Residential Tech Today

Welcome to the latest ResTech Roundup, your quick briefing on the innovations, product launches, partnerships, and industry shifts shaping the new smart home. Here’s what caught our attention this week: Samsung is betting that the future of smart homes starts before homeowners ever move in. The company announced plans to deliver 10,000 AI-enabled modular homes within the next three years, expanding beyond single-family residences into apartments, commercial buildings, and public housing.

In a major step forward for the internet of things (IoT), Silicon Labs has successfully deployed and operated a 200-node Matter-over-Thread validation network. Announced at the Connectivity Standards Alliance’s (CSA) inaugural Unify event, the deployment signals a pivotal shift for the Matter ecosystem, moving past basic interoperability toward real-world commercial scalability.

The custom integration industry has never had more technology to sell. Artificial intelligence is transforming workflows. Smart homes are becoming more intelligent. Product categories continue to expand. Yet according to HTSA Vice President Keith Esterly, the most successful integrators are discovering that technology itself is rarely the deciding factor. “The idea that you could simply specify your way to distinction was no longer true,” Esterly said during the 2026 HTSA Spring Conference.

The dynamic father and son duo of engineer and marketer, respectively, who collectively run dependable JUKE AUDIO, just launched AudioMate. Retailing for $249, the AudioMate wireless Transmitter/Receiver serves as a versatile companion piece for any of the Juke Audio amplifiers. AudioMate can be used to wirelessly incorporate common audio devices including televisions, record players, and subwoofers.

For nearly four decades, Tom Doherty has been a leader in the custom integration industry. As co-founder of HTSA and one of the founders of CEDIA, Doherty has spent much of his career building organizations designed to help integrators learn, grow, and serve their clients more effectively. More recently, he founded Lightapalooza, an event dedicated to advancing education around architectural and experiential lighting.

Welcome to the latest ResTech Roundup, your quick briefing on the innovations, product launches, partnerships, and industry shifts shaping the new smart home. Here’s what caught our attention this week: Google has ended production of the Nest Mini, one of the most recognizable smart home products of the last decade. Introduced as an affordable entry point into voice-controlled living, the device helped bring smart assistants into millions of homes.

Shelly Group, a global provider of IoT and smart building automation products, has officially launched the Shelly Installer Portal. This newly designed professional hub has been developed to support custom integrators, dealers, and installers with the necessary tools to design, deploy, and manage advanced smart home and commercial automation systems built with Shelly products.

The race toward higher-fidelity home entertainment just took another step forward. Kaleidescape has announced the launch of the Strato K, a new flagship movie player designed to deliver native 8K playback alongside a newly developed viewing format called 4K Cinematic. The company says the new platform is designed to bring viewers closer to the filmmaker’s original vision through increased image detail, richer color reproduction, and higher-quality video processing.

For many years, residential HVAC systems operated with the straightforward objective of maintaining comfortable indoor temperatures during both winter and summer. However, advancements in intelligent air quality monitoring and purification technologies are significantly transforming this traditional function.

For decades, touch panels represented the future of human-machine interaction. From smartphones and kiosks to classrooms and industrial controls, the touchscreen became synonymous with modern technology as we knew it. However, a new shift is underway. Voice control, ambient sensing, and context-aware systems are beginning to reduce reliance on physical interfaces, creating environments that respond intuitively to human behavior rather than waiting for users to tap, swipe, or navigate menus.