GE Appliances’ futuristic kitchen hub goes from prototype to market at CES 2019
GE Appliances wants its new $1,200 Kitchen Hub to be all things for all purposes in the smart home of the future, offering a 27-inch smart touch screen that can be used for streaming entertainment, live video chats, and social networking, and can also act as a single control center for other smart home devices.
Tuya Smart brings smart home security with facial recognition to CES 2019
Tuya Smart, the Chinese startup that recently raised about $200 million to build out its smart home, smart business and smart city strategy, is focusing on smart home security at CES 2019 as it unveils a new smart home platform that features a home security hub that uses A.I. and facial recognition.
CES 2019: Comcast launches digital security service to protect smart devices
The number of smart home devices in the average home is growing exponentially and so is the number of attacks against IoT devices. At CES 2019, Comcast hopes to provide a comprehensive solution for its customers with a new digital security service that uses A.I. and machine learning to identify and neutralize threats.
C by GE is set to triple its smart home products at CES 2019
C by GE has always been heavily invested in its partnership with Google and its collaboration is coming to fruition with new "Made-for-Google" smart lights, switches, and other lighting products that enable users to control lighting by voice or app without running instructions through an external smart home hub.
The Google Home Hub will support video calls, but only for one person
Industry watchers were baffled by the fact the new Google Home Hub doesn't have a camera but it turns out the internal coding was crafted to allow the device to make Duo video calls to other devices that have cameras on them, enabling one-way video calls where only the Google Home Hub users can see the recipient of the call.
One hacker is ‘shocked’ at vulnerabilities in the Google Home Hub
Is Google Home Hub vulnerable to hackers? Security expert Jerry Gamblin says he is "shocked" by exploits he discovered in the device's software code that could allow anyone to restart the device, delete the currently enabled network, or disable all notifications.
The Google Home App just got a major overhaul
Google is on a roll this week, announcing several big new devices at its hardware reveal event in New York City and with new devices like the Google Home Hub comes a completely redesigned Google Home App that can control multiple smart home devices and even multiple smart homes.
Lifesum’s new app watches your weight and fitness via Google Assistant
Lifesum, the Swedish digital health company, is launching a new app for Google Assistant to help users tailor their diet and exercise regimes to reach long-term goals like building strength, improving energy levels and health, losing or gaining weight, or controlling hunger pangs, all activated by voice commands.
Yet another home kitchen appliance explodes. This time it’s a Whirlpool fridge
Most home kitchen appliances don't end their run with a bang but a Florida family feels lucky to be alive after their four-month-old Whirlpool refrigerator exploded in the middle of the night, throwing debris all over the kitchen and damaging other appliances. Luckily, no one was injured in the blast.
One company is giving away tiny homes if they’re used as an Airbnb rental
A well-known manufacturer of RVs that double as tiny homes is giving away the miniature domiciles to entrepreneurs who are willing to outfit them for Airbnb rentals and share 60 percent of the revenue with Wisconsin-based Escape, the manufacturer of these tiny homes.
This freewheeling Army truck-turned-tiny home is a labor of love
Tiny homes are usually masterful works of efficiency but one British metal worker has dreamed up and built a creation of Frankenstein-like ambition by converting an old British army truck into a 72-square-foot tiny mobile home that includes a full-sized pulley bed, a Chesterfield sofa, a hot shower, and a beer terrace.
Ring, Amazon’s smart doorbell maker, explores technology that alerts police
Ring, the smart doorbell and other smart technology manufacturer recently acquired by Amazon, has filed a pair of patents that indicate the company might be looking at facial-recognition technology that could compare individuals' profiles to databases of "suspicious persons" and automatically notify police.
These activists are hacking housing problems in NYC using apps and data
Affordable and safe housing is at a crisis level in America's largest cities and now a loose association of coders and activists in New York City is tackling their own challenges by collecting and disseminating data via apps to help tenants combat shady landlords and unfair housing practices.
This A.I.-enabled tech brings cutting-edge automation to grocery stores
In the weird world where Whole Foods and Walmart are fighting over grocery deliveries, a new company called Takeoff is setting up hyperlocal, A.I.-enhanced, robotic grocery picking and delivery platforms inside grocery stores that can assemble up to 60 items for a grocery order in mere minutes.
Got an Emerson thermostat? 135,000 of them are being recalled due to fire risk
So we don't get too worked up about most recalls around here because they're usually relatively minor but we wanted to give you a heads-up about 135,000 Emerson-branded thermostats that are being recalled due to a risk the contact between the thermostat wires and your line voltage could start a fire.
The Apple HomePod gets a whole lot cheaper today at Target
The Apple HomePod is an outstanding speaker and right now it's on sale at Target for a whopping $100 off its regular retail price of nearly $350 so if you're someone who's committed to Apple's "Walled Garden" ecosystem, it's a great time to grab this smart speaker.
Alexa’s latest skill helps patients manage high blood pressure
Amazon is working with medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies to develop Alexa skills that will enable patients to better manage their own health. The latest is a partnership with Omron Healthcare to connect Alexa's voice-enabled technology to the company's blood pressure monitoring devices.
Amazon Alexa enhancements add geolocation, kids’ Routines, and more
Amazon's Alexa continues to evolve at a remarkable rate and the company has unveiled a host of new features for the end of 2018 including new features that use geolocation to help users find and contact local businesses as well as new features embedded into Routines to help parents get their kids to sleep.
Is old-school Airstream finally embracing smart home technology?
Airstream has always been known for its sleek, vintage-looking camping trailers but the company's new models of Classic trailers are getting a modern upgrade with the inclusion of "Airstream Connected," a new set of app-controlled features and monitors that aim to bring smart home convenience to nomads.
Virginia Tech beats out competition, wins smart home Solar Decathlon
A Virginia Tech team won first prize in this year's Solar Decathlon Middle East in Dubai. Their marvelous, modular, and solar-powered smart home, called the Futurehaus, uses sliding technology to adjust the height and placement of fixtures in rooms to accommodate different categories of residents.
With ‘Backyard,’ Airbnb could change how houses are designed and built
Talk about vertical integration: Airbnb has launched a new initiative called Backyard to create new ways of designing, building and selling homes that are likely to be green, efficient, adaptable, and chock full of smart home technology, as well as being adaptable for many different types of occupants.
Apple Music hits the Amazon Echo. Is the cold war over?
It looks like someone has called a truce in the smart speaker wars. In a surprise move, Amazon announced that it will bringing Apple Music to its popular Echo smart speakers starting in December, complete with voice-enabled controls and Apple's popular three-month free trial.
A study says that smart speakers aren’t offering privacy, and it’s our fault
A team of researchers decided to test consumers' acceptance of convenience over privacy during smart speaker use, comparing their behaviors and attitudes to counterparts who refuse to embrace smart speaker technology. The results from talking to smart speaker users and non-users are pretty revealing.
Design visionary aims to squeeze $300K tiny homes into Silicon Valley backyards
Lauded designer Yves Béhar is turning his attention to California's housing shortage by working in collaboration with prefabricated home manufacturer Plant Prefab to design and build a series of tiny homes meant to live in families' backyards and that cost $300,000 or less.
You should stop handwashing your dishes now. Here’s why
Hand-washing your dishes seems logical because that's how most of us have been doing it all these years but it turns out that handwashing dishes is a counter-intuitive exercise that actually costs way more time, effort, and money than sticking all the dishes in a dishwasher.
This foundation is giving disabled vets independence via smart home tech
The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation in New York City started out supporting first responders but has recently turned its efforts to building smart homes for disabled veterans that include motorized appliances, voice-activated technology, and smart security systems.
Pandora Premium joins Alexa’s Amazon dance party today
Amazon has just upped its music game for its popular Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show smart speakers by adding a new integration that allows users to play music from Pandora Premium, the ad-free music streaming service that can now be controlled by using voice commands.
Amazon rejoins the fight against HIV/AIDS with a (Red) second-gen Echo
You can outfit your smart home and give to a good cause this holiday season by buying Amazon's new limited edition red Echo, which has all the same features of the popular smart speaker, but has a crimson hue and donates to Project (Red), the humanitarian organization founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver.
Amazon’s new trade-in and recycling programs gives your gizmos a ‘second chance’
Electronic rubbish is a drag, as more than 45 million tons of potentially hazard electronics are generated every year. That's why Amazon is introducing Amazon Second Chance, a new set of portals and tools designed to help consumers recycle, reuse, and purchase refurbished electronics and devices.
New wireless power kit puts a charge into your smart speakers via infrared light
Wi-Charge is leading a new movement aimed at providing wireless power to smart home devices, starting with a kit to transform wired Amazon Echo Dot and Google Home Mini smart speakers into fully functional, untethered devices. The company has earned a CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree for its breakthrough product.
Wynd’s new air-purifying bundle lets smart home owners breathe easier
Wynd is launching a new combo package on Kickstarter that includes a brand new version of its popular air purifier as well as a new air quality monitor that can identify a variety of substances including allergens, odors, chemicals, mold, pollution and more.
This super-cool tiny home with a living wall lived at the UN this summer
Of course it lived at the United Nations for a while — this fascinating, totally off-grid tiny home is a collaboration between Yale University and Gray Organschi Architecture. The project was an attempt to produce a fully functional and sustainable tiny home at a cost of less than $50,000.
Schlage and Amazon lock up a partnership with devices enabled by Alexa
Schlage is doubling down on its growing partnership with Amazon by enabling compatibility with the Amazon Key app via the Zigbee smart home protocol in the latest iteration of its popular locks for the smart home.
With its turd-burning toilet, this tiny house is for septic skeptics
For those of us who really want to get off the grid yet still have a sustainable place to live, Modern Dwellings is offering this 160-square-foot tiny home, dubbed the True Studio, that features smart home controls, heated floors, and an incinerating toilet.
Google Home enhances Disney storytimes with sound effects and music
Disney has always been known to sprinkle a little fairy dust on its magical experiences and it's continuing that tradition with ten new storybooks that Google Home can recognize and augment with sound effects, music and even an A.I.-enabled friction-less interface.
Blue Apron doubles down on deliveries by hooking up with Jet
Jet is expanding its mission to deliver tailored shopping experiences with curated things by offering to deliver Blue Apron meal kits to discerning consumers in New York City, allowing home chefs to make four flavorful meal kits within 30 minutes or less.
LG’s new nuclear-hot ovens offer some of the fastest cooking times ever
LG Electronics has been expanding into the smart home market in a big way with new smart appliances designed to work with digital assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Now the company is launching two new smart ovens that are also equipped with Innit and SideChef for meal planning and recipe services.
Angee’s security service switches from sales to subscriptions
Angee, a London-based startup with resources in San Mateo, Prague and Shenzhen, China, has pivoted its business model to a subscription-based service that will offer the company's proprietary hardware unit for a flat rate starting at $17 per month.