smart home News - Page 4 of 45 - CNX Software

November 23, 2025November 23, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Lockzo AL501 3-in-1 smart door lock review with the Tuya mobile app

Lockzo AL501 Video Smart Lock Tuya app review

We’ve received a review sample of the Lockzo AL501 3-in-1 smart door lock system (Smart Lock + Video Camera + Doorbell). It supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and integrates a 2K resolution camera with a wide 180° field of view, a doorbell, AI motion detection, and infrared night vision. It supports multiple unlocking methods, namely physical key, AI fingerprint scanning, keypad PIN code, and the Tuya mobile app, which enables the user to check the live video, talk to visitors, and unlock the door in real time from anywhere via your smartphone, as well as voice control through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. The included 10,000 mAh rechargeable battery is designed to last approximately 6 months per charge, and the device has an IP65 dust and water resistance rating. In this review, we’ll go through an unboxing, show how we installed it on a wooden door, connect it to WiFi through the […]

November 20, 2025 by Debashis Das - No Comments

Arduino-programmable environmental and air quality sensor kit features ENS160 and BME280 sensors

Designed by Nova Radio Labs in the US, the Novaduino Environmental Sensor Kit is an Arduino-programmable air quality and weather monitoring solution built around the company’s own Novaduino Display Module. It provides VOCs, eCO₂, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure data in real time, making it ideal for Smart Home experiments, classroom projects, or hobby weather-station builds. The kit integrates a Sciosense ENS160 air-quality sensor and Bosch BME280 environmental sensor connected via Qwiic, which measures TVOCs, eCO₂, temperature, humidity, and pressure with an on-device AQI indicator. It includes the Novaduino display PCBA, 2.4-inch IPS touchscreen, buttons, rotary encoder, Feather M0 Express or RP2040 module support, headers, mechanical hardware, and optional 3D-printable enclosures (STL/F3D/STP). Designed for learning soldering, assembly, and Arduino programming, the kit is uncalibrated and intended for educational and experimental use only. Novaduino Environmental Sensor Kit specifications: Core Platform – Novaduino 2.4-Inch Display Module Supported development boards – Adafruit Feather and […]

November 20, 2025November 26, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 – International deals, coupons, and events

Like every year since 2014, I’ll list a few international deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025, as many CNX Software readers cannot benefit from promotions on Amazon’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday events, which will take place from November 20 to December 1. I’ve gathered various deals, discount coupon codes, and events from relevant manufacturers of single board computers, MCU development boards, mini PCs, Smart Home devices, and DIY products, as well as popular online stores, including AliExpress, Banggood, and others. AliExpress Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 event AliExpress sales event for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 has just started and will last until December 3, 2025 (although I can see until November 29 and December 4 in some places). You can use some of the coupons on the screenshot above, or some alternative coupon codes for the US and some other countries (excluding DE, RU, […]

November 20, 2025November 20, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 Zigbee/Thread/Matter USB adapter launched for $49

Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 is a Zigbee, Thread, and Matter USB adapter based on Silicon Labs MG24 wireless SoC and designed for Home Assistant, replacing cloud-based hubs from Hue, Ikea, and others. It’s an update of the Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 (previously SkyConnect) Zigbee 3.0, Thread, and Matter USB dongle with an optimized antenna, a faster baudrate, and a form factor similar to the company’s ZWA-2 Z-Wave USB adapter introduced last August. Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 (NC-ZBT-9741) specifications: SoCs Silicon Labs MG24 Arm Cortex-M33 @ 78.0 MHz with DSP instruction and floating-point unit, 256 kB RAM, 1536 kB flash, 2.4 GHz wireless ESP32-S3 wireless MCU used as USB-to-serial bridge (WiFi and Bluetooth present, but not used by the firmware) Wireless via MG24 Supported Protocols – Zigbee 3.0, Thread/Matter Tx Power 10 dBm (Europe) 8 dBm (rest of world) Antenna Frequency range: 2400-2483.5 MHz Peak gain – 4.16 dBi Radiation pattern […]

November 19, 2025November 19, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Zigbee 4.0 introduces ”Suzi” Sub-GHz connectivity and security enhancements

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has just announced the release of Zigbee 4.0, integrating security and interoperability improvements, as well as the Suzi Zigbee’s Sub-GHz feature operating in the 800 MHz (Europe) or 900 MHz (North America) band for longer range and lower interference compared to the traditional 2.4 GHz band. Highlights of Zigbee 4.0 release: Simplified certification processes Enhanced information exchange for smart home solutions. Formalized Parent Selection, Unique Link Key Monitoring, and Trust Center Connectivity improve network resilience Standardized network-level retries, more reliable data polling for sleepy end devices, and expanded use of APS acknowledgements increase overall network performance and reduce message loss. Sleepy-to-sleepy communication using Coordinated Sample Listening (CSL) allows direct, low-power exchanges between devices, optimizing energy and further extending battery life Security updates aligned with evolving international security standards Dynamic Link Key, Device Interview, and Smart Energy Authentication Level Control for stronger device authentication, selective communication […]

November 15, 2025November 15, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C5 IoT development board offers GDI display interface, LiPo battery support

Just the other day, I lamented the lack of options when it came to ESP32-C5 boards featuring dual-band WiFi 6 support. The FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C5 IoT development board made by DFRobot shows that I needed to be more patient… The ESP32-C5 board features 4MB flash, a USB-C port, a LiPo battery connector, and two GPIO headers for expansion, as well as a GDI display connector designed to add an SPI/I2C touchscreen display. The new RISC-V board has about the same features and form factor as the FireBeetle 2 ESP32-S3. It adds 5 GHz WiFi and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter, but loses a camera connector, and comes with less memory and storage. FireBeetle 2 ESP32-C5 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-C5-WROOM-1-N4 SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C5 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ 40 MHz acting as the main processor for […]

November 13, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Arduino Nesso N1 – An ESP32-C6 IoT wireless development kit with WiFi 6, BLE, 802.15.4, LoRa, and IR transmitter

Arduino Nesso N1 is a new ESP32-C6 IoT development kit with not only 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth LE, and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee/Thread/Matter, but also a LoRa radio and an IR transmitter for smart home, industrial, and educational applications. Developed in collaboration with M5Stack, the Nesson N1 also features a 1.14-inch touchscreen display, a 6-axis motion sensor, a few LEDs and buttons, as well as Grove and Qwiic expansion connectors, and an 8-pin GPIO header. Nesso N1 specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C6 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V clocked up to 160 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ up to 20 MHz Memory/Storage – 320KB ROM, 512KB SRAM Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and 802.15.4 radio for Thread/Zigbee Storage – 16MB NOR Flash Display – 1.14-inch touchscreen display with 240 x 135 resolution, 262K colors; ST7789P3 driver, FT6336U capacitive touch Wireless 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, BLE 5.3, Zigbee […]

November 13, 2025November 13, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

4-inch UGOOS AC1 smart clock features Amlogic A213Y SoC for smart displays and digital signage

UGOOS is better known for its TV boxes, but the company recently introduced a different product with the AC1 smart clock based on an Amlogic A213Y SoC for smart displays and digital signage applications I had never heard of. Let’s have a look at both. UGOOS AC1 smart clock The AC1 smart clock features a 480×480 resolution display, supports Bluetooth pairing, alarms with different ringtones, displays weather, date, time, and sensor data, and supports features such as photo frame, event notes, and music playback. UGOOS AC1 specifications: SoC – Amlogic A213Y (more details below) System Memory – 256MB DDR4 Storage – 8 GB eMMC flash Display – 4-inch IPS touchscreen display with 480×480 resolution; 2.5D glass cover Audio 3W sound speaker Built-in microphone for voice search Wireless – IEEE 802.11b/g/n WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 Sensors – Temperature and humidity sensor, light sensor Misc – Touch Key, mute switch, and […]