Hey 1Homies, the admin is back from the seaside, and so is 1Home Digest! Let's dive right into it.
Apple Is Working On a New Home Accessory
MacRumors has been snooping around Apple's backend and discovered code confirming that Apple is indeed working on a long-rumored home accessory besides the HomePod and Apple TV. What do you think it will be?
LG has Just Bought a Majority Stake in Homey
An 80 percent stake in Athom, the company behind Homey, has been acquired by LG. The deal, which LG says will see it acquire the remaining 20 percent of Athom within the next three years, has been forged to expand LG’s smart home ecosystem and is aiming to position it to better compete against Samsung’s rivaling SmartThings platform.
Amazon refreshes its Echo Spot
Amazon has released a refreshed Echo Spot just in time for the Prime Day sale. The Echo Spot is designed to sit on your nightstand and features a display that lets you set and view alarms, and see the time, weather, and song titles. It also features a 1.73” front-firing directional speaker that delivers “clear vocals and deep bass.”
Samsung SmartThings now supports Matter 1.2
Samsung’s SmartThings is finally bringing Matter 1.2 support to users. Samsung makes tons of products that sit at the higher end of the market. But not everyone who buys a Samsung refrigerator wants to use SmartThings. The move to Matter 1.2 will allow those devices to be utilized from ecosystems like Google Home or Apple HomeKit.