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IKEA's smart blinds are finally available to buy online
After months of being limited to stores, IKEA's connected blinds are available online -- not that you have much choice.
Benjamin Moore's ColorReader can match your paint with your shirt
Benjamin Moore thinks it has a more reliable way to match house paints than taking photos and comparing them with examples at the store. It's releasing two ColorReader devices and a companion Color Portfolio app that can match colors sampled from any flat surface with not only Benjamin Moore's paint selection, but those of "other leading brands." You could find the exact shade of crimson for your living room by sampling your shirt, if that's your thing.
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.
Google Assistant now controls your Nest x Yale smart lock
You'd think the Nest x Yale Lock would support Google Assistant from the outset given its pedigree, but not so -- you've had to use the app. It's finally here, though. As of August 29th, you can use Google Assistant to control the Nest x Yale Lock with your voice. You can lock the door or check its status whether or not you're at home, including as part of Assistant's Routines. If you're ready to pack it in for the night, you can lock the door as you're shutting off the lights.
The latest Philips Hue lighting kits bring color to your walls
Signify's Philips Hue lights can certainly be used to illuminate your walls, but they're not usually meant for it. Even LightStrips are intended more as accents than room-defining centerpieces. That's where the company's latest kits might come to the rescue. The Hue Play (below) and Hue Signe (above) are expressly designed to bounce colored light off your walls and provide floor-to-ceiling ambiance. The Play is a compact, upward-facing bar that can give your TV viewing sessions a glow without the glare of a bulb souring the experience, while the Signe is a vertical fixture that's built to blend in with your furnishings without taking up a massive footprint.
That fancy Cortana thermostat now supports Alexa and Google Assistant
If you've been eying Johnson Controls' slick, Microsoft-backed GLAS thermostat ever since it was unveiled in 2017, it's finally close at hand -- and you won't have to rely on Cortana for voice control, either. The $319 climate controller will ship on August 24th with support both Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant, helping it slip more gracefully into more smart home setups. This probably won't wound Microsoft's pride too much. It's aware that Cortana has just a small slice of the voice assistant market, and it's already getting cozy with Alexa on its own platforms.
Google Assistant's visual smart home controls are on the way
You don't have to pick up a smart display to use touch-savvy controls in Google Assistant. Users at Droid Life and elsewhere have noticed that Google is rolling out visual smart home controls (teased back at I/O in May) to mobile devices. When you issue certain smart home commands, you'll get a handful of basic controls to fine-tune the results if they're not quite what you were looking for. You can raise the temperature on your air conditioner, or turn off a light instead of turning it down.
Neato robot vacuum can map multiple floors of your home
Robot vacuums can frequently map a floor of your home to clean without much fuss. But if you aren't living in an apartment or bungalow, you probably have multiple floors -- where's the robovac for that? Neato thinks it can oblige. It's releasing a software update to the Botvac D7 Connected that lets its automated cleaner create maps for up to three floors. You'll still have to haul the robot up and down the stairs, but that beats buying another model just to avoid breaking out conventional cleaning tools. Neato is selling stand-alone charging stations (currently $40 each) to save you from moving the power source every time.
Ecobee smart thermostats now save you money during peak hours
Ecobee now has an answer to Nest's peak-usage energy savings. It's launching a Peak Relief pilot program that automatically cuts down on heating and cooling when electricity rates are at their highest. It uses your comfort preferences, home energy efficiency and the weather forecast to ramp up the heat or AC right before peak times so that you can reap the benefits of your smart thermostat without paying quite so dearly for the privilege. Ecobee reckons that you'll save an additional 10 percent on your bills on top of the 23 percent you're normally supposed to save.
MIT's robotic carpenters take the hassle out of custom furniture
If you want to build custom furniture, you usually need to know your way around a saw and devote days to both designing it and cutting every last piece. MIT's CSAIL might have a better solution: let computers and robots do the hard work. Its researchers have developed an AutoSaw system that makes it easy to craft furniture without the risk of cutting your fingers. You start on your computer by customizing furniture templates in OnShape's simple CAD system. After that, modified robots (a Roomba for a jigsaw, Kuka youBots for chopping) cut the individual parts. You still have to assemble it yourself, but the software will guide you through the process.
Amazon acquires Ring's smart doorbell business
If it wasn't already evident that Amazon wants a stronger foothold in the smart home space, it is now. Amazon has acquired Ring, the device maker best known for its smart doorbells. The terms of the deal aren't clear, but it's expected that Amazon will keep the core Ring business intact while finding ways to integrate its work into the Amazon ecosystem. Ring already supports Alexa voice control, so we'd expect more than just obvious tie-ins.
Netgear turns its security cameras into a separate business
Netgear's Arlo security cameras are apparently a hit -- so much so that the company is turning them into a separate business. The router maker has revealed that it's spinning out Arlo as a separate company, with the regulatory paperwork completed in the first half of 2018 and a public stock offering in the second. Senior strategy VP Matthew McRae (who used to be Vizio's chief technical officer) is expected to helm Arlo when all is said and done.
August's smart lock links up with Protect America's security systems
You'd think that smart door locks and home security systems would regularly work in harmony, but that's not really the case. More likely than not, you'll have to remember to check the lock after the fact. Not so if you have August's Smart Lock Pro -- the company has forged a partnership that integrates Protect America's home security hardware. You can now use Protect America's Alexa skill to automatically lock the door when you arm the security system, so you hopefully won't have to test the resilience of your system by giving thieves an easy entrance.
Audi smart home battery grid creates a 'virtual power plant'
Audi isn't going to let rival automakers like BMW and Tesla corner the market on home batteries. The German badge is testing a Smart Energy Network where solar-powered batteries not only help your home minimize use of the electrical grid, but talk to each other. The result is, as Audi put it, a "virtual power plant" -- households collectively feed power into the grid and help balance overall consumption.
Philips Hue lights will sync with music and games on your PC
Philips' team-up with Razer is just the start of Hue-to-PC syncing. The lighting behemoth is preparing to launch a Hue Sync app that will let you sync games, movies and music on any Windows 10 PC or High Sierra-equipped Mac. While the exact functionality is under wraps, it's easy to imagine turning the room blood red when you play death metal, or dimming the lights when you settle in for a Netflix marathon.
Whirlpool plugs Alexa and Google Assistant into its appliances
Whirlpool's smart appliances have already had some voice assistant control, but they're about become particularly AI-savvy. The company has unveiled a 2018 lineup where many appliances support both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, letting you control most of your home using the smart speaker (or mobile app) you prefer. You can check the time left on the washing machine, start the dishwasher or change the temperature of your fridge without lifting a finger.
Samsung adds Bixby voice control to its Family Hub smart fridge
Samsung is fulfilling its promise of spreading Bixby beyond mobile devices -- it just unveiled a Family Hub 3.0 refrigerator whose star attraction is (you guessed it) Bixby voice control. The company hasn't said exactly what its in-house voice assistant allows, but it will personalize responses to individual voices: you can ask what's new and get your personal calendar and news updates.
Google Assistant will unlock Schlage Sense deadbolts
Schlage's Sense smart deadbolt now works with (almost) any virtual assistant under the Sun. The lock maker has revealed that Sense will support Google Assistant early in the first quarter, letting you check on your door (and, of course, lock it) from your Google Home or mobile apps that use the AI helper. You'll need the Sense WiFi adapter to make this work, but it'll give you the choice of Assistant, Alexa or Siri (via HomeKit) -- not bad when some rivals only offer one or two options.
GE hub connects its smart lights to Alexa and Google
When GE introduced its latest C-series smart light bulbs, the focus was on affordability -- as they talked directly to your phone through Bluetooth, you didn't need a bridge device. That kept them out of touch of voice assistants, however, which meant replacing the whole lot if you wanted hands-free control. Well, you won't have to rethink your investment from now on: GE has introduced a hub, the C-Reach, that puts its bulbs on WiFi to enable support for Amazon's Alexa and (by the end of 2017) Google Assistant. As with most smart lighting kits, you can steer lights individually or in groups just by talking to your phone or a smart speaker.
Control Ecobee's smart thermostats with Google Assistant
You no longer have to be picky about which voice assistant you use to steer Ecobee's smart thermostats. Google Assistant now offers control over Ecobee3 and Ecobee4 models, letting you tweak the temperature from your phone or an Assistant-equipped speaker like those in the Home lineup. It's a relatively simple addition, but it means that Ecobee's thermostats now respond to voice commands from three of the major voice assistants (Alexa, Assistant and Siri) in some capacity -- sorry, Cortana fans.
