At first glance, the new Amazon Echo Plus looks like it's mostly a cosmetic upgrade to the original Echo Plus smart speaker. It will still cost $150 in the US when it comes out next month. Like the original, it's powered by Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, and it has a Zigbee hub built-in so it can talk to smart home sensors. Beyond the new fabric finish, the new Echo Plus sports an added temperature sensor, localized voice controls and setup assistance that could make the Amazon Echo Plus an ideal smart home control center.First announced at Amazon's surprise event in Seattle last week, you can preorder the second-generation Amazon Echo Plus now. The fabric exterior and rounded edges match the look of the other revamped Echo devices like the third-gen Amazon Echo Dot. The second-gen Plus costs £140 in the UK and AU$229 in Australia. Right now, the expected ship date is Oct. 11 in all three countries.Better sound qualityGiven that you can get an Amazon Echo ($100 at … [Read more...] about Amazon Echo Plus is the smart home hub of the future
Smart home
Amazon’s Wi-Fi Simple Setup will make it easier to connect your smart home
Through Amazon's Wi-Fi Simple Setup, Amazon wants to take away the headache of setting up your smart home. As it stands, you usually need to set up each smart plug, smart lightbulb and smart fan individually. Amazon wants to help with that process, and will share your Wi-Fi credentials with compatible smart home devices.Smart home companies TP-Link and Eero are jumping on board at launch, so if you have an Amazon Echo connected to your Wi-Fi network, you can plug in a new TP-Link Smart Plug and your Echo will set it up on your Wi-Fi for you. Amazon announced the change during the company's surprise event in Seattle on Thursday. Wi-Fi Simple Setup is part of a larger plan of frustration free setup which includes Zigbee setup. Smaller smart home devices won't actually talk directly to your Wi-Fi router. They use lower frequency signals like Zigbee to help save power, and it looks like Amazon's new setup assistance will help connect those devices as well. See also Surprise! Amazon … [Read more...] about Amazon’s Wi-Fi Simple Setup will make it easier to connect your smart home
Lenovo takes on Philips, Nest and Amazon in the battle for your smart home
The Lenovo Smart Essentials range has launched at IFA 2018 in Berlin, Germany, and it's looking to take over as the brains of your smart home.Initially the family of smart home products is made up of three devices; Smart Plug, Smart Camera and Smart Bulb. You'll probably be able to guess what each one does from their names.Lenovo's already announced Smart Display is also compatible with this new range, and it can act as a hub for the firm's new smart devices.They're all controlled from your smartphone using the same app - Lenovo Link - and you can opt to group devices together for easier automation of certain areas and rooms of your home.There's support for both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa too, allowing you to control the smart home devices with your voice.Meet the familyLenovo Smart Plug - can be plugged into any open outlet, allowing you to control any compatible device that's plugged into it. It essentially makes 'dumb' tech a little bit smarter - for example, plug your … [Read more...] about Lenovo takes on Philips, Nest and Amazon in the battle for your smart home
Fibaro invites Samsung, IFTTT into its smart home
Fibaro just upped its smart home game at IFA.The company's line of smart home hubs now work with Samsung connected devices. That list includes large appliances like washers, dryers, dishwashers, fridges, even air conditioners and ovens -- all linked to Samsung's Smart Cloud platform. 11 IFA 2018: All the coolest tech we've seen so far Fibaro also extended integration to IFTTT (if this then that), a third party software service. IFTTT allows its users to control and automate hundreds of internet enabled devices. Underneath the IFTTT umbrella is everything from smart bulbs, thermostats, smart watches, and robot vacuums just to name a few.Window treatment company Hunter Douglas is onboard as well. The company's motorized, app-controlled shades will play nice with Fibaro's smart home hub and devices too. Fibaro also explained to CNET that the timing of these integrations is immediate, as in they should all work right now. IFA 2018: The key … [Read more...] about Fibaro invites Samsung, IFTTT into its smart home
Naked Labs’ body-scanning mirror might be the smartest thing in the CNET Smart Home
It's a rainy Tuesday at the CNET Smart Home, and I'm alone in the master bedroom staring at my reflection in a full-length mirror from a company called Naked Labs. Wearing nothing but underwear, I rattle through the usual insecurities mirrors like these tend to bring about: too much pudge in my midsection, not enough muscle in my shoulders, a hopelessly patchy attempt at a beard on my face. I'm getting paid for this, I remind myself.At an app's instruction, I step onto a scale in front of the mirror, and it slowly starts to spin beneath me. The sophisticated, depth-sensing cameras hidden in the mirror's frame begin silently snapping pictures -- about 4 gigabytes' worth of data by the time the scale completes its rotation 6 or 7 seconds later. Finished, I step off and throw my clothes back on as quickly as I can. I wonder if the mirror sees what I see.Turns out, it sees more. Within minutes, the app informs me that my scan is ready to view. A tap later, there I am -- or, at least, … [Read more...] about Naked Labs’ body-scanning mirror might be the smartest thing in the CNET Smart Home