Search: smart home

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iRobot Releases J7+ Robot Vacuum With Upgraded Smarts

Andrew Orr ·

Tomorrow I’ll be publishing a review of an iRobot robot mop that I bought a few weeks ago. But today the company announced a new product, the j7+ robot vacuum.

Dozens of gradual improvements have resulted in the current operating system, the iRobot Genius 3.0. This system brings never-before-seen levels of A.I. personalization and control to robot vacuums. The system utilizes your phone’s location services to begin cleaning when you leave home and stop when you come home, ensuring a clean floor at all times.

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HBO Max App Now Available on Vizio SmartCast TVs

Charlotte Henry ·

There is now a dedicated HBO Max app available on Vizio SmartCast TVs, The Verge reported. It means users can access the service directly instead of having to find workarounds like AirPlay.

Prior to today’s announcement, Vizio TVs lacked a native app within SmartCast, Vizio’s smart TV interface. Instead, they’d have to cast its content to their televisions using Apple AirPlay or by casting with Google. The addition of the app directly from the apps menu should make accessing HBO Max far more intuitive for SmartCast users. To mark the launch of the app on its sets, Vizio will also introduce a custom homescreen carousel to showcase HBO Max’s new teaser freebies. HBO Max no longer offers free trials, though it recently announced a limited sampling of the pilot episodes of more than a dozen of some of its most popular series, which can be streamed in-app without paying for an HBO Max subscription. Vizio users will be able to access these rotating teasers directly from the Vizio carousel.

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Arlo Update Fixes Apple HomeKit Issue

Charlotte Henry ·

Arlo confirmed to AppleInsider that it has fixed a bug that prevented users adding its smart home devices to Apple Homekit. The fix came was included in the latest version of its iOS app – version 3.5.1

That version, which has a release date of August 6, is currently available from the App Store. “Arlo appreciates the patience of our loyal customers, and is excited to share that an iOS app release with a remedy to the HomeKit issue is now available,” the company said. Earlier in August, AppleInsider began receiving reports from users about issues adding new Arlo devices to HomeKit. The problem appeared to affect HomeKit tokens, which caused users to get stuck on the “Requesting HomeKit info” screen when adding devices to the Apple smart home platform.

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Two Months After it Was discontinued, HomePod Models Remain Available to Purchase

Charlotte Henry ·

The HomePod was meant to be discontinued on March 12. However, 9to5 Mac picked up on reports of the device’s ongoing availability.

Apple announced that the original HomePod would be discontinued on March 12, as it shifted its focus to the HomePod mini. Here’s what the company said back then: HomePod mini has been a hit since its debut last fall, offering customers amazing sound, an intelligent assistant, and smart home control all for just $99. We are focusing our efforts on the mini model. We are discontinuing the original HomePod, it will continue to be available while supplies last through the Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers. Apple will provide customers with software updates and service and support through Apple Care. Over these past two months, evidence has emerged on just how poorly Apple’s smart speaker sold. The YouTuber Michael Kukielka, also known as DetroitBORG, bought at least two HomePods after Apple discontinued the product, and by his surprise, the models he bought were from the launch stock three years ago.

TMO Deals

Switchmate 2.0 Smart Switch for Toggle Style Light Switches: $19.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on Switchmate 2.0, a smart switch that snaps over your existing light switches and controls them by doing the flipping for you. That means you don’t have to rewire the switch or replace your existing lightbulbs. Using the companion app, the Switchmate 2.0 can respond to voice commands, turn lights on automatically when you arrive home, and it has multiple timers for total smart lighting control. This device is $19.99 through our deal.

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LG to Exit Smartphone Market

Charlotte Henry ·

LG is to stop making smartphones. However, according to an analyst who spoke to Reuters, Samsung, not Apple, may be best placed to pick up the gap in the market vacated by the South Korean firm.

“In the United States, LG has targeted mid-priced – if not ultra-low – models and that means Samsung, which has more mid-priced product lines than Apple, will be better able to attract LG users,” said Ko Eui-young, an analyst at Hi Investment & Securities. LG’s smartphone division has logged nearly six years of losses totalling some $4.5 billion. Dropping out of the fiercely competitive sector would allow LG to focus on growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices and smart homes, it said in a statement. In better times, LG was early to market with a number of cell phone innovations including ultra-wide angle cameras and at its peak in 2013, it was the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer behind Samsung and Apple.

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Why Does Apple Keep Making Pricey Niche Products Like The HomePod?

Charlotte Henry ·

We recently learned that that the HomePod is to be discontinued, with Apple turning its focus to the mini instead. Luke Dormehl at Cult of Mac made a compelling argument for why it demonstrates that the company should stop producing pricey, niche, products.

You can read the HomePod debacle as an admission of failure regarding Apple’s framing of the device as a smart speaker rather than high-end audio gear. But it’s more than that. It’s an illustration of Apple’s faltering strategy of creating premium products for niche corners of the market… What else that Apple currently manufactures falls into this same category of being far more expensive than its competition? If I was toiling away on the AirPods Max, I’d probably be nervous. Apple’s pricey over-the-ear headphones, which debuted at the end of last year, sell for $550. Again, Apple hasn’t broken out sales figures, but suppliers working on the AirPods Max reportedly view it as a niche product.

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Using Open Source Software to Extend Apple’s HomeKit

Andrew Orr ·

Simon Bisson wrote a cool story for ZDNet. It involves using an open source tool called Homebridge that can be used to integrate smart home devices that don’t natively support HomeKit.

The plugin ecosystem is where Homebridge really excels. By having its own defined APIs, it’s possible for anyone with access to developer documentation to build a simple translation layer that links devices to HomeKit and to Home (and to Siri). Most of the plugins are on GitHub, so if you want additional features or support for alternative hardware, you can fork existing code and start to add your own features.

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EyeQue Unveils its VisionCheck 2 Smartphone Vision Test

Andrew Orr ·

EyeQue has a smartphone vision test you can do at home, and the company has a Kickstarter to fund the second-gen product called VisionCheck 2.

Some claim to have online or app-based refraction tests, but they are merely prescription verification services based on visual acuity estimates. EyeQue users are actually performing a self-refraction test while proprietary algorithms process, personalize, and store results.