Amazon bails on Roomba, homeOS possibilities, & more smart home news on HomeKit Insider

By Andrew O'Hara

On this episode of the HomeKit Insider podcast, your hosts dive into Amazon's failed Roomba acquisition, SwitchBot's new hub, and what homeOS could be used for.

HomeKit Insider Podcast

After months of regulator inquisition, Amazon has forgone its latest would-be acquisition. The online retailer was set to take ownership of Roomba parent company iRobot, but has since given up after regulatory scrutiny made approval unlikely.

Thanks to listener Siobhan, it appears that Level Home has gotten Matter approval for its Level Lock+ smart lock with Home Key. The update isn't out yet, but seems likely sooner, rather than later, following its certification.

Once more, Apple's unannounced operating system homeOS has been spotted in the latest tvOS 17.4 beta. We speculate a bit on what this new operating system could be and if it could point to a new smart home display.

SwitchBot has a new hub, the Hub Mini. This new diminutive hub will connect to your SwitchBot devices via Bluetooth and bridge them to your Matter home.

Finally, we take a look at the new update to the Wallflower app that gives you a smart home control panel you can run on iPad or iPhone.

Links from the show

Subscribe and listen to our AppleInsider Daily podcast for the latest Apple news Monday through Friday. You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Those interested in sponsoring the show can reach out to us at: advertising@appleinsider.com

Keep up with everything Apple in the weekly AppleInsider Podcast -- and get a fast news update from AppleInsider Daily. Just say, "Hey, Siri," to your HomePod mini and ask for these podcasts, and our latest HomeKit Insider episode too. If you want an ad-free main AppleInsider Podcast experience, you can support the AppleInsider podcast by subscribing for $5 per month through Apple's Podcasts app, or via Patreon if you prefer any other podcast player.