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LG TVs will soon be Matter-compatible Google Home hubs
Google is expanding its smart home integration. The company said Tuesday that, in the future, some Google TV and other Android TV products will work as Google Home hubs.
LG developed a two-legged AI-powered robot that can watch your pets for you
LG is going to debut a small bipedal AI-powered robot at CES 2024 in Las Vegas.
Alexa Routines now work with Amazon Fire TV
You can turn on your TV, coffee machine and smart lights with a single command.
Amazon makes it easier to link smart home devices to Alexa
Device Discovery will soon be available for all US users.
Arlo's latest cameras can run for up to six months on a single charge
The Pro 4 connects directly to WiFi, so it doesn't need a base station.
Alexa can bark at intruders from your Echo for $49 per year
Amazon will roll out its Guard Plus service this fall.
August's fourth-gen WiFi Smart Lock drops to $219 on Amazon
It's the lowest price we've seen on the device to date.
Ring devices will soon work with Lutron's smart lighting systems
You can set your lights to turn on for a while when Ring devices detect movement.
Ecobee expands its smart home lineup with a camera and more sensors
Ecobee's smart home monitoring system can change your device settings automatically.
Dell’s cheap Philips Hue starter pack deal is even better with $50 credit
Philips Hue has become the go-to for smart home lighting. The LED light bulbs can transition between 16 million colors to compliment your home, set the mood or enhance your sleep. Those who haven't turned their home into a technicolor dreamland may want to check out Dell's latest deal on a Hue starter kit. It comes with three white- and color-capable bulbs, the Gen 3 Hue Bridge and a dimmer (which doesn't come with most bundles). The kit is $120 -- $35 less than Amazon's listing -- and comes with a $50 gift card so you can stock up on more Hue accessories like bulbs, light strips and motion sensors -- or Dell's computer products. If purchased separately, the items would cost $235, so this is a great deal even before Dell's discount and gift card.
Yale Home aims to fend off porch pirates with its smart delivery box
Whenever you're not home and a delivery driver leaves a package on your porch, there's a chance that an opportunistic thief will amble by and snag the box. In a bid to help protect your stuff, Yale Home is releasing a smart delivery box.
Apple, Amazon and Google unite to help create a universal smart home standard
Smart home devices are a godsend for the busy, the disorganized and the plain ol' lazy, but getting them up and running can still be a complicated pain in the backside. Some products work with others while others only work in specific ecosystems, so even deciding which devices to go for in the first place can be a hassle. But now, three of the biggest names in smart home tech are working together to simplify matters.
TP-Link won't be supporting HomeKit in its Smart Plug Mini after all
TP-Link will not be updating their popular Kasa Smart Plug Mini to support Apple's HomeKit, according to the product's FAQ page. The networking brand had previously announced support for Apple's smart home framework at CES back in January, with plans to update the product's firmware at a later date.
Petcube's Bites 2 and Play 2 are smart speakers in disguise
Unsurprisingly, most smart-home gadgets are fairly human-centric. But what about all the furbags that live with us? Don't they deserve a little slice of the connected dream? Petcube certainly thinks so. The company has two pet-camera products, the Bites and the Play. The former lets you sling treats at your cat or dog, while the latter has a laser allowing you to "play" with them remotely. Both models have just been refreshed, with a few interesting upgrades: a wider camera view (180 degrees, up from 138) and Alexa baked in. They're available starting today.
Control4's new hub connects 13,500 smart home devices on one screen
Smart home connected devices can control everything from lighting and temperature to security systems and music. But with products from so many different companies, they don't always work together. Control4 wants to change that. Yesterday, it debuted its Smart Home OS 3.
Mesh WiFi startup Eero is now officially part of Amazon
Amazon has officially acquired Eero, the three-year old mesh WiFi startup based in San Francisco. Like other mesh WiFi systems, Eero's routers can be placed throughout the home, allowing users to avoid the "dead zones" that can occur when relying on a single router.
Amazon and Google ask for non-stop data from smart home devices
You'd expect voice assistants to collect data whenever you control a smart home device -- that's how they work. Amazon and Google have lately been asking for a continuous flow of data in the name of convenience, however, and those device makers aren't always happy. Bloomberg has learned that Logitech and other hardware makers (some speaking anonymously) have objected to these requests for a steady stream of information over concerns they could violate privacy. Logitech has purposefully provided generic information rather than talking about individual devices, while others have reportedly asked for privacy "concessions" and have been rejected.
Lowe's smart home device platform shuts down March 31st
Lowe's tried to become a mainstay of smart home technology with its Iris system, but it wasn't successful enough and unveiled plans to leave the category in November. Now, it's ready to bow out in earnest -- the hardware store has announced that it's shutting down the Iris app and services on March 31st, 2019. It stopped charging paying customers as of January 31st, and it's issuing Visa prepaid cards to eligible customers to help them migrate to other smart home platforms.
Some Nest services were down all afternoon
Many Nest users had problems connecting to their alarms, cameras, thermostats and doorbells on Tuesday afternoon, though it seems the problem has cleared up. Nest says everything is up and running again.
Abode will add HomeKit to its new smart home hub
Brilliant isn't the only smart home hub creator hopping on the HomeKit bandwagon. Abode has revealed its Gen 2 gateway, and it's "100% committed" to bringing HomeKit support to the platform. More details will come "soon," the company said. However, this already makes it one of the more flexible hubs to date. It can already communicate with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and IFTTT, and it supports a raft of smart home devices using Z-Wave Plus, Zigbee and Abode's own abodeRF.
