Welcome back to the week in Playback. ISE 2026 starts tomorrow, and between that and a few news stories released recently, it’s got the editors over at CE Pro thinking.
Tariffs may be old news at this point, but it’s not like their effects and intentions have gone away entirely. In recent times, more focus has been placed on the revenue generation of these trade policies, but it’s hard to forget that one of the main goals of tariffs was to essentially goad American industry into more localized manufacturing and fewer imports.
At CE Pro, however, we’ve speculated on how much work those tariffs are doing in the case of the latter, as, in recent times, we’ve noticed more international companies taking interest in the CI space than we have in prior years. A lot of them are TV manufacturers. In fact, it’s mostly display manufacturers.
Still, it’s interesting how the product category with possibly the worst ROI is still seeing value in a market that is actively adding more costs to foreign participants, further contributing to that segment’s race to the bottom in terms of cost pricing.
That got us wondering, however: we understand how tariffs are affecting American companies at this point, but how have they impacted oversea companies’ ability to further participate and grow their American market presence?
We don’t have an answer to that. Though, while at ISE 2026, Executive Editor Zachary Comeau will be prowling the show floor for answers, so, if you happen to be an to see him in sea of people, flag him down with your thoughts (or shoot him an email at [email protected] if you’ve got some insight to contribute).
Regardless, readers should stay tuned for our post-show coverage for all insights we’re able to gleam from this year’s show. And, just in case there’s some big news you happen to miss, the Playback will have you covered there, as well.
With that said, let’s get on with this week’s news.
The Week in Playback
- Nice is Changing the Way ELAN Works in North America with Yubii OS
- KEF America Appoints Krista Haughey as Head of U.S. Sales
- Sonos Introduces Amp Multi Streaming Amplifier for Large Residential Audio Systems
- Lightapalooza’s New Power Track Aims for a Comprehensive Look at Home Energy
- Dreame Just Released Its Aura Mini-LED Series (as Well as Some Funky Robotics)
Yubii is Coming to North American Homes
Nice announced late this week that its drastically revamping its ELAN control platform in North America with planned Yubii OS integrations.
Already deployed in European markets, the Yubii Home platform supports a wide range of Z-Wave and wireless Nice-branded devices for various home automation purposes.
According to Nice, Yubii was originally designed for retrofit installations and modular growth, with the forthcoming ELAN integrations meant to enable more readily scalable installations in North America.
The integrations will start with motorized shading functionality and gradually expand throughout the year.
Krista Haughey Joins KEF America
KEF appointed Krista Haughey as its Head of Sales in the United States, which itself is a newly established role within the British audio brand’s U.S. business.
Coming over from AudioQuest, Haughey carries more than 25 years of sales experience across consumer electronics, custom integration and performance audio.
KEF says the appointment reflects its focus on deepening dealer engagement and supporting continued expansion in the U.S. market.
In addition to her professional roles, Haughey has served as a board member of the Consumer Technology Association and has been an active board member of Women in Consumer Technology since 2009.
Multichannel Streaming Amp, Now on Sonos
Sonos unveiled the Amp Multi earlier this week in a bid to offer greater hardware support for larger and more complex residential audio installations.
The amp features eight amplified outputs rated at 125 watts per channel at 8 ohms and can be configured into as many as four independent zones.
Sonos says each output can support up to three Sonos Architectural speakers, allowing a single unit to power up to 24 speakers, with additional units added for larger systems.
According to Sonos, the new product expands on the Sonos Amp platform with a scalable architecture intended for custom integrators working in multi-zone and high-speaker-count environments.
Lightapalooza Gets a Power-Packed Education Track
Lightapalooza 2026 is getting an all-new, power focused education track, as revealed this week by one of the tracks major contributors, RoseWater Energy.
The Power Track will aim to provide both technical depth and practical sales insight for attendees, with a 90-minute foundational course intended for beginners.
Despite homeowner interest, integrators have struggled entering the power category due to issues with grid complexity and lack of knowledge within the space.
The Power Track taking place on February 17 during Lightapalooza 2026 with the foundational course beginning at 9:30 AM CT and the final track concluding at 5:00 PM CT.
Keeping the Dreame of Home Robots Alive
Dreame announced a slew of product releases during its Beyond Smart event earlier this week with a Mini-LED TV series and laundry robot of note.
While the flagship V3000 Aura TV packs a punch at 2800 nits of brightness and a refresh rate of 300Hz, the TVs are a minority in Dreame’s catalog of home robotics.
According to Dreame, the company sits at the “intersection of high-end consumer electronics, robotics and intelligent manufacturing.”
The aforementioned laundry robot strays away from prior portfolio entries, leveraging multimodal AI to help gather and process laundry loads via wireless communication and a robotic collection arm.
