Amazon's Expansive New Smart Home Lineup & HomePod mini 2 Review

About this episode

Andrew O'Hara covers a big week in smart home news. We've updates from Apple, a whole lineup of new smart home devices from Amazon, and we review the new HomePod mini 2. Apple news • tvOS 27.2 lets you pair the new Siri Remote with older Apple TVs, back to the Apple TV HD. The remote now shows up in Find My. Screensavers auto-rotate, and profiles get new characters and a kid's profile option on iPhone and iPad. There are also new ASL and BSL audio options. • HomePods get Sound Glow, which tints the top of the speaker to match the album art you're playing. • Code found in the HomeView 27.2 software points to possible AI agent support, such as Claude and ChatGPT. It also hints at a security camera mode with a chime, a green light and alerts when settings change. Shipping dates are starting to slip. Amazon's smart home event • The new Echo Dot, Echo Studio with a built-in camera, Echo Time and Echo Show 16 are covered, along with the "A-word" photo frame. The Echo Show 16 adds a home map that scans your rooms with an iPhone. More news • Matic launches the quieter Serene model and an upgrade program for existing robots. It also adds a "say cheese" photo feature. • SwitchBot's AI A