Wyze has made a name for itself with its unexpectedly affordable connected security cameras, and now the Wyze Bulb aims to do the same for smart lighting. Taking on Philips Hue, LIFX, and others, the Wyze Bulb's big boast is that it's priced from just $7.99, a fraction of what you'd pay for rivals.
Philips Hue smart bulbs inadvertently cut off from the network could be a problem no longer, with Lutron launching an Aurora dimmer accessory that also prevents accidental switch-offs. Hue bulbs are now a mainstay of many smart home installations, however they typically come with one lingering problem. For the bulbs to work, the power must remain switched on.
At I/O 2019 last week, Google announced that Nest would be its single brand not just for existing Nest products but also for its other smart home devices, like the Home smart speakers. It was meant to consolidate the branding strategy and lessen confusion but, as with any reorganization, it produces more confusion at the start. Now Google is providing details on how that transition will proceed, especially with the Works with Nest platform.
The original Neato Botvac D7 Connected launched all the way back at IFA 2017 - so a review now might seem a bit strange. Strange because we're generally reviewing devices so early, they've often not even been given a general consumer release. But with the D7, a few different elements are at play - one of which is the fact that the robot vacuum market doesn't turn over nearly as fast as the smartphone or tablet market, so there's really not a lot out there that's come to try to take the D7's lunch.
Almost like rival Nest, ecobee has focused its portfolio on smart thermostats. In the past two years, however, it has expanded in two big ways. It has integrated Amazon's Alexa into its latest thermostat and, as of last year, started offering a smart switch as well. It seems that the company will soon be breaking ground again with a new smart home product, an indoor security camera that might, of course, have Alexa inside as well.
Security cameras are not that new and are no longer just for businesses and mansions. Smart homes are starting to also become smarter at security but many DIY security cameras only offer standard or Full HD resolutions to cut down on storage, bandwidth, and price. When it comes to security and peace of mind, however, you can't really afford to be cheap. The new Arlo Ultra promises to be worth every penny with a 4K HDR wire-free camera that brings out all the details, including the ones you'll need to chase down culprits.
When I mention the cost of this garbage can, you may recoil in horror. How dare I even consider recommending anyone pay two hundred and fifty US dollars for a can into which garbage should go? I thought the same thing at first, then I considered how often I'd replaced my kitchen garbage can in the last decade. Then I got to thinking about how much I hated the fact that no garbage can I'd ever owned really did a great job of masking smells of any significant strength, ever. Then I wondered if a can of this caliber could actually be a good investment.
The ability to see who's ringing your doorbell was, until recently, the stuff of science fiction. Also just recently, the technology was only available to companies and individuals with deep pockets. Thanks to the explosion of the connected home market, however, such things have now become not only more common or more affordable, they've also become more stylish, too. Moving from its blocky and cumbersome offering, the August View now comes in a more presentable form and with better quality video to boot.
When they first came out, Amazon's Dash buttons easily became the butt of jokes. Who would want a dedicated button just to order laundry soap through Amazon? Apparently, a lot did and Amazon saw the quirky $5 connected devices as hit to the point that its success may have been its own undoing. Now the retailer has announced that it will no longer be selling these quirky physical Dash buttons but its spirit and support lives on in today's connected home appliances.
Google's Home app is supposed to be the single hub on your phone for all your smart home needs. It, however, originated from a time when all that you could real connect was a Chromecast. And while it has been revamped a few months back to truly be a Home hub, it has yet to gain some basic functionality you'd expect from such an app. Fortunately, Google has taken on such small step forward and has added the ability to change the color of any smart bulb connected to the app.
Nest Secure is gaining Google Assistant support, turning the Nest Guard base station for the home security system into Google Home-style AI interface. The update to the keypad-topped Nest Guard will see the security tech expand its Assistant integration, which until now has been used primarily to arm the system.
Lowe's Iris smart home platform is shutting down at the end of March, another example of an Internet of Things system failing to gain traction - and leaving owners frustrated in the process. The home improvement company quietly confirmed that Iris was on the chopping block back in November 2018, after a mediocre Q3 which prompted a rethink of the IoT platform.