IKEA is not bad but I actually prefer (whitelabel) Tuya as long as those run on AA(A).

They might even be cheaper outside the US right now. Ironically thanks to their tariffs.

The post in the screenshot just screams incompetent boomer at me.

Yes

No HA*, no Zigbee, no containerized service landscape but the routers run OpenWRT. Hmm, Okay.

*other OSS contenders are fine.

For real! HA* & Zigbee or I seriously doubt the credibility of any „I work in IT“-claim.

*one of OSS contenders is fine.