Philips Hue is gaining two more connected lighting ranges, with the Hue Signe Collection and Hue Play joining the line-up of wirelessly-connected lamps and bulbs. Rather than retrofitting existing fixtures with new, smart bulbs, however, the two new ranges are standalone lamps in their own right, with installation promising to be as straightforward as plugging them into an outlet.
The striking GLAS thermostat has gained Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support, with the two new AIs joining Cortana as the smart home gadget goes up for preorder. Announced last year, the voice-controlled HVAC controller has a distinctive translucent OLED screen which stands proud of the wall it's mounted on.
Samsung wants to tame your smart home and end your WiFi deadspots, with its new SmartThings Wifi mesh router system. Promising not only smoother internet access for things like online gaming, streaming media, and general browsing, the mesh networking system also integrates an IoT hub that could leave you spending less time jumping between apps and more time letting your connected home do the hard work in the background.
Samsung has a new SmartThings Mesh WiFi router, promising not only whole-home wireless coverage but control over your smart home too. The new router, which taps into Plume's WiFi mesh technology, arrives alongside a refreshed SmartThings hub for those happy with their existing router, together with a bunch of new sensors.
Smart speakers are all the rage when it comes to smart home products and its pioneers are trying their best to build up on that new cash cow. Back at CES early this year, Google revealed its roster of Smart Displays to take on Amazon’s Echo Show. All of those, of course, revolve around Google Assistant. But to make sure that those without such big screens don’t feel too left behind, Google seems to be pushing a small update to Google Assistant on smartphones to bring it on par with Smart Displays, at least as far the same user interfaces go.
Houses these days are teeming with technology to help us live convenient, productive lives. Those range from simple (or sophisticated) home network routers to the smartphones we carry with us everywhere. Some more tech-savvy homeowners even have programmable lights, smart thermostats, and hi-tech locks. Very few of these devices, however, seem to be geared towards helping us live healthy lives. That’s where the Footbot comes in, bringing those technologies together to make sure you know whether you’re breathing clean and safe air or not.
Smart assistants are supposed to be smart at helping us be more productive but they have so far fallen short of that. They have not yet reached a point where we can trust them with our schedules, appointments, and routines, secure in the knowledge that they will take action at the right time. Google Assistant has taken one step closer to that goal with the rollout of scheduled routines for Google Home. That is if you’re lucky to live in the US.
Lenovo's Smart Display brings show & tell to the Google Assistant, adding a touchscreen to the smart speaker and taking on Amazon's Echo Show in the process. First of a series of display-enabled Assistant devices to make it to shelves, Lenovo's gadget aims to win a spot on your kitchen counter or your nightstand with both voice and touch control, as well as the promise of better integration with your smartphone than Alexa can provide.
Netgear has added a smart doorbell and chime to its Arlo range of wireless security cameras, though it's missing a feature we've grown used to from rivals. The Arlo Doorbell and Arlo Chime, like Nest Hello and the Ring Doorbell, support two-way audio so that you can speak to whoever is at your door, even if you're not home.
Kitchen appliances continue to get smarter, and now it's the microwave promising easier cooking and Amazon Alexa integration. The GE Smart Countertop Microwave debuts the company's Scan-to-Cook system, with a companion smartphone app that can identify packaged food and automatically beam the correct power and time instructions to the oven.
Home security is getting smarter, or at least that’s what the fast growing smart home market is trying to say. Pundits, however, warn of how the IoT rush could cause lapses in security, which has been proven time and again. Nowhere is that more troubling than when smart locks themselves are involved. One newcomer to that market is Tapplock, and its fingerprint-secured smart lock may not be so secure after all.
Elgato is spreading the smart home outside with the new Eve Aqua and Eve Flare bringing the IoT to your irrigation system and exterior lighting. Adding to Elgato's growing Eve platform of connected devices, which already includes interior lighting, HomeKit-enabled temperature sensors, and more, the new products are both designed to work with Apple's smart home system.