Dave Zatz 
So about that Roku Apple TV+ button: don’t bank on it arriving with your new remote. Roku’s primary business is advertising and, outside of Netflix’s presumed contractual requirements, the remaining button tie-ups (likely both cash and commission) seem quite variable – dependent upon region, bundled hardware model, timeframes and unit sales, etc. As such, our … Read more
Everyone’s favorite budget tech company Wyze has some new products in the pipeline, which should come as no surprise given their corporate relationships and general ‘throw it all against the wall to see what sticks’ approach. So, as both Wyze Home Monitoring Systems and Smart Watches begin shipping to customers, here’s some of what comes … Read more
The era of the $40 color bulb has concluded. For me, anyway. And I’m unwilling to actually calculate how much I’ve invested in Hue over the years, as it’d surely make me wince. For a good long while, Hue was the only game in town. But solid options have sprung up in recent years with … Read more
While digging through the Arlo app earlier this week (hello Chime 2), I also uncovered the Arlo Essential Indoor. Although the 1080p camera had been announced at CES, I missed it… suggesting many others did as well. Taking a page from SimpliSafe, the new Arlo cam features a retractable privacy shutter. Beyond that, there’s a … Read more
I opened the Arlo app for the first time in months, as a former customer, and discovered the ability to add the unannounced, unreleased Arlo Chime 2 to my account. Aside from a slight visual refresh, what seems to really set this Arlo video doorbell accessory apart from the original are its musical capabilities — … Read more
By way of the FCC and a deep dive into the company’s Android app, we learn SimpliSafe is poised to close a conspicuous gap in their home security ecosystem by soon offering an outdoor camera. The sleek looking (in renders, at least) SimpliSafe outdoor camera features an LED spotlight, magnetic dome mount, 2.4GHz WiFi communication, … Read more
Thanks to the FCC, we learn that Belkin is poised to release the WeMo Stage Scene Controller. And, unlike the Hue Dimmer retrofit, the WeMo Stage is a purpose-built HomeKit switch. As in: no pre-existing functions are being replaced as button presses (short or long) are programmed. Of course, as the name suggests, Belkin intends … Read more
Wyze has officially expanded their smart lighting footprint with the release of a color bulb. And the new Wyze Bulb Color joins the existing 800 lumen tunable white bulb. Beyond the requisite palette expansion (of 16 million colors), Wyze also bumps max lumens to 1100. However, if the hubless WiFi and Bluetooth bulb is anything … Read more