This is Issue #57 of the Smart Homes School weekly newsletter — free smart home news for professionals and enthusiasts, every Monday. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox first.
A busy first week of April in the smart home world. Home Assistant released its April update, and it is genuinely one of the more useful ones in a while. Philips Hue’s ongoing Apple Home saga took another turn. Security is getting harder to ignore as a category. And if you are planning your autumn trade show schedule, the CEDIA Expo dates have moved.
Home Assistant 2026.4 Turns Old Devices Smart with Native IR
Home Assistant’s April release landed on April 1st, and the headline feature is native infrared support. Any device in a client’s home with an IR receiver — a TV, an air conditioner, a fan, a soundbar — can now be pulled into automations directly from Home Assistant without needing a separate IR bridge or workaround. That covers a huge number of older devices that previously sat outside any automation system.
Beyond IR, the update brings cross-domain triggers, which is a meaningful step forward. Instead of building an automation around a specific entity type, you can now write it in plain language: when any door on the upper floor opens, when any window sensor in the living room triggers. Home Assistant handles the entity matching in the background. For anyone who has spent time explaining YAML logic to clients, this makes handover conversations easier.
The update also includes full Matter lock management with PIN codes built directly into Home Assistant. You can add a user, assign a PIN, and set it as one-time access — the code deletes itself after a single use. Practical applications include temporary access for tradespeople, delivery codes, or short-term rental guests, all managed through an automation rather than a separate app. Fourteen new integrations round out the release, including expanded support for Roborock, SwitchBot, and OpenAI Conversation with GPT-5.4.
- Native IR support means older AV gear can join automations with no extra hardware.
- Cross-domain triggers make installs easier to hand over to clients who are not technical.
- Matter lock PIN management with one-time codes is a real feature for managed access scenarios.
Read the full Home Assistant 2026.4 release notes
Philips Hue Quietly Drops Its Apple Home Camera Promise
At CES in January, Philips Hue confirmed that Hue Secure cameras and the Hue video doorbell would work with Apple Home by the end of Q1 2026. It was a specific, public commitment that many installers and consultants factored into their recommendations for Apple Home clients. The end of March came and went with no update, and in mid-March, the Hueblog reported that Philips Hue had removed the commitment from its website entirely, with no explanation given.
The Apple Home situation is broader than just the camera integration. Reports from February onwards described widespread problems with the Hue Bridge Pro dropping its Matter connection to Apple Home following firmware update 26.3. Community forums filled with troubleshooting threads. As of this week, there has been no official fix, and Hueblog notes that manually removing and re-adding the bridge remains the most reliable workaround, which means losing all Lightroom assignments in the process.
This is the second time Signify has publicly committed to Apple Home camera integration and failed to deliver on schedule. The first commitment was made in September 2025. For anyone specifying Hue Secure to Apple Home clients, the honest position right now is to hold off until there is a firm delivery date with a track record of being kept.
- Do not specify Hue Secure cameras for Apple Home installs until Signify gives a new dated commitment.
- If clients are seeing Hue devices drop from Apple Home, firmware 26.3 is the likely cause. Removing and re-adding the bridge is the current workaround.
Read the Hueblog report on Hue and Apple Home
Security Is the Category Integrators Can No Longer Ignore
A piece published this week makes the case clearly: security is no longer a separate trade that sits outside the smart home project. Homeowners are expecting cameras, environmental sensors, smart locks and alarms to work as part of the same system as their lighting and AV. The platforms are meeting them there. Alarm.com has been adding natural language camera search and AI-powered event analysis. Home Assistant has just added direct Matter lock management. ADT’s $170 million acquisition of Origin AI shows where professionally monitored security is heading next, into ambient presence sensing that does not require cameras at all.
CEDIA Expo 2026 has taken note. The show has confirmed dedicated security programming on the Smart Stage in September, covering AI in security deployments and how integrators can handle the privacy expectations that come with more intelligent systems. ISC West, which concluded recently, covered much of the same ground from the pure security angle.
For electricians and IT professionals who have stayed out of the security category, the practical question is no longer whether to offer it but how to structure it. The clients are already asking.
- Clients expect security to be part of the smart home system, not a separate app from a separate company.
- Platforms are making unified installs easier. Understanding how Alarm.com, Home Assistant, and others connect to security hardware is now a core skill.
Read the full piece on security and integrators
CEDIA Expo 2026 Shifts Dates and Adds a Skills Challenge
CEDIA Expo/CIX 2026 will run from September 2-4 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, moving the dates to finish before Labor Day weekend. For anyone travelling from Europe or Ireland, that makes logistics noticeably simpler. Registration is opening in the coming weeks.
New this year: a hands-on Skills Challenge on the show floor aimed at technicians and installers. It is a different format from the conference sessions and is worth watching as a signal for how technical training in the industry is evolving. The show will also introduce a new Best Booth Awards series alongside the existing CE Pro Best Product and Home of the Year awards.
The education programme looks strong. Smart Stage sessions include AI in the rack, energy management as a power problem (not a control problem), lighting as an entry point for deeper integrator relationships, and a State of the Industry panel that will, for the first time, include manufacturer executives alongside association and buying group leaders. If you go to one trade event this year, this is the one to book.
- New dates finish before Labor Day, making European travel easier. Book flights early.
- The Skills Challenge is a new hands-on format worth watching for technical training insight.
Read what is new at CEDIA Expo 2026
Worth Reading This Week
- Home Assistant 2026.4 Full Release Notes — The official post covers all 14 new integrations, the infrared feature, and the Matter lock manager in detail. Good reference for planning client installs.
- Hue PartyAware Floor Tiles: Announced April 1st — Philips Hue announced modular music-reactive floor tiles for summer 2026. The project appears to have been paused indefinitely shortly after the announcement, so hold off specifying these.
- ADT Acquires Origin AI for Wi-Fi Presence Sensing — ADT paid $170 million for camera-free occupancy detection technology. Commercial rollout planned from 2027, but this signals where the monitoring industry is heading.
- Smart Homes School 2026 Trend Dashboard — Maps the ten biggest smart home shifts this year to consulting and project revenue. The AI as a recurring service point is the one to focus on.
- Matter in 2026: A Thorough Status Review — The best independent breakdown of where Matter actually stands across ecosystems. Useful when clients ask why their Matter device did not work as advertised.
- CEDIA Expo 2026 Official Show Schedule — The full Smart Stage session list is live. AI in the rack and energy management sessions look strong. Bookmark it now before registration opens.
- Hue Bridge Pro Apple Home Problems: The Full Picture — Documents the widespread Matter/Apple Home issues following Hue firmware 26.3. Start here if clients are reporting Hue dropping out of Apple Home.
- Alarm.com at ISC West: AI Shapes Security and Surveillance — Natural language camera search and privacy-preserving AI analytics shown at ISC West 2026. Useful context for positioning AI security in your service offering.
- HA 2026.4 in Plain Terms: What IR Support Actually Means — A clear explainer of the infrared feature for anyone who wants to understand it before testing. Covers hardware requirements and which devices are now controllable.
- OpenClaw and Smart Home: Exciting, But Read the Security Small Print — OpenClaw lets you control your smart home through WhatsApp or Telegram via an LLM. Genuinely impressive, but 135,000+ exposed instances and a CVSS 8.8 CVE mean security hardening is not optional before deploying anywhere near client kit.
About Smart Homes School Weekly
Smart Homes School Weekly is published every Monday 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.