Last week, I surprised many readers when I noted why automated scenes don’t get any love in my home. And I was surprised that between comments on the blog and on social media were split fairly evenly: About half of them were in the same boat as me … [Read more...]
Google Assistant on Sonos is mostly great, with just a few limitations
After a year-and-a-half of waiting, Sonos officially supports the Google Assistant. A Sonos software update is required and is in the process of rolling out now, first in the US, to be followed by the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, France, The … [Read more...]
How to stop guests from voice controlling your smart home
An interesting and slightly amusing voicemail came in to the IoT Podcast Hotline this week: The caller's guests are changing his thermostat settings by voice when they come over. The issue isn't specific to just a thermostat though since, in theory, … [Read more...]
How to get really bright lights for your smart home (Hint: Opt for smart switches)
This week on the 200th episode of the IoT Podcast, we received a voicemail from John who asked an interesting question we hadn't thought about before. John is looking for A19 smart bulbs that are 100W to 150W replacements so they have a higher lumen … [Read more...]
Amazon just pulled an Apple on the smart home
Amazon just solved several challenges associated with the smart home. At its event Thursday in Seattle, the online retailer attacked several pain points associated with the smart home to create a vision for the user experience I associate with Apple. … [Read more...]