After using the for a few months, I can honestly say that Home Key is now table stakes for all smart locks. It’s no longer enough to just support HomeKit. HomeKit is a software layer for door locks. Home Key support is a game changer in terms of day-to-day functionality. There are no apps to open or Bluetooth connections to wait on. With Home Key, it’s tap and go. I’ve spent the last week with the Aqara Door Lock U100 with Home Key support, so let’s dive into how it works, my thoughts on it compared to Level Lock+, and the installation process. more… The post HomeKit Weekly: Hands-on review with the new Aqara Smart Lock with Home Key appeared…

After using the for a few months, I can honestly say that Home Key is now table stakes for all smart locks. It’s no longer enough to just support HomeKit. HomeKit is a software layer for door locks. Home Key support is a game changer in terms of day-to-day functionality. There are no apps to open or Bluetooth connections to wait on. With Home Key, it’s tap and go. I’ve spent the last week with the Aqara Door Lock U100 with Home Key support, so let’s dive into how it works, my thoughts on it compared to Level Lock+, and the installation process. more… The post HomeKit Weekly: Hands-on review with the new Aqara Smart Lock with Home Key appeared…

The Apple Vision Pro. | Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge I tried the Vision Pro, and just like the introduction of the iPhone 4 over a decade ago, there’s no going back from here. I still remember using the iPhone 4 for the first time in 2010. That was when Apple shipped its first-ever Retina display and Steve Jobs said that, once you use it, “you can’t go back.” It was something I couldn’t unsee, like looking through prescription glasses for the first time. That’s exactly how I felt after a demo of the Apple Vision Pro yesterday at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. A computer you strap to your face should be primarily judged not only by…

Apple today announced that iOS 17 will include an option to set up recurring Apple Cash payments on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis, a feature that will be useful for kids allowances and regularly shared expenses, such as rent payments. Alongside this feature, users will have the option to automatically top up their Apple Cash balance when it runs low, according to Apple. Apple revealed this addition in a press release highlighting a long list of new services-related features coming to iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17. Another feature announced was the ability for iPhone users to present an ID stored in the Wallet app at participating businesses later this year.Related Roundup: iOS 17Tag:…

Apple today announced that iPhone users will be able to present a driver's license or ID stored in the Wallet app at participating businesses and venues starting later this year. Users will simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near the business's iPhone to verify their age and identity for things like alcohol, rental cars, and more. Users will be shown what information is being requested and whether the receiving party will be storing the information, according to Apple. Users will then be asked to authenticate and consent by using Face ID or Touch ID. No additional hardware beyond an iPhone is required for the business to offer this functionality. Apple announced this feature in a press release covering several…

Mira’s Prism headset from 2017. | Photo by James Bareham / The Verge Apple has acquired Mira, a Los Angeles-based AR startup that makes headsets for other companies and the US military, according to a post from the CEO’s private Instagram account yesterday seen by The Verge and a person familiar with the matter. Apple confirmed the acquisition. The news comes just one day after Apple unveiled the Vision Pro, a $3,499 mixed reality headset that the company has billed as a new “spatial” computing platform. It’s unclear how much Apple paid for Mira, which raised about $17 million in funding to date. Jony Ive, Apple’s former design chief, was an advisor to the startup at one point, according to…