Episode 581 - YOLO Updates

On this week's show: Apple makes Apple Home hubs a lot pricier, Samsung puts a $5 toll booth in front of the SmartThings API, and Matter itself keeps inching toward “maybe this really will work.” We also hit a THIRDREALITY timer clock, an interesting universal remote hub, Level’s rough week, Netflix’s new profile email rule, project updates, a pick of the week, and so much more!

• Building an Apple Home just got pricier: New hardware hikes affect key Matter hubs (matteralpha.com/industry-news/apple-smart-home…)
• Home Tech Headlines• New - THIRDREALITY Smart Timer Light TL2,Digital Clock,60GHz mmWave Radar,RGB Light,Light Sensor,Simple Setup,Countdown Timer,Matter Enabled,2.4GHz WiFi only,Compatible with Alexa, Apple Home,Google Home (amzn.to/4vUYXUS)
• DREO Brings Matter Connectivity to TurboPoly™ Fan 765S, Furthering its Open Ecosystem Commitment (dreo.com/blogs/news/dreo-brings-matter-connect…)
• OpenInfrared Point: Universal Remote Hub (kickstarter.com/projects/openinfrared/openinfr…)
• Introducing UniFi Network 10.5 (blog.ui.com/article/introducing-network-10-5)
• Hackers target UniFi as critical exploits surface (cybernews.com/security/critical-ubiquiti-unifi…)
• Crestron Launches Configure Pro Platform for Crestron Home OS (ravepubs.com/crestron-launches-configure-pro-p…)
• Josh.ai Showcases AI-Powered Home Control with New Experiential Video (josh.ai/stories/joshai-showcases-ai-powered-ho…)
• Hunter Douglas Alta Window Fashions Motorized Shades Now Compatible with PowerView Automation (ravepubs.com/hunter-douglas-alta-window-fashio…)
• Samsung will soon start charging to access its smart home API (theverge.com/tech/957597/samsung-smartthings-a…)
• A New Enhanced SmartThings API Experience - SmartThings Blog (blog.smartthings.com/smartthings-updates/a-new…)
• Netflix now requires every user profile to be tied to unique email address (arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/netflix-now-re…)
• Smart lock maker Level has been gutted and its founders are out (theverge.com/tech/957802/level-lock-layoffs-as…)
• Matter Just Underwent a Major Stress Test for Supporting Large-Scale Deployments (cepro.com/news/matter-just-underwent-a-major-s…)
• Home Assistant upgrades to Matter 1.5.1 with a better codebase (matteralpha.com/industry-news/home-assistant-u…)
• The Matter upgrade you’ve been waiting for (home-assistant.io/blog/2026/06/23/the-matter-u…)
• Inside the room where the smart home industry is still betting on Matter (theverge.com/tech/958008/matter-unify-conferen…)

• Droplet the #1 Smart Home Water Sensor - Hydrific, part of LIXIL (hydrificwater.com)