Alex Tripp
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alextripptech.bsky.social
Alex Tripp
@alextripptech.bsky.social
A blog about smart home gadgets, consumer tech, and more!
Smart homes aren’t just for early adopters anymore.
Parks Associates says 54M U.S. households now own smart devices. 13M added since 2020. Nearly 40% of new buyers are “early majority,” not tech hobbyists.
Have we hit the mainstream?
#homeassistant #smarthome

www.prnewswire.com/news-release...
Parks Associates Estimates Approximately 13 million New US Internet Households Have Entered the Smart Home Market Since 2020
/PRNewswire/ -- Parks Associates, in partnership with the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), has released a new white paper, Smart Home Evolution:...
www.prnewswire.com
August 27, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Creality just launched the K2 & K2 Pro printers, multi-material, multicolor, and even AI-powered features baked in. Cool evolution for hobbyists, but I wonder: will Creality’s AI actually make prints more reliable, or just another buzzword? #3dprinting

3dprintingindustry.com/news/crealit...
Creality launches its new K2 and K2 Pro desktop 3D printers: Technical specifications and pricing - 3D Printing Industry
Your seat at the Additive Manufacturing Advantage awaits! Register free for AMA: Energy and AMA: Automotive & Mobility. Chinese 3D printer manufacturer Creality has expanded its flagship K series with...
3dprintingindustry.com
August 25, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Your smart home doesn’t need to do everything—just the right things. Automate the boring, the repetitive, the “did I remember to…?” moments.

What’s one thing in your home you’ll never go back to doing manually?

#smarthome #homeassistant #homeautomation
August 12, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Matter 1.4.2 just dropped! Better reliability, no-Bluetooth onboarding, router integration, cryptographic device ID revocation, and improved battery/network performance.
#matter #smarthome #homeassistant
csa-iot.org/newsroom/mat...
Matter 1.4.2 | Enhancing Security and Scalability for Smart Homes
When we first launched Matter, our goal was clear: empower device makers to build reliable, secure smart home products, and help users easily start and grow their connected homes. With the release of…
csa-iot.org
August 11, 2025 at 6:37 PM
I’m bringing 3D printing back—but this time, it’s part of my smart home blog.

I’ll be posting STL designs I’ve made to solve real problems around my house (and maybe yours too). No physical sales, just clean digital downloads.

alextripp.tech/new-addition...
New Addition to the Blog: 3D Design and Printing Projects - AlexTripp.Tech
Over the past year, I’ve shared a lot about smart home automation, Home Assistant, and the various ways I’ve optimized my tech setup. But behind the scenes, one of my favorite tools for making my home...
alextripp.tech
August 8, 2025 at 10:32 PM
ULTRALOQ just launched the first Apple Home Key-compatible smart lock.
Cool idea, especially if you can share temporary NFC keys to guests. But for me? Geofencing or temporary codes already solve that.

Hopefully it becomes a standard going forward!
#smarthome

www.morningstar.com/news/pr-news...
ULTRALOQ Makes First Apple Home Key-Compatible Smart Lock
www.morningstar.com
August 5, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Starting today, all new IoT devices in the EU need to meet strict cybersecurity standards.
Big win for security, but will it slow innovation? Or make smart home devices pricier? Does this make your smart home safer or more secure?
#smarthome #iot #homeassistant evertiq.com/news/2025-06...
Cybersecurity in IoT: Mandatory from August 2025
From 1 August 2025, all new radio-connected devices entering the EU market must comply with strict cybersecurity standards. What does this mean, and how can manufacturers prepare? We explored the topi...
evertiq.com
August 4, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Google’s smart home mess might end in a lawsuit.
Glitches, broken routines, and unresponsive devices. Users are fed up. I try my best to stick to all local where possible. What about you? #smarthome #google #homeassistant www.androidauthority.com/google-home-...
Crippling Google Home issues spark potential class action response
After numerous reports of Google Home issues, a US law firm has announced that it is investigating a possible class action.
www.androidauthority.com
July 31, 2025 at 4:50 PM
ThirdReality’s MK1, a smart mech keyboard.

As a Home Assistant fan, I love the matter protocol support. But in practice… most of my automations are voice-driven or fully automated.

Could this be the start of smarter workspaces, or just a niche toy? #matter #smarthome

www.prweb.com/releases/thi...
THIRDREALITY Launches the World's First Matter-Enabled Smart Mechanical Keyboard MK1 -- Turn your keyboard into a smart home control center.
/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Debuted at CES 2025, the MK1 drew strong interest from attendees for its novel concept: offering desktop users a seamless way to control...
www.prweb.com
July 28, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Something I missed earlier this month is that ikea is going all in on matter. Anyone looking to pick up a bunch of ikea gear? #smarthome #ikea #homeassistant #matter

www.theverge.com/smart-home/7...
Ikea goes all in on Matter smart homes
Over 20 new devices are on the way.
www.theverge.com
July 24, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Smart home life: always chasing smaller hardware 😅
TheSmartestHouse has the Zooz ZEN57 800LR, their tiniest relay yet. Seems that it’s beta right now and my only concern is I don’t see an ETL cert like the Zen51. Anyone grab one yet? Specs here: www.thesmartesthouse.com/products/zoo...
Zooz Z-Wave Long Range 240V XS Relay ZEN57 800LR
100-240 Volt Control PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS   BETA RELEASE:   You may need to update the firmware for this device, selected functionality or advanced features may not be available on your hub at the time ...
www.thesmartesthouse.com
July 23, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Finally put this little post out. Was fun learning how to prompt ChatGPT effectively to write a script that would have taken a lot longer just researching it. #ai #homeassistant #smarthome

alextripp.tech/chatgpt-wrot...
ChatGPT Wrote the Code for My Motion-Activated Smart Home Dashboard - AlexTripp.Tech
Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through those links at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and servic...
alextripp.tech
July 22, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Recently “vibe coded” a script to use a PIR sensor on my Raspberry Pi 5 that runs the touch screen monitor we’ll use for our Home Assistant dashboard. It also sends motion events via MQTT Writing a blog post now, and hope to launch it this week! #ai #vibecode #homeassistant #smarthome
June 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Been a while since I posted but I just got these! #homeassistant #shelly
June 12, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Reposted by Alex Tripp
Your outie is a weird homelab guy. Your outie uses openSUSE. Please, don't interrupt. Your outie won't shut up about openSUSE.
March 27, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Been a bit lazy with my home assistant setup lately since work has been busy. What’s everyone been working on? #homeassistant #smarthome
March 25, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Dogs escaped this morning due to a contractor not closing our back gate. Anyone got a good door sensor for outdoor use or am I left trying to waterproof an existing product? #homeassistant #smarthome #homeautomation
March 1, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Does anyone know of a smart light switch that is a true toggle? I’ve done the “toggle” switches that always stay in the middle and I’ve added sonoff/shelly relays to normal toggles. But I’d much prefer a true toggle all in one. #homeautomation #smarthome #homeassistant
February 27, 2025 at 2:13 PM
I was getting super mad at this new mmWave sensor I got until I realized I had to set the “small” detection sensitivity all the way down. Read some people thought it can pick up small vibrations causing it to stay triggered #homeassistant #smarthome #homeautomation
February 24, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Got some good data coming in from my water meter using esp32 and “ai on the edge” #ai #aiontheedge #homeassistant #homeautomation #smarthome
February 19, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Speaking of dream network setup, I got a few new toys to replaced the gear I bought almost 7 years ago for our first new house! #unifi #networ #smarthome #homeautomation #homeassistant
February 13, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Why did I spend my entire drive to work dreaming about my perfect network/smart home setup? 🤔 #smarthome #homeautomation #homeassistant #network
February 11, 2025 at 1:54 PM
February 11, 2025 at 2:11 AM