Enlarge / Amazon’s Echo Show 15 is about the largest smart display you can find. (credit: Scharon Harding) When getting a display of any type, the particular first thing to consider is size. And unless the display will be moving around, chances are that the bigger it is, typically the better your experience will be. […]
Enlarge / The smart home market grew in Q3. (credit: Yagi Studio/Getty Images) The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in people spending more time in their homes. And while that has led to investments in home offices and banana bread baking bonanzas, it also gave people a reason to try out some new smart home tech. […]
Enlarge (credit: Getty ) Alexa gets around. The voice assistant has been in all types of devices, not just Amazon’s Echo products. You can talk to Alexa in coffeemakers , take it on the road with you, spend the holidays together, and even make it feed your pet . But inside many of those products—at […]
The VR and AR category is predicted to grow the fastest. (credit: Oscar Wong/Getty ) It wasn’t long ago that virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets, smartwatches, and voice-controlled homes were the fantasies of books and movies. Today, VR, AR, wearables, and smart home tech have passed the early-adoption phase and are all […]
Enlarge / Google’s second-generation Nest Hub in its ideal environment, bedside. (credit: Corey Gaskin) Google’s second-generation Nest Hub, like much of the company’s hardware these days, looks a lot like the previous version. But in this case, I don’t mind so much. This is a purpose-built smart display with a camera-less design aimed at maintaining […]
Enlarge / The v1 SmartThings Hub from 2013. It’s dying at the end of the month. (credit: Samsung) Samsung has spent the last year or so upending its SmartThings ecosystem. SmartThings was born as an independent company in 2012 when it launched one of the largest Kickstarter campaigns ever: a $1.2 million funding program for the […]
Enlarge / Apple’s discontinued HomePod. (credit: Jeff Dunn) A reference to “homeOS” was recently found in an Apple job listing, suggesting that Apple may have plans to change how it classifies and presents the software running on devices like the HomePod mini in the future. Twitter user Javier Lacort discovered the terminology in an Apple […]
Enlarge / RIP HomePod, 2021. (credit: Jeff Dunn) Apple is working on multiple new products to replace the recently discontinued HomePod and to bring Siri and Apple services into living rooms, according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Debby Wu and Mark Gurman. One of those products would be a device that combines the TV […]
Google is currently pitching its latest Nest Thermostat as a entry level gadget designed for individuals curious to leap aboard the so called smart-home bandwagon. The Nest Thermostat prices $129.99 and comes in several distinct colours –snow (white), sand (pinkish tan), charcoal (dark gray ), along with fog (green).In comparison with the provider’s high end […]