IoT news of the week for May 20

Samsara sells a full IoT stack. With so much fragmentation in the IoT, it’s nice to see a company sell everything an organization could need to digitize physical operations. Instead of having to find and buy sensors, then seek out cloud management services and try to fit the pieces together, Samsara says its full IoT stack approach is what the world needs. This week, Samsara CEO, Sanjit Biswas, says the timing is perfect for his company’s “ready-packaged solutions for buyers.” It took some time to get to this point for Samsara, but if it can deliver on its promise, I can see the competitive advantage here. (Diginomica)

The August lock has a new look, sort of: The original August smart lock stood out from the crowd because it wasn’t visible from the outside of a home. Thanks to a partnership with Yale, the newest August Smart Deadbolt with Wi-Fi looks the same from the inside but also includes a matching satin nickel Yale deadbolt on the outside. No, there’s no new functionality here but it’s good to see these partnerships develop. And your smart lock can now look good from any angle. (August)

TP-Link has a 2K smart camera with… wings? If you’re looking for affordable smart home gear, TP-Link is a brand that should be on your list. The company’s latest indoor webcams, for example, start at $30 with a tilt-and-pan model costing only $5 more. Drop $60 and you get an outdoor model with a starlight sensor, light alarm, and two magical wings. OK, they’re not really magical but they look cool and they act as antennas to boost that 2.4 GHz wireless signal. All of the cameras offer 2K video resolution, which is 2560 x 1440 definition. If 1080p won’t cut it for your security cameras, this is a nice step up. With wings! (Engadget)

Fitbit: What is dead may never die. Good news for Fitbit fans like Stacey this week because she’s not into smartwatches. Although Google’s Fitbit acquisition closed last year, Google is not killing off the brand, although it is integrating some of the IP in the upcoming Pixel Watch. Based on this interview with James Park, VP, GM, and co-founder of Fitbit, we learned that there will be new Fitbit wearables in the future. Google smartwatches with Fitbit technology will be part of a premium device lineup while the reliable ol’ Fitbit health trackers will still be offered. (CNET)

Speaking of Google and health… This week Google announced the hiring of Bakul Patel, a 10-year veteran of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This tells me that Google is taking its smart health initiatives more seriously than I thought. And if I didn’t convince you, maybe Patel will. On LinkedIn he said he was looking forward to “helping build a unified digital health and regulatory strategy” at Google. Sounds like a plan to me. (It’s about time, no?) (The Verge)

Bluetooth hacking of Teslas is now a thing. Of course, the very week that my wife and I are taking delivery of a new Tesla Model 3, we find out someone can use Bluetooth to steal it. That’s the latest hack discovered by security researchers at the NCC Group. The approach uses relay attacks as an intermediary between the car and the Tesla mobile app, which connect over BLE, or Bluetooth Low Energy. The video demonstration of this hack is super scary to watch as the car and a paired mobile phone are far apart. Yet a computer with Bluetooth radio in between the two is used to unlock the vehicle. And it could even be used to start the car. What’s even scarier though is Telsa’s response: “[R]elay attacks are a known limitation of the passive entry system.” (Bleeping Computer)

The smart home services market keeps growing. If I had to guess what the smart home services market earned last year, I would have been super low. According to Grand View Research, it topped $5.6 billion last year. And the expectation is an 11.2% cumulative annual growth rate through 2028. This market includes services for smart appliances, security platforms, and control/connectivity. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised given that there’s some new smart device appearing on a weekly basis for our homes and a growing number of them require some type of service or subscription. (CEPro)