Smart light bulbs are great, but you have to give up the use of your wall switch — if the switch is powered off, the smart bulb stops functioning. One solution is an in-wall smart switch, but if you live in an apartment or other rented property, you might not be able to replace fixtures or change electrical systems. If so, smart home company Third Reality has the product for you — the RealitySwitch Plus.
Read MoreAmazon introduces Echo Auto alongside refreshed Echo Dot, Plus, and Show
Today Amazon took the wraps off a tremendous pile of Echo and Alexa-related hardware. Chief among the standalone Echo devices are the redesigned Echo Dot, Plus, and Show, as well as a slightly mysterious invitation-based Echo Auto. As expected, they're mostly incremental improvements, with better and louder sound or added Zigbee hub functionality.
Amazon's Alexa is one of the most popular and widely used digital assistants out there, and now it has a whole new generation of hardware available for pre-order. Let's take a look at each individually.
Read MoreToshiba introduces Symbio, a smart home hub, security camera and system, and Alexa speaker in one
I look around at my hallway console nowadays and see a Canary camera, a Google Home, and a SmartThings Hub v2. Not to mention the Synology server, router, and a few other miscellaneous tech items. The idea of having all three integrated in the same device, saving space and unnecessary wiring is quite appealing, and that's what Toshiba's new Symbio aims to do.
It's a 6-in-1 device: a 1080p wide-angle "low-light" camera with sound and motion alerts, a smart sound detector for babies and pets and even legacy alarms around the house, a Bluetooth and WiFi streaming speaker with ODMD driver, a voice control interface with Amazon Alexa built-in, a smart home hub with ZigBee and Z-Wave radios, and an intercom for communicating between Symbios and phones.
Read MoreThe Moon is an all-seeing, levitating robotic eyeball that can control your home [Update]
We've seen levitating Bluetooth speakers and connected smart cameras before, but the Moon, a fully funded Indiegogo project, melds those technologies in a $209 ($330 at retail) floating robotic eyeball and base that can also act as a smart hub for your home. That is, if it ever ships. The typical crowdfunding caveats apply. Some Indiegogo projects don't have much of a future, and this is 1-Ring's first.
The Moon, which comes from 1-Ring Inc., comprises a wide-angle lens embedded in a sphere made of plastic, aluminum, and rubber. When the smart camera is levitating above its base unit, it can give its owner a 360-degree scan of whatever room it's placed in.
Read More[Deal Alert] Huge sale for Samsung SmartThings and ZigBee Home Automation gear at MyDigitalDiscount
There's a fantastic sale for home automation gear going on today. Over at My Digital Discount right now you can pick up a handful of smart connected motion sensors, outlets, thermostats, locks, and a whole package of the lot together in a quick start bundle. Prices range from 60% off to 76% off, which is a tremendous savings. All the items are for Samsung's SmartThings / ZigBee, so if you don't run a system that will work with their stuff, you're out of luck.
Read MoreA new version of Google Wifi pops up at the FCC without ZigBee support
Google's mesh router system only launched in late 2016, but it looks like a new version is already in the works. An FCC filing from Google appears to describe a new version of Google Wifi. The model number is different than the current device, and one of the wireless bands is missing. What's up with that? It looks like Google is ditching the ZigBee IoT protocol.
Read MoreWink Hub 2 review: Powerful home automation made approachable and fun
I bought an apartment in October. You can imagine the joy at the thought that it'd be my future family's home, terror at the sight of the mortgage value on the signed contract, and all the excitement about getting to set up a house from scratch. I could pick everything that I loved from design to materials to colors to organization, and yes, also automation.
I wanted lights that turn on when the doors open, A/C units that cool the place when I'm coming home and the outside heat is too much to bear, cameras that catch intruders the moment they are detected, a washing machine that notifies me when the load is done, colored lights that coordinate with whatever I'm watching on TV, blinds that open and close with the sunset and sunrise, and much more.
Read More
The Nexus Q: Massive Misstep Or Misunderstood Science Experiment?
When Google unveiled the Nexus Q at I/O on Wednesday, there were cheers. But not until the designers and creators of the hardware came on stage to explain what it was for a good 5 minutes. Hell, they even put together a fantastic video showing the process of manufacturing the Q (in the good 'ol US of A!). Seriously, if you haven't watched it - watch it. The production values are outstanding.
And Google topped it all off by giving everybody at I/O a Q to... do stuff with. But what?
The Q is fairly limited in its capabilities at the moment.
Read MoreThe Best Of AP
Latest Deals
-
62
[Update: Pixel 3a, too] Pixel 3a XL comes with a free $100 gift card on Amazon
-
16
B&H drops the Huawei P30 and P30 Lite prices to $570 and $280, respectively
-
8
[Update: Get four for $350] Secure your home with a three-camera Arlo Pro pack for just $300 ($280 off)
-
8
Rachio Smart Sprinkler Controller at all-time low of $104 ($46 off) on Amazon
-
4
Buy a Gear Fit2 Pro for $200, get $125 to spend on Samsung.com
-
62
Latest Poll
Loading ...Recent Reviews
-
251
The OnePlus 7 Pro is the best smartphone you can buy right now
-
46
Wyze Sense is an incredible home security value
-
281
Review: The Pixel 3a and 3a XL make almost any phone under $500 look bad
-
11
Choetech's five-coil wireless charging pad can fill up two devices at once
-
19
The ASUS Chromebook Flip C434 is a worthy successor to the beloved C302
-
251
Latest Roundups
-
1
12 best new Android games released this week including Durango: Wild Lands, Terraforming Mars, and Alt-Frequencies
-
6
16 best new Android games released this week including Magnibox, Hamsterdam, and Merge Empire
-
1
[Bonus Round] Hamsterdam, PLAYMOBIL Mars Mission, Onslot Car, pliq: Epic Clash Arcade Puzzle, Dungeon of Weirdos, and Fishing Paradiso
-
7
18 new and notable Android games from the last week including Grimvalor, Tesla vs Lovecraft, and Golf Blitz
-
8
15 new and notable (and 1 WTF) Android apps from the last two weeks including PHAROS AR, Playground: POKÉMON Detective Pikachu, and The Great C (4/20/19 - 5/4/19)
-
1
Recent Apps and Games
-
1
12 best new Android games released this week including Durango: Wild Lands, Terraforming Mars, and Alt-Frequencies
-
12
Firefox 67 for Android adds Search widget, removes Guest Session feature [APK Download]
-
2
Google Slides slides past 500 million installs on Play Store
-
1
24 temporarily free and 37 on-sale apps and games for the weekend
-
6
Minecraft Earth is bringing its AR world-building to Android this summer as closed beta
-
1
Blast from the Past
-
23
1 Year Ago Today
Update Notes for YouTube, YouTube Music, Play Store, Play Books, and Google Earth (May 19, 2018)
-
55
2 Years Ago Today
Google's Dave Burke: The first rule of Fuchsia is you don't talk about Fuchsia
-
186
3 Years Ago Today
Current Nexus Devices Will Not Get The New Seamless Update Feature From Android N
-
99
4 Years Ago Today
[Update: Navigation Summary Alert Too] Google Maps v9.9 Adds A Translucent Status Bar [APK Download]
-
73
5 Years Ago Today
Gmail Updated To Version 4.8 With UI Tweaks, Ability To Print Or Save Attachments To Drive, View Truncated Messages, And More [APK Download]
-
6
6 Years Ago Today
[Deal Alert] Amazon Offering AT&T HTC One And Sprint Galaxy S4 For $129.99
-
10
7 Years Ago Today
Orders For T-Mobile's HTC Amaze 4G Delayed, Possibly Due to Apple Patent Dispute
-
9
8 Years Ago Today
36 Best (And 2 WTF) New Android Apps From The Last 2 Weeks (5/6/11 - 5/19/11)
-
0
9 Years Ago Today
Google Shwag And Secret Messages Encoded On The Google I/O T-Shirts
-
23
