connected home
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Weber brings wireless smarts to its gas grills
Four upcoming grills include WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and an LED display.
Samsung tests more TV control features in its SmartThings Android app
SmartThings Labs brings experimental features to the app.
Amazon's Dash Smart Shelf can re-order almost anything you can fit on it
After the demise of the Dash Button and the Dash Wand, it seemed as though Amazon’s days of building (non-Alexa) gadgets to help people re-order things were over. If the idea of poking around in a web browser or tapping a phone to call in new supplies is too odious, never fear: the Amazon Dash Smart Shelf is here. Amazon originally started experimenting with this smart scale last year in partnership with several small and medium-sized businesses, and for a while it seemed the gadget would remain exclusive to Amazon Business shoppers.
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.
Engadget readers can save $20 on August's fourth-generation smart lock
With its fourth-generation model, August has one of the best smart locks on the market. It’s easy to install, works with most digital assistants and lets you keep using your existing mechanical locks. At $249 it is more expensive than some other smart locks, but starting today you can save $20 by using the code ENGADGETLOCK at checkout.
Ecobee expands its smart home lineup with a camera and more sensors
Ecobee's smart home monitoring system can change your device settings automatically.
IKEA creates a business unit devoted to smart home tech
It's clear by now that IKEA is serious about smart home tech between its Sonos-powered speakers and connected lights, but the home furniture giant wants to formalize that commitment. It just established a full-fledged Home Smart business unit that, as you might guess, will be dedicated to smart home products. It's the "biggest" new unit since the Children's IKEA division, the company's Peter van der Poel said.
Nanoleaf's modular light squares can be turned into smart buttons
Nanoleaf is launching an upgrade to its Canvas Smarter Kit lights that will let you turn them into buttons to control Apple Homekit devices, all with simply a touch -- and without your smartphone. The new feature, which is dubbed Touch Actions, is going to give you the ability to map Nanoleaf's funky, modular light squares to become smart buttons for your home, letting you do things like tap one square to turn off all the lights or another tap to turn down the temperature in your thermostat. The only caveat is this will only work with your Apple HomeKit setup, but for owners of the Nanoleaf Canvas Smarter kit, they'll now have quite a clever way to control their smart home.
Live from Samsung's CES 2018 press conference!
Samsung press conferences rarely disappoint, and we're hoping that'll be the case today -- the company's big CES 2018 keynote is about to kick off, and we'll be bringing you all the news live. Samsung hasn't made too many pre-CES announcements, aside from a couple laptops, so most of what's coming here should be a surprise. But we know we'll see some massive, beautiful TVs as well as some home appliances that are "smarter" than they have any right to be. But the story will likely be how all of Samsung's devices play well together and make up an ecosystem throughout your home. And who knows, we may even end up with a Galaxy S9 sneak peak. Stay tuned -- the event kicks off at 5PM ET / 2PM PT, and we'll bring you all the news right here.
Engadget giveaway: win a smart home starter kit courtesy of Wink!
The changeover to smart homes seems inevitable, but you do have to make a reasonable investment in networked gear or you'll be stuck building a smart(ish) home one lonely, Bluetooth item at a time. This week, though, one lucky Engadget reader is going to get a boost into the future with a selection of Wink and other compatible smart home items. There's a Wink Relay so you don't always have to dig out your phone to control settings and a Wink Hub to unify the system -- compatible with WiFi, Z-wave, ZigBee and Bluetooth frequencies. That will cover the lamp dimmer, LED lightbulbs, connected lock and sensor pack in this prize bundle as well. If you get hooked, it's easy to expand your smart home's abilities by adding more items to the network as you go. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning this IoT starter pack courtesy of Wink. Winner: congratulations to Luis B. of North Miami Beach, FL!
A Bluetooth 'smart outlet' is cheap and simple, but also limited
The lights turn on and environment controls go into full swing as you approach. With a simple remote, you're able to bend appliances to your will. It's the ideal Jetsonian smart home and it's no longer the future; you can have it today. By picking up some connected switches and bulbs, it's easy to get your old-fashioned digs into space-age shape. The cost of admission can be a little steep, though, once you factor in the requisite hub required to tie many of these pieces together. Plus, it's not always a one-touch setup. Nyrius Electronics wants to cut out the complexity and high cost from this equation with its series of intelligent Bluetooth-connected devices. The company already offers a colorful smart LED lightbulb and it's expanding the line to include a new Smart Outlet that's currently in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign. This app-controlled outlet fits into standard three-prong sockets, letting you manage the power of plugged-in items with your mobile device. With a price tag of $40 each, it could be a viable solution -- especially if you're on a budget. Keep in mind, though, there are some inherent limitations to this type of design.
Withings Home brings HD webcam, air quality monitor to the connected home
Withings is a fascinating company. They started out quietly a few years back, selling one of the first Wi-Fi connected bathroom scales and then added a growing family of "connected self" devices including the Withings Pulse Ox activity monitor, the Aura Smart Sleep System, a wireless blood pressure cuff, and more. Now the company is beginning to ship items for the connected home with the arrival of Withings Home (US$199.95), a home monitoring camera with the added benefit of air quality monitoring. We hope to review Withings Home soon, but here's a taste of what the device provides. First, it packs a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor that can capture up to 30 frame per second 1080p video. Next, it shoots that video with a 135° wide angle lens for a super wide field of view, and offers automatic de-warping so your views of home don't look like a bad special effect. Like my current favorite webcam, the Dropcam Pro, Withings Home offers an electronic PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) function. Rather than having a rotating and tilting robotic base, a tap on the Withings Home app screen lets you zoom in and receive an enhanced image showing details. The Withings Home app (free) for iPhone and iPad displays still images that are snapped based on noise or movement triggers. A Home Diary feature provides a continuous timeline of what's gone on at home, and you can get a time-lapse rerun of the past 12 hours of action in your home. Withings also plans to offer a cloud recording service in the near future. The extra added Withings Home feature that's really quite impressive is its built-in ability to track past and current levels of VOC (volatile organic compounds) in your home. VOCs are emitted by cleaning products and pressed-wood furniture, to name a few sources, and can be quite harmful. The base of Withings Home will glow red if VOC levels reach unhealthy levels so that you can open a window or door to get some fresh air. We're looking forward to giving the Withings Home webcam/air monitor a full workout soon, so be sure to stay tuned to TUAW for all of your connected home news.
CES 2015: The home of the future, available today
We've been hearing about the promise of the connected home, or the "Internet of Things," for years. At this CES, one thing became clear: The connected home of the future is achievable today. Qualcomm's smart home, for example, was a mock-up showing how tech could change the way we live. Unlike past years, however, the vast majority of "things" on show were off-the-shelf products you could buy and install in your apartment right now.
A connected plant pot meets a smart bulb at CES
You may not realize this yet, but you're probably going to be buying a connected home gadget at some point this year. After endless hype, we're finally beginning to see smart home products that are both affordable and easy to use. Case in point: Parrot's new self-watering smart flower pot ($60) and Misfit's colorful Bolt smart lightbulb ($50). We brought Tim Golnik, Misfit's vice president of product and design, and Jerome Bouvard, Parrot's smart pot product manager, to the Engadget CES stage to chat about their new products and the state of the connected home. And as a bonus, we also got a live demonstration of the Parrot Pot's self-watering mechanism in action. Check out our full conversation below.
Honeywell's smart Lyric security system lets you tell it what to do
After Nest's thermostat seemingly caught it off guard, Honeywell came back solidly with its own snappy-looking Lyric thermostat. Now the home control veteran is trying to build some more momentum with the launch of its second Lyric product: a "professional grade" home security system. It includes cameras, plus intruder, motion and smoke detectors, all managed by a touchscreen controller. The system accepts voice commands, which can trigger events like turning off the alarm, while simultaneously switching on the lights and turning up the heat. Honeywell says the system will also use your smartphone location and products like smart lights and locks to give you a wide range of automated scenarios.
D-Link wants to invade your home with security cameras and leak sensors
Night-vision baby monitors, pan-and-tilt security cameras and water leak sensors? D-Link's smart home product division loves CES, and an earlier connected home hub leak showed that it would be especially active this year. The company has formally revealed its first hub (the $80 DCH-G020) to support both WiFi and Z-Wave devices, along with some peripherals to go with it. As expected, it plugs into a regular router and lets you control a raft of either Z-Wave or WiFi accessories using the mydlink app for iOS or Android devices. Giving the hub some utility are the $40 Z-Wave DCH-Z110 open/close and $50 Z-Wave Motion sensors, along with the DCH-S160 WiFi water sensor and DCH-S220 WiFi siren ($60 and $50, respectively). All of those devices will be available sometime next quarter.
IRL: August's renovation-free smart lock is convenient, if unnecessary
I rent a one-bedroom apartment in New York City, which means if I want to make my home "smart," my options are pretty limited. A Nest Thermostat is out of the question. Truth is I don't even have a dumb thermostat in my apartment; there's a middleman standing between me and my heat. A smart lock would also normally be a no go, since that would mean replacing the whole lock and getting new keys. (Plus, I'm sure my landlord wouldn't want to foot the bill.) But August, as co-founder Jason Johnson is fond of saying, isn't really a smart lock. It's more like a robot that attaches to your existing lock. And since it only replaces the thumb latch on the inside of your deadbolt, it actually allowed me to give my roughly 90-year-old (and showing it) apartment a 21st century update.
Withings launches a CCTV baby cam that'll monitor your air quality
It might have started out just making connected weighing scales, but Withings is now serious about making your home a healthy place to be. That's why the company has launched Home, a connected baby cam that also pulls double-duty to ensure that you're as healthy as you can be. The cause of some physical strife, so it claims, is VOCs, or Volatile Organic Compounds in the air. Thanks to the rise in double glazing and a desire to conserve energy, people aren't leaving their windows open as much as they should, leading to a deadly rise in these VOCs in the air.
How to make your dumb home smarter without spending a fortune
If you go all out connecting your house, you can end up spending as much upgrading a smart home as it costs to build a dumb one. But you don't need a ton of proprietary gear to pimp your crib with 21st-century tech. Your smartphone and tablet already serve to consolidate your digital life, and they can do the same with your lights, power outlets, air conditioning and nanny cam -- even your door locks and Crock-Pot can be app-controlled, if you so please. Join us below to explore affordable options for your entire home, all of which can be installed yourself.
