Announced many months ago, the first cut of Alexa Guard has finally arrived. The gist of Alexa Guard is to centralize select monitoring functions withing a single area, utilizing the traditional home/away security system approach and bringing Amazon closer to our dream of a virtual hub … that Siri hasn’t quite managed to achieve. Initial … Read more
Ring announced DoorBell Pro HomeKit support way back in June 2016. And, over the years, the company has continually stated that they have been eagerly waiting to release HomeKit compatibility (us, too). Anyone who’s followed the Ring account on Twitter has been greeted with the following response time and time again. Our priority is to … Read more
Here’s a round up of upcoming smart home products and services from some of our favorite companies. Some possible cancellations as well. Ecobee ecobee4+ thermostat Timing: Soon Key detail: Glass screen new ecobee room sensor Timing: Soon Key detail: Magnetic base ecobee indoor camera Timing: Later ecobee contact sensor Timing: Later Arlo Arlo Video Doorbell … Read more
Despite questionable privacy practices, it’s increasingly difficult to quit Alexa given Amazon’s continued device integration and Routine enhancements. And today our very own Adam Miarka discovered Ring video now includes Alexa speaker announcements of “Person Detection.” Except it may not actually be active yet, given his limited testing. While Adam can enable the option for … Read more
Target is running an amazing ecobee sale today. ecobee has long been my preferred smart thermostat, besting Nest in a number of categories such as remote sensor integration. As such, I’d recommend the ecobee4 for all of $100… with bundled room sensor. At this price, ecobee4 is a great deal and at least half off … Read more
Revealed late last year, Wyze has aspirations beyond WiFi video cameras and is expanding into full-on smart home capabilities with the new Wyze Sense kit. This $20 bundle includes a wireless bridge, that’s powered by the $26 Wyze Cam, to communicate with a motion sensor and two contact sensor pairs. Monitor your home for under $50? … Read more
Arlo launched a smart home doorbell last year that integrates into their existing security camera ecosystem. But the doorbell is audio-only, as in: no video capabilities. The idea was that you’d buy the audio doorbell to supplement an existing Arlo camera covering your front door or porch. But, as Dave predicted, Arlo is poised to … Read more
After many months of teases, IKEA has finally come clean with two “Symfonisk” Sonos speakers. And the most interesting aspect may be the low price of entry, given Sonos hardware history. Pocket Lint has gone hands on with the $99 Sonos-powered IKEA Bookshelf Speaker and classified the sound as “good” or even “great”, in relation … Read more
