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Wink's $200 home security bundle includes three sensors and a hub
Wink's mission (before and after getting bought by Will.i.am) has been to make smart product networks work simply and easily with its proprietary hub, and added Google Home and Alexa integration to boot. Accordingly, most of its earlier bundles, like its smart light bulb home safety package, have included other companies' products. But its latest is a collection linking its hub with three new Wink sensors for a holistic security bundle.
Smart lock company August Home purchased by actual lock company Yale
Smart-lock outfit Yale's parent company is buying August Home, in a move that may consolidate some of the smart lock market. The regulatory bodies involved are expected to approve Sweden-based Assa Abloy's purchase by year's end. "August Home strengthens our residential smart door strategy with complementary smart locks, expansion into video doorbells and comprehensive solutions for home delivery," ASSA's executive vice president Thanasis Molokotos said in a statement.
Samsung’s cellular smart tag lasts for a week on one charge
Smart products have given us the tools we need to track personal items, and even loved ones. Want to know where your kids are? Buy them a custom smartwatch. Worried about losing your suitcase? Grab some connected luggage. Looking to keep a watchful eye over your pet? Get a webcam-integrated smart toy. But, as useful as they may be, they're still restricted by their category. Sensing a gap in the market for a versatile product that can do all of the above, Samsung is releasing the Connect Tag.
Google Home Mini review: Taking aim at the Echo Dot
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that's true, Amazon must be tickled pink right now. The obvious inspiration for last year's Google Home was the Amazon Echo, and it's just as obvious that the new Google Home Mini is taking cues from the Echo Dot. To be fair, it's a logical strategy: By packaging all of Alexa's features into a smaller and cheaper package, Amazon expanded the Echo ecosystem and made it easier to blanket your house with voice-activated assistants. Google is now doing the same, right down to the price. The $49 Home Mini does almost everything the larger Home does, at a price that makes the idea of buying three or four to place around the house a lot more palatable. For that to be worthwhile, though, the Google Assistant and the Home Mini hardware both need to seamlessly integrate themselves into your home and make your life easier.
Smart speakers are working their way into every home
Apple, Google and Amazon have all announced smart speakers that are more like gadgets than audio gear. Of course, whenever a tech company attempts to build audio gear, the specter of the iPod HiFi looms large. Apple's ill-fated attempt to build the perfect speaker was considered a flop thanks to its high price and limited functionality. It was a glorified iPod dock that set you back $349 and couldn't even connect to the internet or FM radio. A decade later, smart speakers look ready to take over the world. And what happens next is going to be very interesting.
Amazon's Echo Plus packs in a smart home hub
Turns out that Amazon had more than one new Echo to show off today. The Echo Plus serves as an easy-to-setup smart home hub to take on Google's Home speaker and Apple's AirPod. Out of the box, smart bulbs will automatically go into discovery mode while you install them. Alexa will automatically name the devices, too, so the first one you set up will be called "first light." That won't be confusing for PlayStation fans at all. You won't have to install any apps or skills on the device, either, and there are already over 100 devices available for the Plus including lights, bulbs and locks.
Nest takes on home defense with its Secure alarm system
Nest wants to manage every aspect of your home's security -- not just its thermostats and cameras. The company has announced a slew of products designed to keep an eye on your home while you're away, under the Nest Secure banner. That includes a Google-Home-looking Guard control system, Detect sensors (placed in rooms, near windows and doors) and a Tag keychain that arms and disarms the security hub. The starter bundle will cost $499, with extra Detect sensors running $59. Need an additional Tag for your roommates or kids? Those will set you back $25 each. A bundle with the Nest Cam Outdoor (this is different from the latest Nest Cam IQ Outdoor) will be available at Best Buy as well as Nest's website for $598.
Neato's newest Botvac integrates with your connected home
We're at a point where it's simply not enough for your robotic vacuum cleaner to tidy up your floors at set times each week. Now, it's vitally important that your smart home itself can summon and dismiss your vacuum cleaner at will. Which is why Neato is making such a big deal that its latest Botvac, the D7 Connected, can blend so seamlessly into your life.
Google Assistant is coming to more speakers and appliances
Last May, Google opened up its AI Assistant's software development kit to the wider world of third-party smart devices, including blenders, smart locks and web cameras. At the IFA in Berlin, Google has just announced that even more gadgets will be able to integrate Google Assistant. You'll soon see the digital helper in more speakers, various appliances and home automation systems.
iDevice dimmer switches work with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri
Using your voice to control things around your home is one of the cooler aspects of the future we live in. But, unless you have the right phone or smart speaker, that functionality can be crippled or nonexistent. Platform-agnostic devices for smart homes are all too rare, which is why iDevices' dimmer switch is so intriguing. The company's hardware works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri right out of the box. No, I never thought I'd say a dimmer switch would be interesting either, but here we are.
Lowe’s Iris smart home system can connect to your Nest thermostat
Home improvement retailer Lowe's continues to update its Iris smart home system. Originally released in 2014, it added mobile set up, remote monitoring and subscription-based emergency services to it's offered services. Now you can manage your home's temperature with Iris, via a new integration with the Nest learning thermostat.
Smart locks rendered dumb by automatic update fail
Making dumb things smart can have its benefits, but adding complexity to once-simple devices can also lead to unforeseen problems. It's a lesson smart lock maker LockState is all too aware of, after a clumsily delivered automatic update bricked hundreds of the gizmos, rendering their fancier features like remote locking and unlocking unusable.
Android phones can now open Schlage's premium smart lock
Android users in search of a smart lock now have another option available to them. On top of its existing iOS (and HomeKit) support, Schlage is adding compatibility for Google's OS to its top-of-the-line Smart Deadlock. That's not all, if you're willing to fork out an extra $70 you can also grab the company's new Sense Wi-Fi adapter, allowing you to control the smart lock from anywhere.
Canary improves livestream skills of its home security camera
Smart home security company Canary has unveiled a new range of features to make it easier to keep an eye on your home, including two-way audio, a web app and real-time monitoring. The updates join Canary's existing line of features which include intelligent security alerts, video playback, home health monitoring and incident support. First up is Canary Talk, which connects remote users to people (or pets, if that's your thing) inside the protected property through real-time conversation. This is usually called two-way audio, but Canary's offering allows multiple remote users to log in and chat simultaneously. This feature is available for Canary All-in-One devices today, and for Canary Flex come September.
Anker's Genie is a cheaper Echo Dot
As part of its growing smart home tech line of products called Eufy, Anker is adding its version of the Echo Dot. It's a little bit bigger than the Dot with some slightly different specs here and there, but overall very comparable to Amazon's version. And the Eufy Genie comes a bit cheaper at just $35 compared to the Dot's $50 price tag.
Android apps can find nearby devices even when they're offline
If you've ever wished that your smartphone's apps would automatically do your bidding the moment you neared a device, you're in luck. After previewing it at I/O in May, Google has made the second generation of its Nearby Connections toolkit available to Android developers. The updated framework uses Bluetooth and WiFi to find nearby devices, connect to them and perform tasks without requiring an internet connection. Your hotel room could auto-adjust the temperature the moment you walk in, Google suggests, while your phone could merge contacts whenever you're close to your spouse.
Will.i.am hopes buying a smart home platform will get it started
Will.I.Am is at the point of his career where he has the disposable income to throw at basically whatever he wants. Be it a terrible smartwatch (or two) or an insipid iPhone case, he's thrown cash at a variety of money pits. Now, he has another one to add to his list: A smart home platform. His i.am+ company has acquired Wink, which makes hubs for connected household devices.
Roomba maker iRobot plans to sell digital maps of your home
While iRobot may have originated as a bomb-disposal robot maker at MIT in 1990, the company is probably better known as a robot vacuum company. So much so that it has taken to suing competitors like Bissell and Hoover, who sell their own robotic vacuum cleaners. The Roomba craze may not be as popular on the internet anymore, but iRobot reportedly has a new strategy in place: providing Roomba-gathered maps of your home to other smart device makers.
The UK wants smart homes to become one with the energy grid
The UK government imagines a near future where smart home devices and appliances can help balance the scales of energy supply and demand, as well as save consumers and businesses money. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has worked with regulator Ofgem and the industry on the "smart systems and flexibility plan," which sets out ways in which we can make smarter, more efficient use of the grid and new technologies. Connected appliances could play an important part. You might want to set your smart washing machine to run when electricity is particularly cheap, for example, or even cede control of your smart fridge to an external force that turns it off for ten minutes when demand is high and the grid is stressed.
Microsoft shows off a Nest-like thermostat based on Cortana
Microsoft isn't content to let Amazon or Alphabet dictate the future of the smart home. The software giant has unveiled a smart thermostat from Johnson Controls, GLAS, that promises to one-up what you see from the likes of Nest. The slick-looking control packs both a translucent touchscreen and, more importantly, Cortana voice controls -- you don't have to talk to a speaker or your phone to change the temperature. The promo video (below) doesn't go deep into the feature set, but the Windows 10 IoT Core-based hardware is known to detect both your presence in the room as well as air quality indoors and out.
