News
7 articlesHow an AWS outage left the smart home ecosystem in the dark
A 15-hour AWS outage disrupted many smart home devices reliant on cloud services, including Alexa, Ring, and Ecobee, highlighting the vulnerability of internet-dependent systems. In contrast, local control systems like Zigbee, Matter, and Home Assistant continued to function, proving more resilient. The incident has spurred interest in Matter-compatible devices, which offer local control and reliability without cloud dependence.
What the 'Matter' Smart Home Standard Is All About
Matter, an open-source smart home standard, aims to unify device compatibility across platforms like Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant. It supports Wi-Fi, Thread, and Bluetooth LE, ensuring devices remain functional even offline. Recent updates enhance multi-admin capabilities and energy management, broadening device support to include solar panels and EV chargers. While promising, adoption by major players remains slow, and some proprietary features persist.
Voice Chapter 11: multilingual assistants are here
Home Assistant's latest update introduces multilingual voice assistants, allowing dual-language households to assign different wake words for different languages. This update supports local and cloud-based voice assistant pipelines without requiring AI, offering flexibility in voice command customization. The improved system also features non-verbal confirmations and streaming text-to-speech for faster responses, enhancing the overall user experience.
Eight Sleep adds ‘outage mode’ to smart beds after AWS problems left them frozen
Eight Sleep has introduced an 'outage mode' for its smart beds, allowing users to control temperature and bed positions via Bluetooth during internet outages. This update follows a recent AWS outage that left users unable to adjust their beds, causing discomfort. The new feature addresses long-standing user complaints about the lack of offline controls for these high-end products, which require a subscription for full functionality.
Samsung Introduces the First Perplexity AI-powered App for Smart TVs
Samsung introduces the first Perplexity AI-powered app for smart TVs, transforming how users interact with their screens. The app functions as an answer engine, offering real-time, conversational responses to voice or text queries, displayed as visual cards. Available now on 2025 Samsung TVs, it includes a free year of Perplexity Pro. An OS update will extend access to 2023 and 2024 models later this year.
Gemini lands on another Google TV device, and yours could be next in line
Gemini is expanding to more Google TV devices, enhancing smart TV functionality with natural language understanding and improved voice controls. Initially spotted on Sony Bravia TVs with Android 14, Gemini offers intuitive content discovery and smart home integration, transforming TVs into smart hubs. Expect broader availability soon, with features like personalized results and ten voice options.
Google Finally Addresses Pixel Connected Camera Audio Annoyance
Google's latest update to Pixel's Connected Cameras feature addresses a major audio limitation. Users can now choose their main phone as the audio source, even when switching camera angles, via a new toggle in the Google Camera Services app. This improvement enhances live streaming flexibility, especially for podcasts or interviews, and supports platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.
Products
7 articlesI tested 25 robot vacuum and mop combos and found 5 that actually scrub
After testing 25 robot vacuum and mop combos, five models stand out for their effective scrubbing capabilities. The Dreame Aqua10 Ultra Roller excels with its self-rinsing roller mop and high suction power, ideal for homes with pets. The Roborock Saros 10R offers precise corner cleaning with dual spinning pads, while the Roomba Plus 505 Combo provides reliable obstacle avoidance and edge cleaning. These models automate mopping pad maintenance, enhancing convenience for users.
Govee Floor Lamp Series Review: Smarter Lighting for Every Corner of Your Home
The Govee Floor Lamp Series offers smart, customizable lighting with models like the Tree Floor Lamp, featuring 350° rotating heads for versatile illumination. Compatible with Matter, Alexa, and Google Assistant, these lamps integrate seamlessly into smart homes. The series includes features like auto circadian lighting and DreamView scene sync, enhancing ambiance with precise color control. Priced between $149.99 and $179.99, they provide a stylish, multifunctional lighting solution for various spaces.
Ditch the Keys, Unlock the Future
Samsung SmartThings integrates Nuki Smart Lock, offering a seamless keyless entry experience for U.S. users. The Nuki lock, known for its security and ease of installation, allows smartphones to unlock doors and integrates with SmartThings routines for automated home control. With support for Matter over Thread, it ensures reliable performance and privacy, using end-to-end encryption without requiring user accounts.
Forget Vacuuming: Eufy’s C10 Robot Vacuum Is Half Off Right Now
The Eufy C10 Robot Vacuum is now available at $219.98, offering a 54% discount from its original price of $479.99. This model features powerful suction, LiDAR navigation, and an 8-week self-emptying design, making it ideal for pet owners and busy households. The vacuum's slim profile allows it to clean under furniture, and it can be controlled via the Eufy app or smart assistants for a hands-free experience. It's a cost-effective alternative to high-end models like iRobot and Roborock.
The 3rd Gen Amazon Echo Show 8 Drops to $99.99 After Launch of New 2025 Model
The 3rd Gen Amazon Echo Show 8 is now available for $99.99, a 33% discount, following the release of the 2025 model. Despite being an older version, it offers excellent performance with features like spatial audio, a centered camera for video calls, and an adaptive display. It supports Matter, Zigbee, and Thread devices, making it a versatile smart home hub with full Alexa integration—ideal for both new users and those upgrading from older models.
Best Tech Gifts for Grandparents in 2025: Smart, Simple, and Heartfelt
For 2025, top tech gifts for grandparents focus on ease and connectivity. Aura and Skylight digital frames effortlessly display family photos, while Belkin and ESR charging docks reduce clutter by powering multiple devices at once. Amazon's Echo devices offer simple voice control and entertainment, and Apple Watches enhance health monitoring. These gifts simplify life and enhance family connection, making them ideal for tech-curious grandparents.
Best Kitchen Composters and Food Recyclers (2025)
Kitchen composters like the Reencle Prime and Lomi 3 reduce food waste volume but don't produce true compost. The Reencle uses microbes to break down scraps into a soil-like material, while Lomi 3 grinds and dries waste for easy disposal. Both devices help manage waste odor and volume, with Reencle capable of processing meat and dairy. These machines raise awareness about food waste and offer eco-friendly waste management solutions.
Projects
3 articlesMake Your Dumb Pet Fountain Smart with an Aqara Leak Sensor
Transform your pet fountain into a smart device using an Aqara Leak Sensor and Home Assistant for timely low-water alerts. By extending the sensor's probes into the fountain, it detects when water levels drop, triggering notifications via Home Assistant or Alexa. This simple, cost-effective project ensures your pets always have water, integrating seamlessly with existing smart home setups using Zigbee2MQTT or ZHA.
Home Assistant time machines are the best backup tool you're not using
Home Assistant Time Machine offers a granular backup solution for smart home enthusiasts, allowing hourly snapshots of YAML files for automations and scripts. This add-on simplifies the process of reverting changes without restoring the entire system, providing a document history feature to compare versions. Installation is straightforward, and it can be run as an add-on or in a Docker container, making it a versatile tool for maintaining configuration integrity.
Why I run a headless Linux VM just to track my smart devices’ bad behavior
Running a headless Linux VM in Proxmox offers a reliable way to monitor smart home devices for unusual behavior without relying on the same system being observed. This setup uses tools like Pi-hole, Zeek, Prometheus, and Grafana to track DNS queries, network traffic, and device states, providing insights into potential issues like unauthorized connections or unexpected data spikes. The separation ensures data integrity and security, making it easier to identify and address device misbehavior.
Perspectives
3 articlesPlease stop polling cloud APIs when local control exists
Smart home devices often rely on cloud APIs for operations, causing inefficiencies and potential outages. Local control, which bypasses the cloud, offers faster response times, increased privacy, and reliability. Ecosystems like Tuya, TP-Link Kasa, and SmartThings commonly use cloud polling, but solutions like Tuya Local and Home Assistant enable local control, eliminating unnecessary internet dependency and improving user experience.
Stop buying cloud products: When your "smart home" suddenly turns into e-waste
The article criticizes the reliance on cloud-dependent smart home products, highlighting cases where companies like Vorwerk, Amazon, and Insteon have shut down servers, rendering devices like Neato vacuums and Echo Connect obsolete. It advocates for local control solutions, such as Home Assistant and Valetudo, which allow continued use of devices without cloud dependency. The author calls for regulations to mandate API disclosure to prevent e-waste and protect consumer investments.
Your smart home will become a haunted house — and not just for halloween
Smart homes, while convenient, can feel eerie as technology becomes more integrated. Devices like smart plugs and thermostats can seem haunted when they malfunction, leading to unexpected behaviors. The article highlights the importance of understanding and securing IoT devices, as reliance on technology can lead to vulnerabilities and perceived supernatural events. Emphasizing self-hosting and network segmentation can mitigate risks and enhance control.