Kevin and I are at CES 2023 this week and eager for the show floor to open to see all of the new and crazy gear. But before we see the show floor, we had to slog through the planned news and media events, which we’re talking about in this week’s show. Matter is everywhere so far with most companies choosing to announce new Matter products that will arrive in the coming months. We cover news from Nanoleaf, Eve, Govee, Samsung, Lutron (no update on Matter plans), and SwitchBot. We then talk about Amazon’s Sidewalk expansion news and its work with two partners for voice interoperability in an automotive platform and with Josh.ai. Also in voice news, Home Assistant will add voice control for its platform in the coming year. And now, prepare for the rush of product news including new Ring cameras, ADT’s app with upgraded Nest integration, Cync lights, and Moen’s new sprinkler and soil sensors. We also discuss Arlo’s new end of life plans for older cameras, which the user community is upset with. Then we talk about a larger trend emerging at CES of building smart devices, such as Masonite’s new powered door, into the home itself. I don’t think we’re ready for this, but the consumer electronics industry is eager to provide these products. Finally, we get more details on Thread’s range from a listener calling in on the Internet of Things Podcast hotline.
Our guest this week is Gimmy Chu, CEO of Nanoleaf. He’s on the show to discuss Nanoleaf’s new Sense+ Controls light switches that contain sensors and additional buttons to manage the growing complexity of color lighting. These are also key components for Nanoleaf’s new Nanoleaf Automations Learning Assistant (Nala), which is an effort to let your lights automate themselves. The idea is that sensors inside the switches will indicate presence, based on time of day, ambient light and stated preferences, then add more information to get the appropriate lighting for that moment. As a person who has been testing smart lights for a decade, I’m eager to see if Nanoleaf has the goods. We’ll have to wait until the third quarter until these are out to test it, but Chu explains what he’s aiming for. We also talk about the future of lighting and how color will play a larger role. Enjoy the show.
I’m liking many of the upcoming Nanoleaf Matter products. Did you get a chance to play with the wall switches/remotes? I’m currently using a Philips Hue and while it’s mostly great and looks fantastic (awesome price too), I hate the button press feel. It’s terrible. But the fact that it works well is the most important. I dislike the look of both of these new Nanoleaf switches but I also don’t know how I actually want them to look. Like, having clear labels for what a button does is useful but they also appear way too cluttered. Hoping the the button presses feel nice and they feel sturdy. Damn, I’ve got a lot of opinions. I’m thrilled that so many companies are starting to crank out products with Matter support!
I don’t recall if it was mushy or clicky. I prefer clicky myself.
I love you on Leo Laports TWIT shows and your information is great, but the font you use on the website is UNREADABLE. Please use a better font.
What browser do you use? On what model device?
Many have accessibility options that allow you to change the font yourself as you visit webpages.
Wireless power just sounds like Cancer-in-waiting.
After the whole essentials not being Matter upgraded after all, I would totally avoid nanoleaf for the foreseeable future. Twinkly Squares.
I am using an Asus desktop computer, with an i7 processor and a 27″ LG monitor, resolution 1920 X 1080. Browser is Chrome.