smart home

I have always had a “broken” smart home situation going on; I’ve had products that would only work with Google Home, others that were Amazon Alexa exclusives, and then you have the elusive HomeKit-enabled products.

Over the last year, I have slowly transitioned all of my smart home products to make sure they are HomeKit enabled so I could use Apple’s Home app as my central hub. The last set of products that I was looking for was a HomeKit-ready video monitoring and sensor-enabled security system; that is where Abode’s HomeKit security bundle steps in to fully complete my smart home experience. Having a trustworthy, top-rated security system that was built to integrate with HomeKit was exactly what I was looking for.

Amazon is making another acquisition to shake up the smart home industry and further expand its presence inside your home. The company announced on Friday that it is dropping $1.7 billion to acquire iRobot, the makers of the Roomba robot vacuums.

HomeKit’s ecosystem is fantastic, but the directly compatible devices can get expensive – especially if you already have incompatible devices at home that you need to replace. $25 for a smart plug, $40 for a door sensor – it really adds up quickly. There are plenty of other smart home devices available on Amazon, from $6 smart plugs to $25 cameras, outside the HomeKit ecosystem. Thankfully, many of these otherwise unsupported devices can be brought into HomeKit with the use of Homebridge software.

In April, I wrote a comment piece about what Apple products should gain the U1 chip. Unfortunately, Apple didn’t agree this year and the only new hardware that got its Ultra Wide Band chip was the iPhone 13 and Apple Watch Series 7.

Even though Apple is holding down control of this technology, a developer was able to build the ultimate smart home remote app that uses the iPhone’s U1 chip to control different smart home devices just by pointing at them.

I recently went hands-on with the Level Touch smart lock, which is Level Home Inc.’s most recent foray into the connected home space. Level, whose newest smart lock is for sale in the Apple Store, and whose design team includes former Apple employees, prides itself on providing smart technology in an elegant and inconspicuous package. In fact, unless someone specifically told you, you might not even know that the Level Touch is a smart lock. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for the details.

Looking to expand your smart home or business setup this holiday season? EZVIZ has a versatile lineup of smart home devices including outdoor and indoor security cameras, video doorbells, and more. They have best in class features like full HD 1080p recording, up to 8x zoom, color night vision, and local storage via MicroSD card slot while remaining affordable. And EZVIZ is offering big Black Friday deals now with up to 50% off.

While Apple has so far touted HomeKit as the best way to ensure security and privacy of smart home devices, the company has now agreed to work with other tech giants on an open standard for smart home security.

The new working group comprises some of the biggest names in smart home tech, including major rivals…

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The robot vacuum cleaner market is a pretty crowded one these days, so the Roborock S5 attempts to stand out by going one better: it doesn’t just vacuum your floors, it also mops them.

I was already sold on the concept of robot vacuum cleaners, having been seriously impressed by the Neato Botvac D7 Connected which I reviewed last year. We have it set on a schedule to vacuum the apartment at 8am every weekday, and it does a great job.

But I was unsure whether a robot with a small water tank could really do a good job of mopping the floors …

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Last month, images of a new Ecobee camera leaked and showcased a sleek black and silver design. Now, the first details of Ecobee’s next smart thermostat, believed to be called the Ecobee4+, have emerged.

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Smart home devices are ‘creepy’ according to the majority of people who own them, based on an Ipsos MORI poll. Two-thirds of US owners of smart home gadgets bought them despite this feeling.

The take-away appears to be that consumers consider the convenience to outweigh privacy concerns …

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Smart home devices are potentially one of the bigger security threats since there is no easy way to check what they are up to on your network. That’s a problem Princeton University has set out to solve, with the Princeton IoT Inspector.

It works on HomeKit and non-HomeKit devices alike …

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Apple has recently acquired a handful of patents from Lighthouse AI, a defunct home security camera company. As reported by IAM, Apple acquired the patent portfolio sometime late in 2018, but the details were only published recently in the U.S. Patent and Trademark database.

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When Ecovacs saw how much I loved the Neato D7 Connected robot vacuum cleaner, it seemed an obvious pitch to try to sell me on a review of the Winbot X window-cleaning robot.

I’m not exactly a hard sell on smart home tech, given two principles to which I subscribe. First: if something can be automated, it should be automated. Second: any excuse to use a gadget …

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Smart home products make great gifts. Shiny new toys to play with over the holidays, and utility that lasts all year long. Products that work with Apple HomeKit are a big part of modern smart home setups. HomeKit accessories from a variety of brands work with Apple’s Home app and with voice control through Siri.

Apple’s smart home framework doesn’t cover the full range of what you might need for a smart home, however, which is where Amazon Alexa can help. There are also things to consider when buying for smart home enthusiasts like upgraded network options, network-attached storage for serving media and storing backups, and ways to integrate charging stations throughout the house.

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We told you back in December about an iOS app that can control smart ovens from GE and Bosch, and Electrolux has told us that it is next in line.

The Innit app lets you detail your diet, allergies and food preferences to recommend recipes. Once you select one, the app will work with you and your oven to help cook it …

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Those of you who’ve been following my Smart Home Diary series will know that I’ve learned a number of lessons – some of them the hard way. But I thought it would be useful to distill these into a single piece offering my best advice for anyone planning to create a smart home from scratch today.

And that advice begins with considering whether or not creating a smart home is a smart choice for you …

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iDevices today has unveiled a new connected wall switch that it says lets users seamlessly control their other iDevice accessories and their smart home products. Dubbed the Instant Switch, iDevices touts this accessory as an “intelligently-designed wireless remote wall switch…

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Update: In an email to 9to5Mac, Twist says that “the app works fine and the cloud services are paid for and covered for a long while.”

Two years ago, we reported on Twist, a new smart home accessory maker aiming to take a different approach to smart home lighting. At the time, the company debuted an AirPlay-connected lightbulb and speaker system combo, but it now appears that those efforts didn’t catch on like Twist had hoped…

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