Category: Internet of Things

If you are looking for a cheaper “AirTag” that works with Apple Find My network, the Ugreen Smart Tag is a good alternative.

You can get it around S$14 on Shopee or Lazada. Four colors are available: Black, Pink, Blue, and Mocha.

You probably will not have heard of the company AirGradient. AirGradient is a company based in Chang Mai, Thailand, which makes air quality monitors for both indoor and outdoor use.

Their air monitors are also made in Thailand, and their air monitors are fully open sourced at github.com/airgradienthq/arduino.

As the product name suggests, Belkin Secure Holder with Key Ring for AirTag, is a holder for AirTag and it comes with a key ring.

Belkin doesn’t sell the Secure Holder with Key Ring for AirTag in Singapore; at least I haven’t come across it. The closest I could find is the Belkin Secure Holder with Strap for AirTag which Apple Singapore is selling for S$19.15. In case it is not apparent, one is a key ring, and the other is a strap. The holder itself is the same.

2024 is the inflation year and is the year I turned 40. Everything went up this year. GST went from 8% to 9% in Singapore. In 2023, GST was increased from 7% to 8%. In hindsight, it might be better to increase from 7% to 9% straightaway rather than break it up into 2 years. The increase in GST twice worsens the inflation.

Gadget
Probably the most interesting gadget I bought in 2024 got to be the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer.

Since Apple HomeKit is my primary platform, it is connected to five bridges.

My primary bridge is Aqara Hub M2, which connects most of my Aqara smart home accessories.

Aqara has two variants of their Aqara Curtain Driver E1, Aqara Curtain Driver E1 (Track Version) and Aqara Curtain Driver E1 (Rod Version).

Aqara Curtain Driver E1 (Track Version) is cheaper, retailing for S$138.90, while the Rod Version retails for S$148.90. You can get them both on Souky’s Shopee Store or Souky’s Lazada Store. You can get it cheaper than the price I indicated, as discounts are often offered on either platform.

Eight years have passed since my last post about my smart home journey.

I moved to a new house late last year and had a chance to redo my smart home setup from scratch. Many things have changed in the smart home scene, with more options and cheaper accessories.

Aqara Motion & Light Sensor P2 is Aqara’s second Matter device after the Aqara Door & Window Sensor P2.

Similar to the Aqara Door & Window Sensor P2, I would think that the Aqara Motion & Light Sensor P2 is an alternative to the Aqara Motion Sensor P1.

Aqara Door & Window Sensor P2 is Aqara’s first Thread-based device with native Matter support. It is the alternative for the Aqara Door & Window Sensor T1 which uses Zigbee 3.0.

Price wise, Aqara Door & Window Sensor P2 retails for S$46.80 on Souky’s Shopee Shop while the Aqara Door & Window Sensor T1 retails for S$33, also on Souky’s Shopee Shop.