New Eve Energy launches, Apple TV 4K with Thread goes on sale, & more on HomeKit Insider

On this episode of the HomeKit Insider podcast, Apple TV 4K with Thread support goes on sale, new HomeKit devices come to market, and we tackle a series of new listener questions.

HomeKit Insider kicks off with a discussion about the new Apple TV, iPad Pro, iMac, and AirTag. Andrew and Stephen talk about what they ordered with special attention paid to the new Apple TV 4K with Thread.

Also in the last week, the slightly delayed Eve Energy has made its way to market. It quickly sold out and has another brief delay before it will be delivered.

Onvis also released its K1 2M light strip which is unique because it has multiple addressable zones rather than being required to be one solid color. If you were looking to create a pattern or have different areas of the strip display different colors, then this is a great new option that fully works with HomeKit.

We also dove into the Wemo Stage scene controller that was just released and gave it a mini-review ahead of its update with Thread.

Listener questions

A listener in the UK bemoaned the lack of in-wall switches that work via HomeKit and our listeners came through with a few different suggestions. The most common was the recomendation to try the Aqara wall switches which require no neutral wire and come in various form factors.

Another suggestion was using Lightwave RF light switches. They do require a hub for HomeKit, but otherwise work great.

Finally, we talked about filament bulbs and the various sizes which can be tough to fit into small fixtures.