UK announces measures to advance smart energy technology

The UK has announced new measures aimed at advancing smart energy technology and infrastructure across the country. The plans focus on enabling more homes to benefit from smart meters and flexible energy tariffs, as well as funding for companies to test new IoT-enabled services.

A key part of the strategy is improving support for in-home displays that connect to smart meters. The government has launched a scheme for customers to repair or replace faulty displays beyond the...

23 February 2024 | Applications

Wi-Fi HaLow trials underway for smart home and IoT applications

The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has announced the next phase of its “Wi-Fi HaLow for IoT” program, moving into real-world trials of 802.11ah Wi-Fi HaLow solutions across a range of smart home, industrial, retail, agriculture, and city applications.

These commercial deployments will demonstrate Wi-Fi HaLow’s ability to extend the benefits of Wi-Fi further into IoT use cases requiring wider coverage, longer battery life, and reliability. 

The extensive...

25 January 2024 | Connectivity

Samsung wants to connect smart homes with vehicles

Samsung is collaborating with Hyundai to expand its SmartThings platform to support connected vehicles. The goal is to develop solutions that fully integrate the smart home and connected vehicles for future lifestyles.

The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 3 January to work together over the next few years. The partnership will connect Samsung’s SmartThings platform with Hyundai and Kia connected vehicles to develop “Home-to-Car” and...

4 January 2024 | Applications

Matter 1.2 supports new device types alongside other enhancements

The Connectivity Standards Alliance has announced the release of Matter 1.2, the second update to the Matter standard.

Matter 1.2 – now available for device manufacturers and platforms – brings a slew of enhancements, including nine new device types, core specification improvements, and robust certification and testing tools.

New device types

Matter 1.2 introduces support for a range of new devices, enhancing interoperability and security. These...

24 October 2023 | Connectivity

Signify illuminates when Philips Hue will finally support Matter

Philips Hue maker Signify announced during the IFA tech show that compatibility with the Matter smart home standard will rollout this month.

The significance of this update cannot be overstated. Smart home owners have long grappled with the compatibility issues that arise when their devices cannot communicate effectively with each other.

Matter, introduced in the autumn of 2022, was designed to address this challenge by offering seamless compatibility across major smart...

1 September 2023 | Applications

Z-Wave Alliance celebrates Trident IoT’s launch

The Z-Wave Alliance is celebrating the launch of Trident IoT, a technology and engineering company with a key focus on streamlining RF development and reducing time-to-market for manufacturers of connected devices.

Trident IoT will directly cater to Z-Wave Alliance members by offering Z-Wave silicon chips and modules, and bespoke product design and development services. Most notably, the company will also serve as a US-based Z-Wave device certification laboratory.

This...

17 August 2023 | Connectivity

Amazon’s latest Matter update unlocks Thread support

Amazon has announced a number of significant updates to its support for smart home standard Matter.

The company says it has now switched on Matter in over 100 million Echo smart speakers, the Alexa iOS app now works with the standard, and, most notably, Thread support has arrived.

Matter is a new smart home standard that was developed by a consortium of companies, including Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung. It is designed to make it easier for smart home devices from...

3 May 2023 | Connectivity

Amazon opens Sidewalk IoT network to third-party devices

Amazon's low-bandwidth, long-range IoT network, Sidewalk, has grown rapidly and is now available for third-party device makers to integrate.

Sidewalk currently links many of Amazon’s devices, including Echo smart speakers and Ring doorbells, to create a network that now covers nine out of 10 Americans.

Amazon has announced that it’s opening applications for hardware development test kits that will enable third-party companies to validate the Sidewalk network and...

29 March 2023 | Applications

Apple’s new HomeKit architecture returns in iOS 16.4

Apple is re-releasing its new HomeKit architecture in iOS 16.4 after it was pulled in an earlier version.

The architecture initially debuted in iOS 16.2 but users quickly ran into problems with devices getting stuck “updating” or becoming entirely unresponsive.

Apple decided to pull the update while it investigated the issues. iOS 16.3 and iOS 16.3.1 arrived without any sign of the new HomeKit’s return.

Anyone eager to get started with the new HomeKit...

17 February 2023 | IoT

Apple finally activates HomePod Mini’s climate sensor

Apple has finally activated the humidity and temperature sensor in the HomePod Mini.

Earlier this month, Apple announced the second generation of its full-size HomePod. One of the new features was a sensor for detecting a room’s current temperature and humidity.

Back in 2021, the teardown specialists at iFixit disassembled the HomePod Mini. iFixit discovered a Texas Instruments HDC2010 humidity and temperature sensor that Apple failed to mention.

“The...

25 January 2023 | Applications