The Sunday Scene - 19
IKEA colored lights - image from IKEA
First
IKEA Matter over Thread - Ikea’s announced a new Matter over Thread lineup of devices and lights. Earlier this year, IKEA added Matter support to its DIRIGERA hub. The big difference here is that these sensors will be able to pair directly to any Matter home ecosystem. According to The Verge, the first of these products will start shipping to US IKEA stores in January. IKEA operates on a global scale few other smart home companies do. This change will put Matter and Thread on a much bigger stage than usual.
Second
UniFi World Conference in Miami - Ubiquiti held its major global conference in Miami, showcasing a range of new products. The speed and breadth at which this company is moving is astounding. While not Matter compatible, UniFi is moving more into IoT sensors with new sensors like their door contact sensors. We’ll see how this pans out over time. Apex One IT on YouTube has a great recap video of public conference announcements.
Third
Apple and Google near deal for Gemini in Siri - Perhaps, like me, you’ve been seeing the addition of LLM-powered assistants in Amazon and Google ecosystems and wondering when Apple would be able to get the same. This move to put a 1.2 trillion parameter model in Apple’s Siri makes sense. I also have a feeling Apple will still be able to keep this much more private than the competition, but we’ll see. I use Gemini 2.5 every day at my job, and it’s a very capable LLM. From what I understand, a 1.2 trillion parameter model is comparable to the latest models as of November 2025. I wonder what the difference will be by the time this launches in Apple products, potentially in the Spring.
The Schedule
Last week, I didn’t have a live stream since I had conflicts on both my usual Thursday and Friday times. Speaking of Ubiquiti, I published a new video on the UNAS 2.
This week, I have another video I’m excited about, along with a live stream, probably on Thursday night.
I’m planning for this to be the last email newsletter I send through Squarespace. I have some website changes that will hopefully be launching this week. You should get the newsletter next weekend without noticing, except for a slightly different newsletter design.
I hope you have a great rest of your Sunday.
Best,
Eric
