the HEOS app that’s used for Denon smart speakers. Full instructions found HERE. For Siri to function in the first place, you will need a Siri enabled speaker to begin with – like the HomePod or HomePod Mini – which is also the case with the aforementioned Ecobee integration. This is because Siri isn’t actually built into these devices, but merely relayed to the speakers.

The smart speaker range has always been able to summon a voice assistant, with Alexa built into their speakers, but now with Siri, people who prefer the latter, will now be able to access Apple’s voice assistant in more locations, and not just where their nearest HomePod happens to be.

The models compatible with this update are the Denon Home series models 150, 250, 350, and Soundbar 550. All of these speakers already have AirPlay 2 integration, but in order to add the Siri update, you will initially have to remove them from your smart home, and re-add them afterwards. Additionally, if you previously used Alexa, with the Siri update Amazon’s voice assistant will be disabled, as only one of these can be active.

Big thanks to Siobhán Ellis at Practical HomeKit Blogspot for tipping us off.

The post Denon Quietly Adds Siri Functionality to its Smart Speakers appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

Starting off with the latter, this new digital amplifier offers a whole host of streaming options, including the all important AirPlay 2, as well as built-in services from the likes of Amazon Music, spotify, and much more. What sets the Ultra apart from the other models, is a full colour touchscreen display, a first for WiiM. The display will show not only album art for the currently playing track or album, but widgets, and other settings for the amp itself.

The rear is a bit of a monster, with stereo phono inputs and outputs, as well as an output for a subwoofer, and a coaxial output. There are SPDIF inputs and outputs for digital connectivity, an HDMI ARC connection, and a LAN port if you want a wired connection. There’s a USB port for playing back audio from a memory stick too.

For network connectivity aside from the ethernet connection, the WiiM Ultra also offers WiFi 6E, but you can also directly connect to the amp as it has Bluetooth 5.3 built in.

Alongside the WiiM Ultra is an upgrade to the existing WiiM Amp, unsurprisingly named the WiiM Amp Pro – not to be confused with the WiiM Pro, which we reported on a while ago. Design wise, the Pro version looks pretty much the same on the outside as it’s predecessor, with all the changes on the inside. So, like the Ultra, the Pro gets both WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 (the current model offers WiFi 5, and Bluetooth 5.0), and better SNR (signal to noise ratio).

The price points for both are quite high, with the Ultra coming in at approximately US$329 (no doubt partly due to the full colour touchscreen), and an even higher US$369 for the Amp Pro, up from the WiiM Amp’s price of US$299.

The post New AirPlay 2 Audiophile Streamers Announced From WiiM appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

You can purchase the Aqara Hub M3 from Amazon stores in your region using the (affiliate) links below, which cost you nothing extra but help us buy more products for review, to keep you informed on how products perform.

For a limited time, you can get 20% off the list price, using the relevant codes below;

• North American stores: USCAHUB3 (applicable to Amazon US & Canada)
• European stores: HUBM3EU5 (applicable to Amazon France, Germany, Italy, Spain & UK)
• Amazon US
• Amazon CA
• Amazon FR
• Amazon DE
• Amazon IT
• Amazon ES
• Amazon UK

The post Aqara Hub M3 with Matter and Thread (video) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

You can watch our video review below;

Debuted at CES in January, the M3 stands out as an Edge Hub by enabling not only data privacy through end-to-end encrypted, local storage, but also advanced, local automation capabilities. For Aqara users who already own an Aqara Zigbee hub, deploying a Hub M3 further strengthens the robustness of their smart home networks. Moreover, it enables more local automations between Aqara devices. Once added to the network, the M3 takes a lead over other Aqara Zigbee hubs and Wi-Fi devices, and allows automation between these devices to execute on the Edge instead of over the cloud, ensures continued functionality during internet or cloud service disruptions. The Hub M3 also allows select Aqara Zigbee devices with Repeater functionality to act as a proxy hub and execute automations in the absence of M3. Upcoming Aqara Thread devices with Mesh Extender functionality are expected to support device binding via the M3.

As the latest evolution in Aqara’s lineup of smart home control centres, the M3 supports multiple protocols including Thread, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and infrared (IR), making it a comprehensive hub for smart home management. It connects and manages the lineup of classic Aqara Zigbee devices, serving as a Matter bridge. Thanks to the 360° IR blaster, the new hub optimises control of IR-enabled devices by syncing their status directly with Aqara Home whenever an IR remote is utilised. Moreover, the M3 integrates the latest Aqara Thread devices as well as select Matter-compatible devices from third-party brands to Aqara Home. This means that users can connect and manage devices from different brands and ecosystems within the Aqara Home app to ensure maximum flexibility and compatibility.

• Matter bridge for infrared AC units: It can integrate an infrared-compatible air conditioning unit or air-to-air heat pump to Matter, allowing for AC control and automation via Matter-enabled platforms.
• Seamless group migration: Users can easily migrate bridged device from older Aqara hubs to the M3, ensuring continuity of Aqara Home settings and automations without the need to reconfigure each device.
• Enhanced internet connectivity: The M3 features dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz) with WPA3 security as well as a PoE-enabled port, offering enhanced stability and flexibility.
• Powerful speaker: The 95dB speaker built-in can be used for home security alerts and custom announcements.

The Hub M3 is now available at Aqara’s Amazon brand stores throughout North America (US, Canada), Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, UK) and Asia (Japan), as well as through select Aqara retailers worldwide.

• North American stores: USCAHUB3 (applicable to Amazon US & Canada)
• European stores: HUBM3EU5 (applicable to Amazon France, Germany, Italy, Spain & UK)

The post Aqara’s M3 Matter Controller and Thread Border Router Gets International Release appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

How this is achieved is actually quite simple; The charging plate, which comes in two sections, replaces a standard power outlet, thus making a standard wireless charging plate permanently powered. Add to this Matter over Thread, and you have a smart outlet/switch that can control power to your iPad via your smart home platform of choice.

To connect your iPad to the charging plate, the other part of the device sticks to the case for the iPad, with a cable connecting to tablet’s charging port, whilst gripping the wall plate with magnets and connecting power with a set of four pins. As it’s a Matter over Thread device, it can be added to any suitable Matter platform, as long as you have a Matter Controller and Thread Border Router. It also means that this isn’t actually specially for iPad, assuming the cable part is USB-C along with the tablet you plan to use.

The company are selling this product in six colours – green, orange, grey, red, blue, and white. As this is from – and for – China in principle, the device is designed for 86 style switch boxes, and so these won’t work for US homes, or for that matter (no pun intended) EU homes, at least not without some adjustments. That said, the website does list options for the EU, US and UK, but without any images, or whether they’re certified for safety in the relevant areas. You can check more details on this product via Alibaba.com.

The post an iPad Wall Charger with Matter over Thread? It’s Now a Thing! appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

As might be clear from the images above, the main difference, at least externally, is the form factor. The Original model was of a design that didn’t allow two of them to be placed together in a dual wall outlet, which even then was odd, given that prior to this, Meross did have a smart plug like the ‘Mini’ variant above. Now the new model reverts to this slimmer design, whilst removing the LED lit power button with a simpler blank one. Whilst this improvement is a welcome one, the two things that could stifle sales is the lack of Thread, which many clamour for in a smart home device. It’s also worth noting that this form factor already exists for a Matter over WiFi smart plug, from a company called Linkind, who also make smart bulbs, and more.

The insides have also taken on an update, with the new model supporting energy monitoring. Whilst this is good news in these energy-conscious times, this feature is not currently supported in Matter, and so it falls upon the Meross app to show these details. If and when energy monitoring becomes part of the spec for Matter 1.3, Meross has stated they’ll expose this feature to Matter.

Never the less, this should solve a problem that came with the original model being a tad bulky. It’s just a shame we’re still not seeing any indication that Meross are willing to take the plunge into Thread, which Onvis has already done with the three variants (EU, UK, US) of their smart plug.

You can find more details on the new Meross Smart Plug Mini on Meross’ own website, and you should be able to pick one up once they becomes available in Meross’ own online shop, with stock coming to Amazon.com soon after.

The post Meross Releases Slimmer, Updated Matter Smart Plug appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

This new collection builds on previous a switch collection, the Z1 Pro, which itself was an iteration of the Z1. The difference between the Z1 and Z1 pro were basically a software-based slider control that could dim Aqara lighting, or even adjust the position of smart blinds or curtains, something the Z1 didn’t have. You can see  video for the Z1 Pro slider function in action with the T1M Ceiling light below, starting at 8’21”;

However, The Q1 series doesn’t really offer anything meaningfully different from the Z1 Pro, merely a design change, albeit slight – the Q1 has squarer edges, as opposed the rounder edges of the Z1/Z1 Pro series.

What the company does offer, is the option to have the buttons on the switch either printed or engraved with meaningful descriptions to help those who don’t know what the different buttons are assigned to. This is both helpful, but also potentially problematic; As all the buttons can be decoupled from their wired relays, you can reassign the button presses to control almost any other Aqara product, so you’d have to be pretty certain that you’re sticking with the description on the buttons.

As with both the Z1 and Z1 Pro series switches, the Q1 is offered in one, two, or three button options, with the latter including a fourth software button that can have single, double, and long press actions assigned to it, which is also exposed to HomeKit as such. All of the Q1 variants come with the slider control to the side.

All of the aforementioned ranges can be used with or without a neutral wire, which seems to be something Aqara have invested in making a reality for a while now.

The Q1 is also offered in two colour ways; Space Grey or White. The older Z1 did offer multiple colour options, as did its own predecessor, the H1M (getting lost yet?). This brings the total number of Aqara switch collections to a staggering seven – if you don’t include the display panel switches, or original and T1 variants!

The Q1 Pro series, whilst listed on their website (under Knight Series) doesn’t seem to be available for purchase just yet, and of course these will only be available in Minland China, at least officially. In the meantime, for international consumers, we still have the Aqara M3 hub to look forward too.

The post Aqara Launches Knight Series Q1 Smart Switches in China appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

This video focuses mostly on the battery version, which gives you, the customer, a pretty budget friendly option that allows you to keep your existing blinds, but is still cheaper compared to retrofit blind motors from companies like Eve, for example. How do they fare? Watch to find out.

You can purchase the ZemiSmart Matter over Thread roller shade motor (battery) from Amazon.com (affiliate) links below, which cost you nothing extra but help us buy more products for review, to keep you informed on how products perform.

Amazon.com (Matter over Thread, w/battery)

Alternatively, you can purchase directly from ZemiSmart themselves via the link below;

Battery model (Matter over Thread)

Wired model (Matter over Thread)

The post ZemiSmart Roller Shade Motor w/ Matter over Thread (video) appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

First off the bat, whilst it’s Matter compatible, it does not use Thread. Instead, the company has opted for Matter over WiFi, which is sure to be a disappointment to many. What is does offer in exchange for this is the option to have multiple colours along the strip, which sits at 16.4ft/ 5m in length. Each metre houses 60 LEDs, which brings the total amount of LEDs to 300. It can be cuttable, but there’s no smaller option available, it seems. The strip has a cutting line every six LEDs.

The new strip also sports a brand new controller to reflect some of these additional features, like music mode, alongside power and brightness options.

Due to Matter support, it will of course work with Apple Home, and even though it can produce cool to warm whites, in addition to the standard 16 million colours, it won’t be able to use Adaptive Lighting, due to this feature being an Apple Home exclusive. It offers 550lm per metre, which is pretty decent as well.

Strangely enough, even though this new product was announced on their YouTube channel, there’s no sign of it on the US Nanoleaf store (as far as we’re aware at the time of writing), although it is listed on the company’s German site (thanks Yannic) for €69,99.

The post New Matter Multicolour LED Strip From Nanoleaf Announced appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.

The Meross Smart Presence Sensor, as it’s listed as, uses mmWave Doppler radar technology found in Aqara’s own FP1 and FP2 presence sensors (video and review for the latter HERE and HERE), but also contains a standard PIR sensor. Having a PIR sensor all but guarantees faster response times than a presence sensor, even if it’s not suitable for detecting presence, and with a combined light sensor, should hold its own against other products of this type.

Due to its Matter compatibility, it should exposes all three sensors to the established Matter enabled platforms – Google, Amazon, SmartThings, and of course Apple Home, as well as Home Assistant. Of these three sensors, the listing states the light sensor can detect ambient light changes in real-time. this might appear to be a given, but as was shown with the release of Aqara’s Motion Sensor P2 with Matter over Thread (review HERE), some light sensors will only update on a motion event if they’re tied to a motion sensor.

Given that so far, Meross has only ever made products that use WiFi, or a version of RF433MHz for their hub, it’s likely this device will utilise Matter over WiFi, as battery performance would likely be terrible with the presence sensor pinging info in real time. This does depend on what kind of functionality it could offer, and as such is up again the aforementioned Aqara FP2, which essentially offers up to 30 separate presence sensors in one device, all exposed separately to Apple Home.

It’s always good to see more of this type of product, in a space where true presence sensors are limited in choice.

Credit to Adam Rzanek for the find.

The post Meross to Expand Matter Range With Presence Sensor appeared first on Homekit News and Reviews.