#home-automation

#home-automation

Smart home products are all about making everyday life a little easier, which is why they're some of the best and most thoughtful gifts you can give. Some people go all out building a multi-gadget IoT kingdom (like our resident smart home expert, Jen Pattison Tuohy), but a smart home is whatever your recipient wants it to be. It can be as simple as wanting a cheap switch-flipping bot to brew you a pot of coffee before you exit the shower in the morning.

The Alexa integration adds voice commands to any device that has a physical on/off switch. Tell Alexa to turn on your coffee maker from bed, and hot coffee waits when you reach the kitchen. Command the lamp in your living room to turn off from the couch. Turn on a fan in another room without walking there. These minor conveniences compound throughout your day into proper quality-of-life improvements.

The first Nest thermostat launched in 2011, Philips Hue in 2012, the Amazon Echo in 2014. But for anyone who has spent long nights scrolling through IoT troubleshooting forums since then, here's the latest: It's finally time for a do-over. Everyone's agreed that the open source interoperability standard Matter, which has Apple, Google, and Amazon signed up, is the answer, and Ikea has 20-odd new and improved devices to boost the case.

Smart thermostat company Tado is launching new AI-powered features that aim to help users heat their homes more efficiently. Tado says the AI Assist update builds on the company's existing Auto Assist options by introducing "advanced machine-learning" that "learns, predicts, and optimizes" heating in real time. AI Assist is available in Europe and the UK today for all Tado X owners at the same price as the company's existing subscription (£29.99 a year or £3.99 per month).

Smart refrigerators used to be all novelty-gimmicky touchscreens, voice commands that barely worked, and tech gadgets that aged faster than milk. Fast-forward to today, the best smart fridges blend advanced features, like connecting seamlessly with smart home systems, automating routine tasks, and offering tech that genuinely makes life easier. Think internal cameras that let you peek inside from the grocery store, compartments that shift from fridge to freezer on demand, and displays that sync with calendars, stream music, or recommend recipes based on what's inside.

In this episode, we explore the nostalgia of technology from our past, reminiscing about features we once relied upon and appreciating how far we've come.

Incorporating automation in home environments can be problematic when managing groups of devices, especially when devices need to be added or renamed frequently.

SwitchBot's Hub 3 is the pivotal device that unites their IoT ecosystem, enabling a smart home experience where technology seamlessly works together and anticipates user needs.

"What truly distinguishes this home is the immersive smart ecosystem. The experience begins the moment you enter, as Ketra full-spectrum RGBW lighting subtly mimics the changing hues of natural daylight..."

I've been testing the 10R for over a week and am pleasantly surprised with the results, especially as a robot vacuum reviewer who tests multiple robots monthly.