Smart home news, reviews, and guides — making your home smarter.
Smart home news, reviews, and guides — making your home smarter.
Philips Hue is rolling out firmware 1.164.2 for its newest lights, adding Matter 1.4.1 support and a long-promised feature: Zigbee and Matter over Thread running at the same time. The update covers 2026 models plus late-2025 E27 and GU10 bulbs, so you no longer have to choose between the Hue Bridge and a direct Thread connection. Here’s what the concurrency update changes for your smart lighting setup.
Read MoreSwitchBot’s new RGBICWW Light Bars pair individually addressable RGB color with tunable 2200K-6500K white light up to 800 lumens, connect over Matter via Wi-Fi with no hub required, and can even signal AI agent status through an API. The pair costs $45.99 ($36.99 with coupon) and works with Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings, and Home Assistant.
Read MoreNanoleaf has launched an official Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets you control its smart lights with natural language through ChatGPT and Claude. Free for all customers, the integration moves lighting control beyond rigid voice commands toward conversational AI. Pre-built integrations arrive later this month. Here’s what the launch means for your smart home.
Read MoreGovee’s CES 2026 announcements — the Floor Lamp 3 with 281 trillion colors, the 616-pixel Ceiling Light Ultra, the first tease of the Sky Ceiling Light, and a Samsung SmartThings partnership — set the template for the brand’s breakout year. Here is what was announced and how it played out.
Read MoreGovee’s IFA 2026 lineup is headlined by the $399.99 AI-powered Sky Ceiling Light with 7,000 lumens and a 478nm daylight-mimicking spectrum, joined by the COB Strip Light 2 Pro and dual-zone Permanent Outdoor Lights 2 Pro — all Matter-compatible and driven by AI Lighting Bot 2.0. We break down the specs, pricing, availability, and how the lineup stacks up against Philips Hue.
Read MorePhilips Hue has launched its first wired wall switch modules — €44.99 devices that fit behind existing switches and bring non-smart lights into the Hue ecosystem. They are Europe-only for now, arriving alongside a Play Table Lamp, a large floor lamp, and a Matter-over-Thread candle bulb. We cover installation realities, the competition from Shelly and Aqara, and whether the price is justified.
Read MoreAt IFA 2026, Philips Hue and Nanoleaf announced a surprise partnership: a $39.99 Wall Light Module that brings Nanoleaf Shapes panels into the Hue app, scenes, and entertainment sync. Here is how it works, which panels are compatible, and the Zigbee catch. Plus what the deal reveals about Nanoleaf’s 2026 strategy and Matter’s slow progress.
Read MorePhilips Hue’s biggest IFA 2026 software news — Custom AI Behaviors, Back-up & Restore, and Sonos integration — is coming this fall, but the two headline features require the $140 Bridge Pro. Here is what each feature does and whether the upgrade is worth it. We dig into how the features work, the rollout timeline, and the growing cloud-account requirement.
Read MorePhilips Hue unveiled its biggest 2026 launch at IFA Berlin: a $120 camera-based TV sync system, a $150 4K HDMI sync box, the 360-degree Liane rope light, new Signe fixtures, expanded outdoor lighting, and cuttable gradient strips for TVs up to 100 inches. US, Canadian, and European pricing varies — here is what each region pays.
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