This is Issue #55 of the Smart Homes School weekly newsletter — free smart home news for professionals, consultants, installers and enthusiasts, every Wednesday. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox first.
A quieter week for big launches, but the stories that broke are the kind that matter to anyone actually running smart home systems day to day. Philips Hue has quietly walked back a promise on Apple Home support, Home Assistant 2026.3 is out with some genuinely useful updates, Hue Flux light strips have finally landed in the US, and UK EV smart tariffs are shifting heading into April.
Philips Hue Quietly Removed Its Apple Home Promise. Nobody Announced It.
Philips Hue had publicly promised Apple Home (HomeKit) support was coming in Q1 2026 for its Hue Bridge Pro. That deadline has now passed and Signify has quietly removed all references to it from the website — no announcement, no explanation, no new timeline. Users who bought the Bridge Pro specifically for the Apple Home integration are understandably frustrated, and the silence from Signify is arguably the bigger story.
The Hue Bridge Pro was launched in September 2025 as the centrepiece of a major product refresh, with Apple Home support explicitly listed as a Q1 2026 feature. That commitment has now been deleted from the product page without any replacement statement. For installers who specced the Bridge Pro into client systems based on that promise, this is not a minor inconvenience — it is a trust issue with a supplier.
Why it matters for installers
- If you have sold clients on Hue Bridge Pro plus Apple Home, you need to know this promise has been pulled. There is no ETA and no public statement from Signify
- Quietly deleting a published feature commitment without any update is a pattern worth flagging — consultants who spec around supplier promises need to factor this kind of behaviour into their risk assessment
- Apple Home interoperability with third-party ecosystems remains a weak point across the industry. This is worth tracking as a trend across 2026
Read the full story on Hueblog
Home Assistant 2026.3 Lands. Robot Vacuums, Wake Words, and a Clean Sweep of Community Fixes.
Home Assistant’s March release is a lighter feature drop than February’s, but it delivers two genuinely useful changes for anyone running HA in client installs. First, you can now send a robot vacuum to clean a specific named area on demand — so “clean the kitchen” works as a command rather than running the full map. This currently works with Matter, Roborock and Ecovacs, with more integrations coming. Second, Android phones can now act as local wake-word voice satellites using “Okay Nabu”, “Hey Jarvis” or “Hey Mycroft”, with all voice processing happening entirely on-device.
The Energy dashboard also gets real-time improvements — the Now view shows live power consumption, gas flow rate and water flow rate without needing to navigate into separate menus. Tabs have been reorganised into Electricity, Gas and Water, making it easier to present to clients. The release notes also include a long list of integration improvements across Shelly, SwitchBot, Tuya, Roborock and others.
Why it matters for installers
- Area-based vacuum cleaning works with Matter, Roborock and Ecovacs today — useful if you build room-based automations for clients and want to trigger cleaning by zone
- Local wake words on Android give old Android phones a second life as always-on, fully local voice satellites. No cloud, no subscription, no additional hardware — a compelling add-on for clients who want voice control without privacy concerns
- The improved Energy dashboard makes it much easier to demonstrate real-time energy monitoring to clients during handover
Read the full Home Assistant 2026.3 release notes
Hue Flux Light Strips Finally Hit the US. Philips Also Lets You Kill the AI Assistant.
The Hue Flux Lightstrip, announced in September 2025 and available in Europe since late last year, has now launched in the US at $69.99 for 10ft and $99.99 for 16ft. Flux uses ChromaSync precision colour blending with closer LED spacing than the older Hue gradient strips, which gives a smoother, more even wash of light behind TVs, shelving and architectural features. It is a meaningful improvement over the previous generation for entertainment lighting applications.
The same week, Philips Hue app update 5.63 added the ability to completely remove the AI assistant button from the home screen, following sustained user pushback. The longer OmniGlow variants and ultra-bright Flux are not yet listed in the US — worth flagging to clients who expect the full European range to be available immediately.
Why it matters for installers
- Flux is now the right strip light to recommend for US clients doing entertainment lighting setups — the ChromaSync blending is noticeably smoother than the older gradient products
- The OmniGlow and ultra-bright variants are still US-pending, so check availability before speccing them into a project
- The AI assistant removal option in 5.63 is worth knowing about for clients who found the feature intrusive — it can now be turned off completely
Read the full Hue Flux US launch story on Hueblog
UK Smart EV Tariffs Are Shifting in April. Here Is What Changes for Smart Home Installs.
From April 1st, the Ofgem energy price cap sets the UK standard electricity rate at 24.67p/kWh. At the same time, Octopus Energy’s Intelligent Go smart EV tariff is dropping its off-peak smart charging rate to 5.5p/kWh — a saving of around 90% versus average public charging costs of 54p/kWh. For smart home installers specifying EV chargers, the compatible charger list has also expanded: Intelligent Octopus Go now works with Andersen EV chargers, which are popular in premium residential installs.
The savings story is becoming a concrete client conversation. A typical EV driver can save £400-500 per year by switching from a standard tariff to a smart EV tariff — and that saving grows when other household electricity consumption is shifted to the off-peak window overnight. For installers who are already specifying EV chargers, being able to walk clients through the tariff options is becoming a meaningful differentiator.
Why it matters for installers
- Intelligent Octopus Go now supports Andersen EV chargers — if you are speccing Andersen for premium installs, smart tariff integration is now live from April
- The £400-500 annual saving versus standard rates is a concrete number to put in front of clients who are on the fence about a smart charger upgrade
- Knowing the compatible charger list (Ohme, Zappi, Andersen, Wallbox and others) is increasingly important — not all chargers work with all smart tariffs
Read the full UK EV tariff comparison on Love Electric
Worth Reading This Week
- Hueblog: Philips Hue removes Apple Home promise — The cleanest write-up of the situation. Covers exactly what was promised, when it was due, and how Signify quietly removed the commitment. Essential reading if you have clients on Hue Bridge Pro.
- Home Assistant: 2026.3 official release notes — Worth a full read if you run HA installs for clients. The area-based vacuum cleaning is practical, but the wake-word-on-Android feature is the standout — any old Android phone becomes a local, cloud-free voice satellite.
- Hueblog: AmbiScape replaces Ambilight+Hue on Philips TVs — Philips TV (TP Vision) is moving from a Hue-only Ambilight integration to a new Matter-based AmbiScape system that works with Hue, Nanoleaf, IKEA, WiZ and others. Good for multi-brand lighting installs, but existing Ambilight+Hue setups will not transfer automatically.
- How-To Geek: HA 2026.3 in plain English — If the official release notes are too technical to share with clients or colleagues, this is the version to send. Covers vacuum area cleaning, Android wake words and energy dashboard changes in clear everyday language.
- Hueblog: Philips Hue spring sale is live — The Bridge Pro and new Flux and OmniGlow products are included in the current promotion. In the US, select items are 25% off without needing to bundle a bridge. Worth checking before quoting retail price to clients.
- Smart Homes School: 2026 Smart Home Predictions Dashboard — Given everything that happened in Q1, including Matter cameras, local AI, Alexa+ rollout and Apple Home delays, it is worth revisiting these predictions to see how many are playing out ahead of schedule.
About Smart Homes School Weekly
Smart Homes School Weekly is published every Wednesday by Gerard O’Driscoll from Ireland. It covers smart home technology, AI and automation news for professionals, consultants, installers and serious enthusiasts. Browse the full archive here or subscribe to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.