Apple WILL take over your Smart Home, like it or not!

[@diothar]

My old CEO used to always say "if you're number 1 in a market that doesn't have competitors, you have a problem." Honestly, competition is what's best for us consumers. I prefer AMD processors, but want to see Intel succeed as well. Playstation over XBox, but seeing Microsoft push the envelope is only going to be good for me as a PS user. Any improvements to homekit will undoubtedly be good for all of us.

[@rikar8125]

@@Y0UTUBEADMIN why

[@ssgrimard4660]

One of the most intelligent comment I've read today !! Very well said. I've been an android user for the past 11 years but will probably switch over to Iphone with the new Iphone 14

[@JayceMiskel]

​@@ssgrimard4660 what's making you switch? I'm considering it too.

[@realtyrocks1969]

Same is true with all politics. If you don't have choices you're a slave

[@justacomment1796]

I thought you were going the opposite direction regretting apples quasi monopoly and not having competition until I read the end lol

[@Razorgirl]

Once HomePod minis can detect the presence of an AppleWatch and to fire off automations when they do…. THAT (for me) will be when Apple becomes a competitor in the Smart Home industry.

[@williamfeng6706]

@Smart Home Solver Can you please make a full video tutorial on how you integrated all those into the HomeKit system, I’m having a hard time setting up with third parties system Inter gratino like hoops and other stuff.

[@JKStudios101]

Your Outros never disappoint 😂

[@j_holtslander]

Hahaha. That closing argument with Siri vs Alexa. Hilarious! Anyways, I’m already in an all Apple household and I agree with everything said in this video.

[@gms03sbd3]

As an iPhone user I have always thought that a Homekit+homeAss is the best as both run local and what one can’t do, the other can.

[@meetadityanihlani]

Another huge plus is if you’re using Home Assistant you can simply add a plugin which can literally make every other smart device into an HomeKit compatible device.

[@j_holtslander]

I spent half my life as a die hard PC user. Windows Vista broke me. In 2007 I bought a Mac Mini to be “just a media center for the TV”. A few days later I knew I was done with PCs. Then a few months later I bought a MacBook, then I got the new iPhone 2. Today I’m still 100% Apple everything. So is the family. Sometimes I miss being able to game on a PC but that’s a task for my PS5 now. I do not miss the never ending tweaking and fixing and care needed. You literally couldn’t pay me enough to go back to PCs now. It would be a massive step down in quality of life.

[@michaelhenry3234]

Funny, it was almost the exact opposite for me. I grew up with a Mac as the family computer and I absolutely hated it. It was probably partially due to it being old and low spec, but I hated how it always felt like I was being babied by it. "Are you sure you want to do this? We can't verify this program..." Yes, you fuckwit, I'm sure... And of course being a teenager into video games made me extremely jealous of my friends with PCs capable of playing whatever was popular. The Mac felt so restrictive, like a toy instead of "real" computers as I called them that could do whatever you wanted. When I finally decided to build my own PC after using laptops and ipads for a number of years it was luckily the era of Windows 10, so I didn't have too many problems. For many years now it's been rock solid stable. And I couldn't imagine being locked into Apple's shitty anti-consumer ecosystem. Of course, I also hate Windows now. One too many a Windows Update has fucked me over with its automatic reboots. I had constant issues with my laptop that I never did resolve. And while the freedom of Windows was a step up from Apple, it's still a black box you have very little control over. After finding Linux, I could never go back to either Windows or Apple! I'm impatiently waiting for the day steam's proton becomes mature enough that I can finally ditch my Windows PC for good, as I'm currently forced to use it for gaming.

[@CK-qx2js]

You are absolutely right. I am in the same situation. I completely designed my smarthome around nodered. Everything works locally and now matter comes around the corner with apple home its a gamechanger.

[@edflavin8203]

For Apple users HomeKit will be the way forward. But, Home Assistant will always have the place for the more advanced aspects of smart homes. At the end of the day it's all about partnerships and integrations. For most people a better app will not make them spend $$$'s just to have an app that may get leap frogged with the next big change from a competitor.

[@meetadityanihlani]

Those two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. HA for the automations, HK for the dashboard

[@left0verture]

I’ve been through several platforms and am mostly Apple now. There have been trade-offs and Home(kit) is occasionally frustrating, but for now they’re the best balance between simplicity, reliability, functionality and price. Personally, I’d love to see more competition - it benefits us all.

[@maxroessink6004]

Homey have it all

[@baderal-khamees5455]

You’re channel is very informative and you’re content is just amazing. Keep up the good Work 🤘🏻

[@tpch3ckyourt3ch75]

That bit at the end with the two ladies going at it is hilarious.

[@makeitworktech]

Best outro ever!!!

[@liviu.spiroiu]

I have been using multiple platforms for years now for my smart home. I just bought a house that I can make decisions on the finishing touches and in parallel to designing the network and other wiring I am going all in on the Apple HomeKit ecosystem. And to make it clear I am software developer who knows multiple programming languages with networking certifications, so I am not afraid to go deep in the weeds with home assistant and the likes. I am still using HomeBridge and Scrypted where needed, but all in all for the first time Apple HomeKit just works for me.

[@BeUnknown2]

Need advice 1. As SmartThings changes, I’m losing 46 of 49 devices. Should I go with Apple Home, hoping it recognizes some of of my devices? Or go broke buying new devices for new SmartThings? 2, I’m losing all of my RGB+W controllers (Dresden, Qubino, Fibaro, and very old Osram. What is available and maybe future proof?

[@williamsteveling8321]

Nothing is future-proof. Realistically, the only option that exists is anything that works purely locally (or can be set to do so).

[@NurtureKit]

I have a bunch of Alexa devices, ecobee, Govee outdoor lights, Lutron switches, Vsync plug, and other random devices. But I am an iPhone, MacBook, and iPad user. But I’m looking to upgrade my smart home automation. Thought maybe Home Assistant was the path because it’s local and secure. But I didn’t realize HomeKit was local too. The ease of setup with HomeKit is appealing. Do you find yourself using both, Home Assistant and HomeKit or have you fully switched to one or the other? And why?

[@jordandanielmclain]

We've used HomeKit for years as the primary UI for iPads throughout the house and, of course, our phones. Homebridge to talk to Z-wave hub and all z-wave lights, and Flume. Starling to integrate all of the Google devices, thermostats, cameras and smoke detectors. Our Euphy cams integrate directly. Also the new UI is awesome... can't wait for iPad OS 16 to come out so our iPads get the new UI.

[@zachsmart8569]

So how does this guy get access to the new homekit? When will it be available for the public?

[@Raymond.Jansen]

The end part of this, brilliant.

[@andrewvigil9907]

I am curious what NFC driven automations you are benefiting from. I just implemented 1 with high spouse approval. I call it "Obnoxious Air Filters". I mounted NFC tags in my air returns. When you scan the NFC tag, it triggers an iOS shortcut which turns off a virtual switch indicating whether the air filter needs to be replaced or not. If all of the air filter switches are not turned off, I will get a daily slack notification to change my air filters. On the first Saturday of every month, a calendar event triggers all air filter switches state change to ON. I would consider this on the level of chore related automations. Technologies: OpenHab 3 - iCalendar-binding, Http-binding Google Calendar iOS Shortcuts

[@johnmickey5017]

What are you trying to solve? I’ve read this four times and can’t figure out what the original problem is.

[@andrewvigil9907]

@@johnmickey5017 It's basically a nagging chore list.

[@evan]

The Spotify dig hurt okay

[@kirschner.production]

Love ur videos!!!! Keep up the good work!

[@marcalvarado1915]

I love the smack talking between Alexa and Siri!

[@jk330ci]

I think your right. I’m an iPhone user and have found myself searching for smart home products that support HomeKit as I like being able to access items that are switch on from control centre. I’m not sure if I’d move to Siri unless apple really up the game in that area. Problem is Amazon has such a broad range of products to choose from.

[@liamsz]

I started with Alexa but quickly switched to HomeKit I mostly use apps to control the devices instead of the assistant and imo the apple home app is leagues ahead of the Alexa app

[@paristhewabbit]

Reed do you use Notion to manage your videos? If so, can you do a full video on your setup! I know it would call for a different type of video, although I would love to see that behind the scenes view.

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Yes I do. Notion has been awesome and yeah I think a behind the scenes video could be fun to do soon!

[@swiftaudi]

When is the home app update coming to the iPad? It’s out on the iPhone.

[@TechWithBrett]

That new interface looks oddly familiar... If the Home app was on Android I would definitely give it a shot, but we all know that will never happen.

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Yeah it is similar looking to Google's Home app with the layout.

[@Bigglare]

if only Google had a home app...

[@justbulma]

That ending nailed it for me new subscriber coming your way very good and informative and interesting video

[@Darnellbrown91]

Which video doorbell are you using? I had enough with my Logitech and I’m hoping you don’t say Logitech lol

[@bobstertime]

Any plans for Samsung Smartthings they have been doing updates as well.

[@phillyd823]

Does anyone know any RGB canless recessed lights that work with SmartThings?

[@kirtbeck]

Thanks for the great vid. New-ish here to smart homes, but diving deeper. For us it's great news about the updated Apple tech and direction... as we're already an iCrap household. 😉

[@amirmoradi9595]

That conversation between the two speakers at the end was so good. Spot on 😂

[@TheBroz]

We moved into a new home fairly recently, don’t really have any smart home stuff so I’m gonna hang fire to see how the Matter stuff shakes out.

[@אלוןאנגל-ה9ש]

I wonder how Google will change with this I have like quite a setup of Google stuff in both of the homes that I am living in would like you to make a video about specifically Google's system integration with matter cuz I do really like the Google hubs and nest products

[@williamsteveling8321]

Smoke detectors. They're my favorite. Otherwise, Nest isn't that impressive to me

[@jenniferfisher1743]

Did I hear you say Amazon Echo will play adds? Does Google do this as well? I’m still deciding what platform I will use and annoying commercials could be a major deciding factor.

[@reded23]

Alexa doesn’t play adds

[@mcomeslast]

I Hope your are right. I’ve given up on Alexa (new one was a dud and years ago when I had it, I wasn’t impressed). When I finish moving, I’ll try a Google device because my smart plugs are connected to their app. I’m reading about how to connect them to home kit, along with my ring doorbell. We will see how they work out.

[@inelonwetrust9169]

Reallly enjoyed this video, Reed. The end was classic.

[@emmgeevideo]

Eww.... I am just about ready to start trying Home Assistant. I have started my smart home using HomeKit but was thinking that Home Assistant will give me more flexibility. Now I'm thinking the new app plus Matter will be the way to go. What do you think?

[@playcreative]

Anyone know what pegboard is used in the background here? They look great!

[@moy3804]

Didn’t google home already have group devices? Hubs are good but if it relies I the router and the internet goes down that’s it! 😢

[@nikosfants4514]

Amazon assistant or Google home is better for Aqara system? Thank u

[@cloudyview]

That closing bit was hilarious. Alexa with the massive burn 🤣🤣

[@MelvinRodriguezxTNGx]

Would you recommend HomeKit over home assistant given that HomeKit is easier to set up and provides a similar experience?

[@VitoProduction]

Operating locally vs over the internet via api is the most aspect of homekit. The reason why I still stick with hue over the cheaper alternatives like Govee is that hue operates locally. Although I don't have an iPhone, so can't really try out homekit anymore.

[@15jicook]

Can you put together a good guide to adding non-HomeKit devices into HomeKit? Like reolink or other 3rd party cameras like your unify doorbell?

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Yes!

[@halgerson]

It's kind of ironic that HomeKit is leading the way with cross-platform compatibility, but Apple as a whole is the epitome of a walled garden. Since I'm not switching to iPhone or Mac anytime soon, it doesn't matter how good HomeKit is: I can't use it.

[@dragonson72]

I feel the same way, but I believe the others will adapt to the similar platform in time

[@MatthewN8OHU]

If you're using Home Assistant, like I do, you can use HomeKit devices, even before the Matter standard is officially released.

[@dragonson72]

@@PennaMinecraft I'd sooner use two tin cans on a string than use Apple I-Phone

[@TwoTwenty7]

I just started to dabble in HomeKit. Everything I have is based on alexa/echo. I’ve started to have issues with my blink stuff and that’s what made me start looking for more reliable equipment. Once you start diving deeper into it, you really do see the benefits of a non cloud based system.

[@Dallas88888]

Loved, loved, loved the ending! LOL!

[@monster796abs]

Great video friend! Love my HomeKit setup and happy to know that will work perfectly with Matter

[@Terminator_T-X3]

With Apple automations you can code statements, I’m wondering what does an advance automation look like?

[@krzybynature]

What I want to know, is will you be able to finally use Apple's Home Pod Mini speaker (or whatever it's called) without requiring an Apple device. I like the quality/colour choices, but don't own an iOS device. Will this speaker work through SmartThings or Google?

[@liamsz]

The speaker afaik is matter compatible, and has its own SOC, so maybe you’ll be able to add it to google home But it’s an airplay speaker, so no cast support, no personal requests support, and probably no app compatibility either, such as reminders, calendars etc and no handoff So you’ll basically be paying for a speaker with pretty good audio and a mediocre assistant. Which likely won’t be able to control your devices Apple hardware works best with apple software, so even though an iOS device won’t be necessary it will be more than welcome

[@rifky3536]

Well, it was Spotify fault, Apple already release the guides to integrate other music player with Siri, but Spotify never really into it🤷‍♂️

[@Assassin1959]

The end was the best!!!!

[@rickvug]

I used to think Amazon would win the smart home race due to Alexa. It turns out that having everything work with your phone, laptop and (Apple)TV is actually far more important. Plus Airplay via Sonos is the cornerstone for us. I can live with sub par voice assist support as long as everything “just works” with the Home all, which it does. Now Apple just needs to come up with more Siri devices, especially a HomePod with a screen for the kitchen.

[@jamescarrico1233]

I was a Samsung Knight for years I switched to an iPhone just to try it 3 years ago Now I’m fully in Apple’s ecosystem just really can’t be beat It might not be the flashiest But everything works so well together Got a Mac, Watch, an entire Honmekit set up

[@ecotts]

Was this a sponsored advert?

[@SmartHomeSolver]

No not sponsored. I have always bought all my own Apple devices. This are all just my opinions.

[@worldcitizen811]

I don't think an app can decide the winner in the race. Also, I strongly believe that if you have to use manual inputs, even if it is through a sophisticated app, you are not dealing with a smart-home. As long as Apple keeps their strong hold on their product by keeping it tightly protected under their "proprietary" hood, they can never come closer to Home Assistant that gives the control out to its users to meaningfully automate it. Every user have unique needs and Apple cannot create a one size fits all solution in the field of smart home automation.

[@jaycorbin5361]

Unfortunately Home Assistant only works properly if you have a doctorate in Python….

[@theartofwatson]

The ending to this video was hysterical!! 😂🤣😂

[@neekster28]

Consider making use of the auto entities card in HomeAssistant. It has allowed my home dashboard to be completely automatic.

[@SmartHomeSolver]

I should look into that more. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@butzaman5139]

I’m apple all the way. Building a new house at the moment and gonna switch from Smarthings to HomeKit. Leaving smarthings for new owner. It’s pretty unstable. Lights turning in by themselves constantly is a PITA!

[@mariebarger8631]

Glad I waited for the end. Hilarious! Thank you.

[@lauramau291]

Do you know anything about SIMLAB's products? Especially SIM-ON, because it's meant for smart home. What about doing a review? I would be extremely greatful! 😄

[@Revell25]

Do you think Apple will release a HomePod or device with a screen? I would def use if they had a product with a screen like an echo show and don’t want to buy another iPad just for that reason.

[@shawn2481]

Any way to use ok google to find your iPhone?

[@dataguy2020]

does apple support z wave or zigbee?

[@DennisWarner]

I like it. I was an Alexa fan but when the HPM came out I switched and don’t plan on looking back.

[@evlnte]

Last night I told Siri to set my "Goodnight" scene. She proceeded to blast Duran Duran at 11:50 pm. So I would say Steve Jobs would be pissed!

[@D8099.]

😂😂😂 OMG that ending was priceless. I’m sending it to everyone

[@elevateyourcreativeness]

Actually with the Eve App, you can get pretty granular with automation’s!

[@diothar]

I create automations in Home Assistant and expose them via the homekit controller, which gives me access to them via Siri. Siri's not very smart, but I just do all the heavy lifting with Home Assistant and it works well.

[@SmartHomeSolver]

@diothar that's a great solution! @Greg Hyatt good to know about the Eve App thanks!

[@BrandonDoyleMN]

Great video, I enjoyed the ai battle at the end! it'll be interesting to see what is announced on the 7th, I'm an android/amazon guy myself but if Apple comes but perhaps I'll finally give it a shot

[@GjbMcN]

I am confused i have an apple tv 4k but nothing shows up YET in the Broadlink app using the Broadlink Rf/Ir i can link Siri voice commands to products that aren’t “Home Kitable” that i trigger from my phone. Am i doing something wrong ALSO CHECK OUT the new Smart Home Dashboard that you can call up on Firesticks and compare please

[@number1pappy]

I don't think so skippy!

[@glengreen]

Curious what make / model the white speakers and their stands are on the desk. Anyone know?

[@ejakaegypt]

What’s that cube thing on your desk?

[@pamcadd8658]

Interesting info, Reed. I had to smile at your "by the way" ending.....I have Echo Dots all over the house and mostly use Alexa for our very limited smart home stuff. However, I'm seriously irritated by Alexa's "by the way" comments. I sure wish I could turn off BTW mode! I find myself pointlessly yelling things like, "Shut up, Alexa. I just asked for the temperature, and no I don't want to know how to do six other things!"

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Thanks Pam! Apparently turning on "brief mode" will get rid of the by the way comments. Because yes I'm usually yelling the same thing as you after just asking for the temperature!

[@dnoland77]

Say, "alexa, stop by the way". The response should be, "ok, I'll pause my suggestions" but I don't know how long a pause is. This is per device so you will have to pause each echo you have.

[@oudoulj]

The ending is priceless ! 🤣

[@Jillybean620]

Good info. Hope it works as well as advertised. Super funny ending!

[@flametiger74]

I just got iOS 16 and I love the new setup of the Home app. Big improvement. I sort of wish they would update more often. Sometimes it feels like these big companies rarely do any updates. Wyze updates things all the time. Let’s see what happens. The big question is, what’s with Matter? When will that come around? Seems like they’ve been saying tomorrow for almost two years.

[@utuber1000]

Two years does not seem to me like a long time within which to bring competing companies into agreement and cooperation on development and implementation of a new standard for compatibility between their competing products. In fact, it will be amazing to behold if they are in fact successful to achieving such an ambitious goal that quickly. By comparison, in the case of automobiles, it literally took decades and then only with government intervention.

[@flametiger74]

@@utuber1000 I hear that. Totally.

[@jmatt98]

The most hated thing about Alexa is the by the way ads.

[@TCamp72a]

Nice outro!!

[@stigs1073]

Have you ever tried Homey? Or can you make a rewiev of it?

[@johnnyvvlog]

The last Apple device left my home half a decade ago and I like to keep it that way. So no they won't take over my smart home running on foss.

[@ejbc8457]

But homekit is not a cross-platform app, and has very low and sometimes very expensive compatible products. Unless you use other platform to handle the lack of advanced automations and the low list of compatible products of homekit, I don't see it as option in the smart home world. Home Assistant, Hubitat, Smartthings and Alexa, those are the players right now.

[@jasonedwards6562]

Matter will solve the compatibility issue as all platforms will support all Matter devices. Also, people forget Apple has Shortcuts which enable users to create some pretty complex automations. Never count Apple out. Like he said they are not always first but when they decide to do something they usually do it better than the others.

[@ejbc8457]

@@jasonedwards6562 better that the others?.. if you say so. Shortcuts? Another non cross-platform app, which imo is absurdly complex for things as simple as turning on and RF shades with geo-location, no thanks. If you're in apple ecosystem and don't mind the lack of out of the box compatibility with many product, and you're willing to pay a premium for those few products (expect Aqara), then maybe homekit will do just fine for you, for everyone else homekit AT THIS MOMENT, is not close to be a serious option. You say Matter will solve all homekit problems, but there's no evidence yet that this will be the case. Anybody can say that Matter will solve google home lack of routines problems, smartthings and alexa lack of local control and so on, but until the protocol is release, nothing of that is sure.

[@jasonedwards6562]

@@ejbc8457 Yes, better than the others. Shortcuts is not complex. Sure you have to learn to use it but its not rocket science. And yes Matter will solve the issue of compatibility. If your device supports Matter it will be compatible with Alexa, Google, SmartThing, Apple...etc. That is the point. And any company worth using will build Matter products going forward. But you are correct that AT THIS TIME there are not nearly as many compatible devices for HomeKit as there is for Alexa/Google but that will change in time. Have a great day.

[@ejbc8457]

@@jasonedwards6562 lol, fanboy alert. The main thing apple is better than the other is in there marketing and cult following thats for sure. Why use something like Shortcut when there are much much better ways (more powerful and simpler) of creating automations? I'll tell you why, because of blind following. There is not one single thing in which Shortcuts is better that the competition and here you're recommending it. Until Matter "solve" all the issues homekit have, as you so certainly know will happen (because you work for the CSA), and homekit customers renew all their devices for matter compatible ones, then we can talk about apple been a serious player in the Smart home market and not just a platform iPhone users use just because and only because is made by apple. Take care.

[@jasonedwards6562]

@@ejbc8457 Fanboy...lol. Oh boy you got me. Whatever will I do. Some stranger has called me a name because he has nothing else to add to the conversation. Typical Android user. Use what you like and are capable of and I will do the same. Good day friend.

[@bobbaman999]

Great video! But is still Apple’s Home app just working with HomeKit devices?

[@SmartHomeSolver]

For now, but once Matter is rolled out it will work with all Matter devices as well. You can also use HomeBridge to pull in non-HomeKit devices. That's what I am doing right now.

[@boudewijndejong9134]

@@SmartHomeSolver have you integrated homebridge into Home Assitant? In other words, how easy/difficult was it to move everything from the HA dashboard to the HomeKit dashboard?

[@brendaeagles]

I’ve been migrating everything to home kit with home assistant to allow non HomeKit devices in HomeKit, Alexa skills fail with certain devices and google can be slow for me

[@ManfredBartz]

My home (and my life) is completely free of any Apple and Amazon products. There is absolutely no possibility of them taking over anything.

[@EsotericArctos]

Being honest, I feel a "Smart home" should really not need an App as the home should do it's own thing, hence why it is called a Smart Home. If you need to constantly be in an app, having it always open, then your home is not "smart". It just has a glorified remote control for your devices which are still essentially dumb. Home Assistant and areas can do a lot of similar stuff. It really doesn't take more than 20 seconds to quickly add a device to a page manually.

[@jaycorbin5361]

That requires everything in your house, (from lights and switches to plumbing and heating) to be smart aswell, and good luck with that.

[@louisviciedo]

Hi Reed looks great. were you able to port all devices over to Apple Home app from HAS?

[@SmartHomeSolver]

Yes I'm using the HomeKit (HomeBridge) integration in Home Assistant. I had to make multiple instances of it since each "bridge" in HomeKit can be a max of 150 devices.

[@Centurionguy69]

In Home Assistant, under HACS there is an integration called Dwaines Dashboard that also does this out of the box. And HIGHLY customizable. Much better then Apple's Homekit.

[@lance3198]

To be honest, I wasn't going to like this video until you had the Siri versus Alexa battle and then I got to get a bit a thumbs up

[@wh0tube]

What’s the incentive for these companies to make things work locally? Surely the cloud subscription model is more profitable?

[@Chapter7Certified]

Apple was way ahead of the game in the smart home space, like in many other spaces, and they failed to get mass third party support due to their stringent requirements.. Third parties chose the easier and less secure options, less people used Apple, and Apple paid less attention to this segment. It has happened with many different features with iOS. I am glad that Apple hasn't given up on HomeKit and that they aren't being too stubborn and ruining it for everyone here like they have in some other cases. They are essentially letting everyone else have the same benefits as HomeKit in exchange for all those devices now supporting HomeKit, which is a win for the consumer and a bold move I didn't think they'd take.

[@LetsDoItOldSchool]

May I get some info on the cube on the desk? Looks like a borg cube in blue….anybody??

[@lesliec6179]

My problem with Apple home kit is most of my smart devices are not shown to be compatible. For example. Wyze Kasa smart life. Anyone else have this issue?

[@porsche9441987]

Not sure how that’s possible when I have zero apple products in my home.

[@SmartHomeSolver]

There are systems like HomeBridge that can import all your existing smart home devices into Apple's HomeKit. That's what I am using. Also with Matter that will open up a lot of devices as well.

[@concretecharlie51]

Unrelated I know BUT I've watched tons of your vids and I really would like to steps on how to use a Ring contact sensor and Ring solar smart path lights to be automated via Alexa. I've seen you open the doors to our patio which set off lights but I think you always say it's via HA.

[@mpetrides]

About a year ago, I made the decision to make my smart home exclusively HomeKit. I’ve always insisted that any new smart home accessory I purchase must support HomeKit, so that transition wasn’t too much of a stretch. At this point, I only have 2 remaining Echos-a Show in the kitchen and a Spot in the bathroom in both cases primarily because I want to be able to watch multiple timers count down at the same time. (A HomePod with a screen and improved timer support would fix this need in a heartbeat.) The big gaps in my smart home are the lack of smart locks and a smart thermostat. The former is awaiting retail availability of the Schlage Encode Plus. Hopefully the advent of Matter will improve my choices for smart cameras and thermostats that work with HomeKit. So, I for one really hope your prediction is not only spot-on but also imminent!

[@LDBaha]

You can get a nest thermostat and a starling hub and then it works with Homekit :D

[@mpetrides]

@@LDBaha Thanks. But I am going to hold out for native, built-in HomeKit support, in part because I don't want to use any more third party hubs and, more importantly, as a matter of principle.

[@Dane-ish]

Cameras aren’t in the Matter version 1 spec. They have been reported to be in the next major iteration, but that could be a few years away. If you need cameras now there are a few choices that support HomeKit Secure Video. The open source project Scrypted gets a lot of non HomeKit cameras into HKSV. Also, any cameras that have RTSP will give you more options to stream the video onto other services and be stored locally.

[@mpetrides]

@@Dane-ish Thanks. I didn't know that. 😞 Obviously I don't NEED cameras now or I would have installed them. I would like to replace the soon-to-be-defunct Amazon CloudCam I have in my mudroom but the only thing I really use that for any more is to watch for the arrival of a service person when I'm downstairs exercising and unable to hear a knock on the door. So over the next few months before the CloudCam gets EOL'd I might have to look into your suggestions. Once again, thanks.

[@Dane-ish]

@@mpetrides You’re welcome, happy to help!

[@jamesmonahan7872]

Thank you for another great video. Right now I feel like I serve two masters as I am well entrenched with Apple (and I look forward to the new Home app update) and Alexa. I have created a system that works for me but use and old iPad for the Home app and a Fire Tablet for Alexa. Would love to be able to put all in one place without having to spend the time and energy Home Assistant requires. I too chose Lutron and have no regrets as the the whole system works. Could have I achieved the same with Kasa? Maybe but I did my research, watched reviews like yours on their products and can live with that.