Smart Home Automation and Control

There are more smart thermostats supporting Apple’s HomeKit now than ever, here we look at the best on offer right now.

Smart ceiling fans are a category that lends itself well to automation. Here are the best options for smart ceiling fans available right now.

Does Ring support thermostats directly? Yes, but only a few. See the best supported models, and ways to get other models to work in some way.

Choosing a smart thermostat in Australia is not as simple as it should be. Here’s why, and what your best options are.

Smart thermostats are a good addition to the smart home, and if you use Alexa you have a lot of options. We’ve pulled out the best options to choose from.

While there may not be many ceiling fans that support HomeKit, it’s worth getting them into your setup for the convenience and automation potential. We explore the ways to do this for any fan you may have.

Eufy’s X9 Pro CleanerBot has everything you need for fully automated cleaning. See how it performs, where it shines, and where it falls short.

Getting Z-Wave into HomeKit used to be nigh on impossible. But now we have multiple options. We take a look at each of the solutions available to help you choose.

Smart home connected pool sensors are not as common as you’d think, but there are some options.

The Philips Hue motion Sensor is a little more pricey than some, but if you have a Hue Bridge it offers a much better addition to any smart home.

SwitchBot make a range of useful niche smart home products, but integration with platforms other than Alexa and Google has been pretty limited. The SwitchBot Hub 2 promises to help by supporting Matter, but does it work?

If you struggle with getting 2.4GHz devices to play nice, you might think going all 5GHz is the answer, but it may not be so easy.

If you’re looking for a smart thermostat that’s easy to set up, easy to use, and doesn’t try to take control of your comfort levels when you don’t want it to, the Sensi Touch 2 is a great option.

Wireless sensors are a staple of smart home monitoring, but changing batteries can become a chore. The Meross Smart Sensor aims to solve that by using microlight harvesting.

After a long dry spell, Australia is getting more HomeKit compatible smart plugs

Smart plugs have all sorts of uses, but sometimes getting one where you need it is a squeeze. The EVVR Smart Plug is a solution for those specific situations.

Not having a c-wire can be a pain when looking for smart thermostats, but here are some options to get around that.

Chamberlain’s MyQ system allows for adding smart home connectivity to your garage door. But is their own bridge device the best way to do that?

This HomeKit-compatible air quality sensor brings PM2.5 and PM10 sensors to HomeKit at a great price point. We take a look at how it performs.

Motorized smart blinds are handy, but commercial offerings can be pricey. Here’s how to do it yourself for much less.

Smart thermostats offer numerous comfort and energy saving benefits. If you’ve opted for the benefits of Z-Wave this guide has you covered.

There are smart irrigation systems available that make watering easy and efficient, but if you need something simpler the Eve Aqua delivers full featured control over your outdoor taps.

While there are some unofficial ways to get Z-Wave devices into HomeKit, Thinka has done it right with this native bridge device.

Smart curtains present a host of opportunities for both convenience and energy efficiency. There are good options to add smarts yourself, and some professional options if you want more thorough makeover.

The Sensibo AirQ smart AC controller has a lot to offer in terms of features and ease of use, but there are some caveats.

Alexa has grown a lot in both voice and automation capability. Here we look at what you can do with routines, how, and what the current limitations are.

Sometimes you want to add smart home control to something that just isn’t smart. Switchbot has the answer to those smart home ‘holes’.

Getting control of your garage door through your smart home has never been easier thanks to this cost effective add-on device from Meross. We take a look at how it works and if it gets the job done.

Smart blinds offer genuine opportunities for automation in the smart home, but finding a good option for your platform of choice can be hard. Hunter Douglas has a professional offering that supports all the major platforms, and delivers the goods.

Yes, smart showers are a thing. You can go the whole hog with a complete smart home integrated spa system, complete with Netflix, or you can go with something more humble. We take a look at all the options.

There are more smart thermostats supporting Apple’s HomeKit now than ever, here we look at the best on offer right now.

Smart ceiling fans are a category that lends itself well to automation. Here are the best options for smart ceiling fans available right now.

Does Ring support thermostats directly? Yes, but only a few. See the best supported models, and ways to get other models to work in some way.

Choosing a smart thermostat in Australia is not as simple as it should be. Here’s why, and what your best options are.

Smart thermostats are a good addition to the smart home, and if you use Alexa you have a lot of options. We’ve pulled out the best options to choose from.

While there may not be many ceiling fans that support HomeKit, it’s worth getting them into your setup for the convenience and automation potential. We explore the ways to do this for any fan you may have.

Getting Z-Wave into HomeKit used to be nigh on impossible. But now we have multiple options. We take a look at each of the solutions available to help you choose.

Smart home connected pool sensors are not as common as you’d think, but there are some options.

Being able to control and integrate all our smart devices is a huge win, so getting SwitchBot and HomeKit to play nice was something I had to figure out.

If you’ve been frustrated not being able to have Siri announce things as part of your HomeKit automations, there is a tool that provides one way to make it happen easily.

The new unified smart home integration standard known as Matter promises to revolutionize the world of connected devices. See what it’s all about, and why it’s important.

HomeKit has become a capable and secure smart home platform. See what it can do, and how to get the most out of all the latest features.

If you struggle with getting 2.4GHz devices to play nice, you might think going all 5GHz is the answer, but it may not be so easy.

The Tuya platform offers integration with Alexa and Google Assistant via the cloud. But using Homebridge can give you access to these in HomeKit, and with local control to boot. Here’s how.

While Apple’s HomeKit has been designed to be easily accessible to the ordinary iPhone user, not having a permanent controlling device results in significant limitations

Apple’s Home app may not seem to offer much complexity compared to more enthusiast focused platforms, but there is a lot more going on under the hood.

After a long dry spell, Australia is getting more HomeKit compatible smart plugs

HomeKit Secure Video offers a highly secure, privacy-centric cloud storage model for security cameras. Arlo won’t support it. Here is how to work around them and do it anyway.

Not having a c-wire can be a pain when looking for smart thermostats, but here are some options to get around that.

Getting optimal performance out of your eufyCams in Homekit can be challenge. This guide walks through all the settings, and how to use them.

If you’re a HomeKit user, and a Sensibo Sky owner, you really need this hack to bring the two together.

HomeKit automation rules can actually be triggered from any accessory value you have, not just what the Home app allows. See how to use sensor triggers in the Home app and popular third-party options.

Siri has a number of options when it comes to language, voice, accent, and how it refers to us by name. Here’s how to access and change those settings, and why.

You’ve probably heard about license plate recognition, but have you considered the possibilities it presents to the smart home?

When looking to upgrade your thermostat you’ll probably need a c-wire, but what is it, and what can you do if you don’t have one?

Chamberlain doesn’t support Alexa natively, for reasons. But there are some inexpensive workarounds that will get your MyQ opener working with the popular voice assistant.