Every Sunday we recap the news of the past seven days. This week was dominated by a surprising relaunch from Apple.
Latest beta of iOS 16.3 brings back HomeKit architecture upgrade
The HomeKit architecture upgrade introduced with iOS 16.2 and withdrawn a short time later will be available again with iOS 16.3.
At least the upgrade is available again in the current beta of iOS 16.3. After the upgrade, users should benefit from optimized response times and better stability.
New Thread devices from Onvis surfaced
After Onvis already has the first device with Thread (Contact Sensor CT3) on the market and the next device is already in the starting blocks (Wireless Switch HS2), two previously unannounced devices have appeared on the manufacturer’s website this week.
These are successors for the Onvis motion sensor SMS1, as well as the Onvis security alarm CS1. However, the devices do not seem to differ from the predecessors except for the new Thread wireless standard.
Apple introduces new HomePod
Apple surprisingly unveiled a new HomePod this week. It is a successor of the first HomePod, which Apple actually discontinued two years ago.
While there is hardly any difference on the outside, new components are of course working on the inside. The HomePod is available for pre-order now for $299/€349 and is scheduled to begin shipping on February 3.
Sensors from HomePod (mini) usable in HomeKit
Not only the new HomePod comes with integrated temperature and humidity sensors. The HomePod mini also has this built in right from the start. With software version 16.3, these can finally be used in HomeKit.
However, since speakers are not available in third-party apps, the sensors cannot be used there either. Accordingly, automations can only be created via Apple’s Home app with the known restrictions.
Save Matter codes in HomePass
If you already have the first Matter devices in use, you can now save the codes needed for setup in HomePass.
Without the codes, neither HomeKit nor Matter devices can be set up again. Therefore, you should save the codes in any case.
The smartest HomeKit voice assistant in the world
If you are dissatisfied with Siri’s answers every now and then, you should take a closer look at Mate Marschalko’s project.
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With a simple prompt, he trained ChatGPT to control HomeKit devices using Home Assistant. The answers Mate gets to his sentences in natural language are really impressive and give hope that Siri will become smarter and more reliable in the future.
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