The gist: Around 7PM each weeknight, I find myself standing in front of the fridge, trying to decide on something for dinner that won't make my husband complain, "Chicken again?" Yes, I should meal plan more, but I don't, so this is where I'm at. A nightly battle in which the chicken usually wins. Recently, my best […]
The gist: When I first heard about the new $149 HomePod Mini 2 at Apple's Welcome Home event last month, I was disappointed. It's been six years since Apple launched its entry-level smart speaker, and all it got in the second gen was a chip bump, some color glowy stuff, and better AirPlay? For $50 more than […]
The gist: Three years ago, I wrote an obituary for the smart display. The category - smart speakers with touchscreens attached - was stuck with a few underpowered gadgets from Google and Amazon that tried to do too much and did too little well. Back then, I also laid out what they needed to do to improve. […]
The gist: Amazon swapped its usual big fall hardware showcase this year for a series of smaller launches throughout October. So far this month, it has announced new Fire TV devices, new Kindles, the Alexa Tablet Pro 12, Ring's first smart lock, new hardware from AI-wearable startup Bee, and new Blink 4K cameras. Then this week,
The gist: Amazon's latest Echo Show smart display is big, gorgeous, and eye-wateringly expensive. Announced today, the Echo Show 16 costs $499.99 (wall mount included) and is available to preorder now. There's a Nanomatte display option for $569.99, plus a $100 preorder discount ahead of its release later this year. After spendi
The gist: Amazon just announced its newest smart alarm clock - the Echo Time. The baseball-sized smart speaker with a screen, the Time looks like an Echo Dot with Clock and an Echo Spot had a much bigger baby. It features a 3.2-inch touchscreen that prominently displays your choice of a huge selection of clockfaces and includes
The gist: Matic, the company behind my favorite robot vacuum, is launching its first new model since its 2023 debut: the Matic Serene. The new robotic floor cleaner has one key upgrade: noise reduction. With a promised output of just 52 decibels at its highest suction level, the Serene claims to be about as quiet as a […]
The gist: Birdbuddy's next-generation smart bird feeders have finally arrived. After spending a few days with the BirdBuddy Nook (from $99) and longer with the flagship Birdbuddy Home ($219), there's a clear winner: The Nook is the perfect all-rounder, just the right blend of technology, nature, and value to bring you delightful
The gist: My 15-year-old daughter just got her learner's permit, so when I was pitched a new gadget tailored to teen drivers, I was intrigued. The Miles Plug is a small device that plugs into your car's OBD-II port and monitors location, driving habits, and vehicle health, along with emergency accident response and roadside assi
The gist: For more than a decade, Apple has told other companies to build smart home devices for its platform. This week, Apple launched its own. The Apple Home Collection is a lineup of cameras, thermostats, sensors, a smart door lock, and a video doorbell, all codeveloped with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. They arrive
The gist: I'm just going to come right out and say it. I love the approach Apple has taken with the HomeView. I think it's the shared, always-available household interface that my family might finally use. Is Apple's first smart display my dream smart home dashboard? No. But is it the right product for Apple Home at […]
The gist: Apple has just announced the HomeView, its first smart home display - and I just got hands-on with the device, which features a gorgeous 7-inch square touchscreen and built-in Siri AI. It's designed as a smart home controller, personal assistant, and home hub for your household, so there was a lot to check out. The […]
The gist: We've just gotten a closer look at Apple's new video doorbell, security cameras, a door lock, and thermostats following the company's "Welcome Home" event on Tuesday. The six new devices are part of a new Apple Home Collection, which the company co-developed with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. The LG smart lock
The gist: Apple's HomePod Mini 2 is here, and we've gotten a close-up look at the second-gen smart speaker. The HomePod Mini 2 comes with an upgraded S10 chip capable of powering Siri AI, though Apple says support for new AI features will roll out as part of a future update. It also offers a sound glow […]
The gist: It's finally here: Apple's long-rumored smart display, the Apple HomeView, has arrived. I got a first look at the device in New York City this week, and it's gorgeous. The HomeView puts a small, vibrant screen atop a speaker base for taking video calls, beautifully displaying photos, and providing information at a glan
The gist: Apple is announcing the long-awaited HomePod Mini 2 with a new chip that can power Siri AI - but support for those new AI features won't be available at launch. The speaker is also getting a new sound glow feature that syncs its LED lights with a song's album art, and it can now be […]
The gist: Apple has partnered with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric to launch the Apple Home Collection, an assortment of smart home devices meant to be easy to set up and use. The collection is something of a smart home starter pack, including security cameras, a video doorbell, a door lock, and two thermostats. Apple is a
The gist: Apple is introducing a refreshed Apple TV 4K today with a pair of interesting new hardware features: far-field microphones to talk to Siri hands-free and Find My built into the remote. The fourth-gen Apple TV 4K, announced at Apple's Welcome Home event in New York City, is the first model to support the Siri AI […]
The gist: This week, Apple is hosting its first-ever dedicated smart home event. While the company hasn't shared details about what it will reveal at the "Welcome Home experience" in New York City on Tuesday, October 13th, it doesn't take an army of internet sleuths to deduce we'll get news about Apple Home - specifically, new h
The gist: Of all the things Alexa Plus can do, I never expected it to make me cry. Since my son left for college, the Echo Show in my office has been making then-and-now photo montages: the toddler with his first tennis racket next to the captain of his varsity team; me hugging him as a tween […]
The gist: After suffering years of frustration with Apple's parental control features, I've been eagerly anticipating the revamped Screen Time that launched last month with iOS 27. Unfortunately, I can't use it. Technically, this is because my 18-year-old son hasn't got round to updating his MacBook. But mostly, it's because App
The gist: The open-source smart home platform Home Assistant is kicking the cloud to the curb - in name at least. "We are renaming Home Assistant Cloud to Home Assistant Link, because we hate clouds," founder Paulus Schoutsen told The Verge in an interview ahead of today's announcement. "Big tech ruined the cloud, so we're out."
The gist: This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the fragile state of your connected devices, follow Jennifer Pattison Tuohy. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started A decade ago, a […]
The gist: A few years back, I was at a beachside Easter egg hunt, watching my kids dash through sand dunes searching for sweet treats. My phone buzzed in my pocket; I ignored it. A moment later, it buzzed again. I pulled it out, glanced down, and saw a "motion detected" notification from my security camera. "Just […]
The gist: Google is opening up its smart home to AI agents, letting tools like Claude and Open Claw access and control your connected devices and analyze your home's data using the standardized Model Context Protocol. Google Home MCP is a new integration that lets third-party AI agents control and monitor your smart home and act
The gist: DIY home security company SimpliSafe is bringing its AI-powered proactive security feature to the front door. The new SimpliSafe Video Doorbell Series 2 launches today for $199.99 and works with the company's Active Guard Outdoor Protection (starting at $49.99 a month). This combines AI analysis with live agents to det
The gist: With the public release of iOS 27 and tvOS 27, Apple Home is getting an injection of Apple Intelligence - but you'll have to pay more for it. Apple Intelligence for Home brings AI-powered video summaries to HomeKit Secure Video, so you can get short text descriptions of who and what compatible security cameras saw, […]
The gist: John Ternus didn't mention Apple Home once during his first keynote as Apple CEO. But he did open by describing an "intelligent personal hub" that prioritizes local processing, protects your privacy, and integrates with all your other devices, apps, and services. While Ternus was talking about the iPhone - not a new sm
The gist: Early users of Dyson's CameraJet are reporting that water is getting into the battery compartment of the newly launched $499.99 electric toothbrush. One user posted on the r/Dyson subreddit that their model "broke within 30 seconds." The problem appears to stem from the device getting wet, which is a big issue for a to
The gist: The original robot vacuum company showed off a concept robot at the IFA tech show in Berlin today. The Roomba Duo combines a heavy-duty floor-washing machine with a smaller, slimmer Roomba. The two floor cleaners can move around your home together, with the main unit mopping and sweeping larger floor areas and the smal
