This story was first published in the Aug. 19 issue of my weekly newsletter. If you live in a smart home, how do you interact with it? Chances are you do so in one of two ways: Either you speak to a voice assistant or you tap around on a mobile … [Read more...]
Ecobee Smart Premium Thermostat: A worthy $249 upgrade for better air and comfort
The hot, humid summer in Pennsylvania is a perfect time to test a new smart thermostat. Luckily for me, the new $249.99 Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium recently launched and I’ve been using a review unit for the past week or so. Our house feels more … [Read more...]
Are some presence sensors smarter than others when it comes to people vs pets?
On our latest IoT Podcast episode, we take a question that Mark left on our IoT Voicemail hotline. Mark wants to use the sensors in a smart thermostat and other devices to detect the presence of people in his smart home. But he doesn't want any … [Read more...]
I’ve seen the future of the UWB smart home and I want it now
Imagine using a single app to control everything in your smart home. I don't mean the apps of today which show your devices in groups or rooms. I'm talking about a context-aware interface that intelligently surfaces a specific device, and its … [Read more...]
The new “Works with Google” program takes a page from Apple
This week in three separate but identical events to accommodate different time-zones, Google is hosting its “Works With "Hey Google" Smart Home Summit”. I watched the first event for the APAC region and although it was brief, Google packed a dense … [Read more...]