Category Archives: smart home

The 6 Best Smart Home Hubs of 2024

There are dozens of smart devices—light bulbs, locks, displays, doorbells, security systems, indoor/outdoor cameras, thermostats, appliances, plugs, blinds and shades—that are all vying for a place in your 21st century home. Read the rest of this roundup here at Popular Mechanics’ sister site … Continue reading

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The 5 Best Self-Emptying Robot Vacuums Save You Time and Effort

Only a select few regular household chores are more tedious and time consuming than cleaning floors. According to a number of recent surveys, scrubbing and sanitizing bathrooms is the most hated task, followed by hand-washing dishes/unloading the dishwasher, cleaning the stove/oven, laundry/ironing, and … Continue reading

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SmartThings, Eve Energy Collaborate For Appliance Power Management

SmartThings, Samsung’s smart home platform, has announced a collaboration with Eve Systems for Android phone users to monitor major and small appliance power consumption and potentially save money on their utility bills and reduce their carbon footprint. Read the rest of this … Continue reading

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SmartTechCheck Podcast iPhone Pro 15 overheating, Amazon anti-trust suit, and more

John Quain and I join host Mark Vena as we tackle iPhone Pro 15 overheating reports, the anti-trust action against Amazon, “oversharing” of data with smart home devices, and Microsoft Copilot arriving in Windows 11. Watch this episode here on … Continue reading

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Samsung SmartThings And Philips Hue Expand Synergies

In an apparent attempt to improve its competitive smart home ecosystem position against Amazon Alexa, Google, and Apple HomeKit, Samsung’s SmartThings is promoting its partnership with leading smart light platform Philips Hue. Read the rest of the story here at TWICE.com.

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The Midea U-Shaped Window AC Quietly Delivers Superior Cooling

As we sweat through a record-hot summer, room air conditioners are not only desired but a potential lifesaver. Unfortunately, even the quietest window AC unit can fill a room with a loud continuous hum on the level of an airplane … Continue reading

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SmartTechCheck Podcast: AirBNB, iPhone legacy, consumer electronics slump, AI detection woes

I join Super SmartTechCheck podcast host Mark Vena, John Quain and Rob Pegoraro to discuss AirBnB efforts to recruit more hosts, AI photo detection woes, the legacy of the original iPhone, and the consumer electronics slump. Tune into the podcast … Continue reading

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iRobot Roomba Combo j7+: a Worry-Free Mop Vac for Low-Traffic Floors

iRobot launched the robotic vacuum category in 2002 with the first Roomba, and it continues to be the most well-known robot vac brand and among the smartest and most easily programmable. And now, with the Roomba Combo j7+ robot vacuum and … Continue reading

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ADT Starts Selling Google Nest-Integrated DIY Home Security Kit

New expandable ADT Self Setup bundle, controlled by new ADT+ app, goes on sale; available only on ADT.com site with no other retail outlets planned. Read the rest of this report here at TWICE.com.

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Samsung Kicks Off 2023 TV Sales With Celeb-Focused Event, Campaign

The company used a star-studded event to officially launch its 2023 TV sales season and introduce its new “More Wow Than Ever” marketing tagline. Read the rest of this report here at TWICE.com.

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