The biggest un-surprise of the day comes from Amazon and its just announced Echo Show. The well-leaked new Echo model includes a built-in display and camera so you can get visual responses to your Alexa queries and make video calls, too.
Smarthome
Brookfield Residential Will Build First Ever Apple HomeKit Houses
The next time you’re driving around California, you may find brand new Apple HomeKit houses built by Brookfield Residential. Other builders have offered HomeKit upgrade packages, but Brookfield will be the first to integrate HomeKit from the ground up, making it a standard.
Shopping For Mother’s Day? Consider Digital Art Decoration
Looking for a Mother’s Day present? Andrew Orr found a new type of digital art decoration on the market called Meural Canvas. It’s a 27-inch screen you hang on your wall, and change the art it shows using your smartphone. You can upload your own photos to the display, and the company partners with a bunch of big-name art museums. You can choose over 30,000 paintings from Meural’s app and website.
Logitech POP Smart Button Gets HomeKit Support
Logitech’s POP Smart Button is getting HomeKit support, and its POP Smart Button Kit will be available in Apple’s retail stores. The button supports a wide range of devices, so you can use it to control non-HomeKit gear, too.
New Type Of Smart Mirror Launches Called Daptly Display
Daptly launched a new product for the smart home called Daptly Display. It was built for a specific consumer in mind—people frustrated with voice-only assistants and want visual cues. Enter the Daptly Display, a smart mirror that acts as a gesture-controlled interface. Amazon Alexa is built in, and the interface is for people who aren’t ready (or don’t want) a voice-only future. As well as acting like a fog-resistant mirror, you can use it as a photo frame, by uploading photos from your phone or choosing among Daptly’s 50,000 photo collection. It’s an interesting take on user interfaces, one that borrows from science fiction while harnessing existing technologies. Check out the promotional video below, and decide if you want to reserve a Display. The device will sell at US$799, but you can get US$200 off if you reserve soon.
Apple Updates HomeKit Automation Webpage
Apple updated its HomeKit page with a fresh, new look. It includes a brief video that shows the power of HomeKit automation with iOS 10. Examples in the video include lights, window shades, coffee makers, door locks and thermostats. Apple also has several sections that give details of different areas of the Home app.
Kwikset Premis HomeKit-Compatible Smart Lock
Kwikset recently introduced Premis, the company’s first Apple HomeKit-compabitle touchscreen smart lock. John F. Braun received a demonstration of the new product from Marty Hoffmann, VP of Marketing, and here are the features he thinks you’ll like.
Cognitive Systems Announces Aura Home Monitoring System
Cognitive System recently announced a system that takes a unique approach to monitoring and securing your home. The Aura system uses radio frequencies to detect motion rather than the optical detection used in most systems.
See and Sleep Smarter with the Helia LED Bulb from Soraa
Soraa has announced their Helia LED bulb, which incorporates several lighting and communication innovations not found in other LED bulbs. Todd Antes, Senior Vice President of Marketing, gave us an overview of the benefits of their bulb.
Apple and Worker Visas, HomeKit Falls Behind in the Smarthome Game - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-31
Work Visas for the tech industry may be changing thanks to an executive order that’s said to be coming from the White House. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at the draft order and the impact it could have on Apple and other Silicon Valley companies. They also have some thoughts on the rapidly changing smart home market and Apple’s apparent lagging position.
Dropcam Founder Greg Duffy Joining Apple Could be a Smart Home Boost
Dropcam founder and Next executive Greg Duffy has a new gig at Apple, but no one is saying what he’s doing. Considering his inner drive to create cool new things, it’s a safe bet Apple brought him on board for a very interesting project, like the rumored Echo competitor.
Yoky Matsuoka Left Apple to Return to Nest
Former Nest executive Yoky Matsuoka joined Apple in May 2016, and by December she was gone. Now we know why: she’s back at Nest helping create the company’s long-term smart home technology plans.
CES 2017 Smart Home, IoT, More - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-10
Dave Hamilton joins Jeff Gamet to talk about the smart home and IoT gear they saw at CES 2017. They also dive into storage and smart fitness tech, too.
CES 2017 Wrap Up - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-09
With CES 2017 behind us, Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to talk about what stood out for them. They look at health and fitness, televisions, and more.
First Alert HomeKit-ready OneLink Environment Monitors at CES 2017
LAS VEGAS – First Alert is ready to join your HomeKit network with their OneLink Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector and Environment Monitor. Tarsila Wey shows them off to Jeff Gamet at CES Unveiled 2017.
Sevenhugs Smart Remote Wants to be Your Go-to Entertainment and Smart Home Remote
LAS VEGAS – The Sevenhugs smart remote dynamically changes to be the only remote you need, no matter what you’re doing at home. Simon Tchedikian shows Jeff Gamet how it intelligently controls your home entertainment system, smart home devices, and online services at CES Unveiled 2017.
CES 2017 Smart Remotes, Mesh Networks, and More - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-04
CES 2017’s Unveiled event was last night and we saw loads of interesting new products. Dave Hamilton, Bryan Chaffin, and John F. Braun join Jeff Gamet share some of the cool tech gear they found ranging from smart remotes for home entertainment systems to new wireless mesh network basestations.
CES 2017 Expectations and Predictions- TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-03
CES 2017 is kicking off, so today Kelly Guimont joins Jeff Gamet talk about what they expect to be the big product categories at this year’s events. Be sure to follow along all week for The Mac Observer’s on-location coverage.
Turn Your iPhone into an Amazon Echo with Astra
Amazon’s Echo and Echo Dot are pretty cool, but what if you don’t have one yet—or aren’t home to use yours? That’s where Astra comes in. It’s an iPhone app that links to your Amazon account so you talk talk to Alexa just as if you’re right in front of your own Echo. The app lets you do pretty much everything your Echo or Echo Dot can handle, except for music playback or reading audio books. You can also remotely control your Echo-aware smarthome devices with your voice, which is worth the app’s US$0.99 price tag all by itself. You can get Astra at Apple’s App Store.
Bluetooth 5: It's All About the Internet of Things
Get ready for Bluetooth 5 because the Bluetooth Special Interest Group officially ratified the specification for the wireless protocol this week. Bluetooth 5 promises twice the speed and four times the range compared to the current Bluetooth standard, and will start showing up in devices soon.
Smarthome Automation for the Holidays - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-08
The holidays are a great time for showing off your smarthome skills, so Kelly Guimont and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to share some tips. They talk about Siri, Amazon Echo, IFTTT, and more.