iRobot has announced a new flagship robot vacuum, which it will showcase at IFA in Berlin this week, the company’s first big tech trade show in years. The Roomba maker will be exhibiting under its new owner, Picea Robotics, the contract manufacturer that purchased the once-troubled American robotics company out of bankruptcy in January. The […]
Smart homes have gotten really good at making things really complicated. Turning on a light can involve multiple steps, compared to just flipping a switch. Homey, the Dutch-based smart home platform owned by LG, thinks it has a solution. This week it launched the Homey Portal, a touchscreen smart home controller that looks very promising, […]
After launching a budget-friendly flood sensor last month with impressive battery life, Shelly announced a new $49.99 security camera today that can be used without any additional subscription fees – although that’s still an option if you want to expand its capabilities. The Shelly Camera will be available soon from the company’s online store and […]
Every year over 200,000 people descend on Berlin for IFA, the largest tech trade show in Europe. Some of the world’s biggest manufacturers turn up to demo everything from appliances to smartphones to smart home gadgets, and this year should be no different. IFA itself runs from September 4th to 8th, but most of the […]
Google raised the price of its 4K streaming box to $149, up $50 from its original $99 price. The new price is currently live at the Google Store and Best Buy, but Amazon appears to still be offering the original price. The price hike comes just a couple of weeks after Google launched its new […]
Ring has a new way to protect your videos. It’s developed an encryption method called TAKE, short for Throw Away the Key Encryption, that the Amazon-owned company says will protect your videos without traditional end-to-end encryption. TAKE limits when and why Amazon’s cloud can access those videos, while still providing features like smart alerts for […]
Wyze announced a new pan-and-tilt security camera today designed for indoor use. The entire Indoor Cam Pan can rotate 360 degrees, while the camera and lens on its front can tilt up and down 103 degrees. When you want privacy, the lens can tilt down until it completely disappears inside the Indoor Cam Pan’s body […]
Comcast announced a new platform this week called Xfinity Shield that includes the option to let customers turn their routers into motion sensors. Many people reacted with fear and anger. “I am not enabling this. I am also seriously considering replacing my leased gateway with my own equipment, because a device I do not control […]
My two cats live a refreshingly low-tech lifestyle. They’ve never experienced a robot litter box, an automated feeder, or a GPS tracker. Noodle and Loaf live blissfully unaware of the technological trappings that surround the rest of my life. Except, that is, for the glowing neon sign that turns on whenever they go to the […]
Amazon is bringing Alexa Plus to Fire TV device owners in the US for free. Starting today, users in the US with an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Cube, Amazon Ember smart TV, or other TV with Alexa Plus built in, including those from Panasonic and Hisense, will get access to the more conversational […]