Google started rolling out its new Gemini voice assistant for its smart speakers two weeks ago and, in a blog post marking the anniversary, the company seems to think everything is going great. It’s even quoting a user who said, “My Google Home just got upgraded with Gemini. It’s actually useful now beyond asking for […]
Things continue to look bleak for the original robot vacuum maker. iRobot’s third-quarter results, released last week, show that revenue is down and “well below our internal expectations due to continuing market headwinds, ongoing production delays, and unforeseen shipping disruptions,” said Gary Cohen, iRobot CEO, in a press release. This meant they had to spend […]
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 105, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, hope you’ve recovered from the clocks falling back, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been reading about David Ellison and Common Crawl […]
Robot vacuums are amazing machines, but they can also be a pain in the arse. In my home, testing a new robot vacuum often means digging it out from under my living room couch or unhooking it from the legs of my lounger. Then there’s being woken at 3AM by a cheery “resuming cleaning,” getting […]
Ikea just announced a bunch of super cheap, colorful Matter-over-Thread devices that will work with any platform, and it feels like Christmas came early for the smart home. The 21 new products include a line of smart bulbs starting at just £4 and two new remote controls that start at just £3 (US pricing is […]
Ikea announced 21 new Matter-over-Thread devices that can “connect with a wider range of devices and platforms, making it easier for customers to build a smart home across different brands.” The collection includes both entirely new products and updates to existing offerings introducing new functionality and features. The new collection was teased by Ikea’s David […]
If you’ve been reluctant to update to the new Apple Home architecture, you now have a few more months before Apple forces your hand. Apple has pushed back the deadline to February 10, 2026, rather than fall 2025. The refreshed version of Apple Home has been available for a couple of years now and adds […]
This weekend, I turned my home into a test lab for Google’s new Gemini for Home AI and subjected my family to 72 hours of surveillance as it watched, interpreted, and narrated our every move. My purpose? To find out if an AI that sees everything is actually helpful or just plain creepy. “R unpacking […]
There are a couple of universal truths about the smart home. Yes, you will come to treat your robot vacuum like a member of the family, and no, you cannot escape the fact that there will always be one light that doesn’t turn on even though there’s simply no reason it won’t. These are just […]
You don’t necessarily have to buy a bunch of pricey new smart devices to enjoy the convenience of a smart home. The SwitchBot Bot offers an easy, affordable way to bring smart control to many of the regular gadgets you already own, and right now it’s available for just $23.99 ($6 off) from SwitchBot with […]