Some of the best ways to understand a smart home device do not come from us. They come from the people who take our hardware home, wire it into their own setups, and show you exactly what it does. Over the past few weeks, four creators published reviews and projects featuring Apollo sensors, and HowToGeek ran two articles featuring the ESPHome Starter Kit. Here is the full roundup, plus a bit on why this kind of coverage matters so much to the open home community.
Why independent reviews matter
We build privacy-first, locally controlled smart home sensors with no cloud dependencies and no subscriptions. That is easy for us to say. It means a lot more when someone outside the company tests the claim, integrates the device into a real home, and reports back honestly.
Independent creators and writers do something we cannot do for ourselves. They show you the real experience: the setup, the quirks, the wins, and the use cases we never thought of. They also help spread the mission behind all of this. Apollo is the second official commercial partner of the Open Home Foundation, and we contribute the majority of our profits back to the foundation. Every review that introduces someone new to Home Assistant or ESPHome helps grow a future where your smart home stays private, sustainable, and under your control.
So thank you to everyone below. Here is what they made and wrote.
Creator reviews on YouTube
smarterkram (Olli) on the TEMP-1
In Finally cloud-free and modular: The perfect temperature sensor for ESPHome?, Olli of smarterkram takes a close look at the TEMP-1, a review his audience specifically requested. He focuses on what makes it versatile: it runs entirely locally with no cloud service, works on USB-C or battery, and accepts a range of optional probes for monitoring a freezer (with a flat cable that fits past the door seal), a BBQ, or an aquarium. He also calls out the onboard RGB LED and piezo buzzer for alerts right on the device. Thanks for the detailed look, Olli.
Watch the review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af0IWNApTx0
Michael Akinbode on the MSR-2
Michael Akinbode's review of the MSR-2 puts our smallest presence multisensor through real daily use. The MSR-2 combines mmWave presence detection, motion, light and temperature sensing, an RGB LED, and a piezo buzzer in one compact device. Michael walks through setup and ESPHome integration, multi-zone detection, and the automations he actually runs, including zone-based kitchen lighting, office occupancy detection, and desk-break reminders. It is a thorough, practical look at where a presence sensor earns its place. Thanks, Michael.
Watch the review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF3V1osB4n0
Adam Davenport on indoor air quality
Adam Davenport's data-driven investigation into indoor air quality and ERVs is less a single-device review and more an hour-long deep dive into the air you breathe at home. Using Home Assistant and open-source sensors, including our AIR-1, he quantifies pollutants like CO2, VOCs, and NOx, then tests how effective energy recovery ventilators really are at clearing them. The AIR-1 is our most compact and expandable indoor air quality monitor, and it runs entirely locally, so your air quality data stays in your home. If you have ever wondered what is actually in the air around you, Adam's methodical approach is well worth your time.
Watch the investigation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5HhoWYkWZU
The Stock Pot hides an MTR-1 inside a houseplant
This one is something special. In Putting a Radar in My Houseplants, Dillan of The Stock Pot designs and 3D prints custom planters that discreetly house our MTR-1 multi-target radar sensor, so presence detection disappears into the room with no visible hardware. It is a renter-friendly way to add automation and monitoring without permanent changes to a space, and he even designed a custom PCB rather than using our GPIO header to shrink the install footprint further. It is genuinely one of the most creative use cases we have seen for any of our devices, and a perfect example of what becomes possible when open hardware meets a sharp maker.
Watch the project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rLj-tPifQY
Apollo in the press: HowToGeek
The ESPHome Starter Kit also picked up two write-ups at HowToGeek, both worth a read if you are weighing your first build.
In Stop avoiding ESP32 projects: this kit removes the biggest barriers to entry, Adam Davidson walks through the ESPHome Starter Kit in detail. He highlights the solder-free design, where the ESP32-C6 board connects to the button, motion, temperature and humidity, and LED and buzzer modules through FFC cables, with no breadboards or wiring involved. He also notes that everything runs locally with no subscriptions, and that profits from the kit go toward funding the Open Home Foundation. His framing matches ours exactly: the kit is a way to get over the first hurdle and into building real devices.
In Why ESPHome is the smart home protocol everyone is switching to, Tim Brookes makes the broader case for ESPHome as an accessible on-ramp for beginners, with the Starter Kit featured front and center. It is a useful piece to share with anyone curious about ESPHome but unsure where to begin.
More than coverage
Every one of these reviews and articles does double duty. It helps someone decide whether a device fits their home, and it introduces the broader idea behind the open home: that you should own your smart home outright, that your data should stay local, and that the hardware you buy today should still be useful years from now. That is a real product you'll keep using in your home, not a subscription waiting to be cancelled.
If you are new to any of this, the open home community is one of the most welcoming corners of the internet. Start with Home Assistant, explore ESPHome, and build, learn, automate at whatever pace suits you.
Just the beginning
A run of reviews and press in a few weeks is a good problem to have, and it is just the beginning. To the creators and writers above, and to everyone in the community who shares projects, answers questions, and helps newcomers find their footing: thank you. You make all of this work.
Apollo Automation designs, engineers, and manufactures privacy-first, locally-controlled smart home sensors in Versailles, Kentucky. Every product features 100% local control with no cloud dependencies or subscriptions required. Apollo is a Works With Home Assistant partner, Made For ESPHome certified, Works With Homey certified, a BBB Accredited Business, and the second official commercial partner of the Open Home Foundation. Learn more at apolloautomation.com.
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