Apple Event Rumors, New Sonos Gear, & How Matic Is Reinventing Robovacs with Co-Founder Mehul

Andrew kicks off with a fast-moving smart home news roundup, then sits down with Mehul, co-founder of Matic, to unpack how his team built a radically different robot vacuum. The conversation covers Apple event rumors, new smart home apps, Sonos hardware updates, and then goes deep on robot design, privacy, AI, and the tradeoffs behind Matic’s no-dock approach.

Key topics

• Andrew previews the upcoming Apple event, including the iPhone 18 Pro, a possible foldable iPhone, new Apple Watches, AirPods, and the chance of new smart home hardware.
• Mehul explains his background in computer vision, including early work at Like.com, Flutter, Google, and Nest security cameras.
• The pair discuss why Matic was built around a taller, boxier form factor instead of the usual disc-shaped vacuum design.
• Mehul argues that most robot vacuums are automation without intelligence, while Matic is designed to behave more like a human navigating a home.
• The show highlights several new smart home apps and utilities, including Overflight, Wallflower 3, and Threadalytics.
• Andrew and Mehul talk through Sonos’ new Beam Ultra and Ace Ultra headphones, plus the importance of app intents and assistant integration.
• The conversation digs into Apple’s rumored smart home push, including a possible home security and monitoring service.
• Mehul explains why Matic uses on-device vision processing, local privacy-first gesture detection, and cloud-based language parsing only for open-ended voice commands.
• Andrew shares hands-on impressions of Matic’s live activities, room queue controls, vocal prompts, and kid-friendly design details.
• The episode closes with pricing changes, a six-month return policy, and the broader tradeoff between simplicity, intelligence, and maintenance.

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Links from the show

• IFA News Roundup
• Order Matic & get a free year of bags
• Overflight: Sky Radar App
• Wallflower 3 App
• Threadlytics App
• Sonos Ace Ultra & Beam Ultra Announced
• Homey Portal

Those interested in sponsoring the show can reach out to us at: [e-mail]

Creators and Guests

Host

Andrew O'Hara

What is Smart Home Insider?

Learn about the latest smart home news on Smart Home Insider! Host Andrew O'Hara discusses the weekly news, exclusive interviews, in-depth how-to's, smart home automations, integrating Siri Shortcuts, and reviews his recent smart home projects with an added focus on Apple Home & Matter.