On this week's episode of the HomeKit Insider podcast, your host rounds up his favorite devices of 2025, recaps the fall of iRobot, and previews what to expect at CES 2026.

This was a light week for the news, as expected, being the final episode of 2025. There was a few news item that we got to dive into.

First, Samsung is officially the first platform to announce support for Matter 1.5 with cameras. the brand has announced it is partnering with Aqara, Eve, and Xthings to bring cameras to market.

LG has announced its new modular surround sound system, based on the Dolby Flex Connect framework. This is what allows speakers to be placed anywhere and will automatically calibrate for Dolby Atmos.

The big news item was the bankruptcy of iRobot and its acquisition by China-based Picea Robotics. Picea Robotics had been helping iRobot with its most recent Roombas and also has its own line of home robots under the 3i brand.

Aside from the news, we talk through the most popular episodes of the year. Highlights included the next-gen Apple TV rumor roundup, the 2025 CES episode, the leak of the Hue doorbell, and our overview of the rumored homeOS.

This will be the last episode before the kickoff of CES, so we talk through some of the trends we expect to see and what may be announced. We expect to see more Matter announcements, more Aliro smart locks, and AI being shoved into more products.

Finally, we talk about our favorite products to release in 2025. That includes the SwitchBot Candle Warmer, the Roborock Saros Z70, Level Lock Pro, and more.

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