Hi,
How’s it going? And happy weekend, all cool here and back to the broken weather again. Summer is going by fast! Here are a few smart home stories to check out:
Oh Oh! 🥺
Gotcha Google; the biggest search engine company on the planet leaked some unannounced Nest devices by mistake! Appearing on their online store, the new lineup appears to consist of a combined outdoor/indoor battery-powered Nest Cam, a Nest Cam with floodlight, an indoor wired Nest Cam, and a battery-powered Nest Doorbell. Although pure speculation at the moment, if you want to see a cool image of the phantom products, click here and take a look at the article over on the verge.
Quick Door Replies 🚪
The ability to automate replies at your doorbell has arrived in the UK in recent times. In essence, this new feature allows you to select a pre-recorded audio message to play when your doorbell is pressed. The list of doorbells that support this feature includes Ring Video Doorbell (2nd Gen), Video Doorbell 2, Video Doorbell 3, Video Doorbell 3 Plus, Video Doorbell 4, Video Doorbell Wired, Video Doorbell Pro, Video Doorbell Pro 2, Video Doorbell Elite and Door View Cam. Implementation of the new feature is simple and involves selecting from six preset responses. To learn some more about this new feature hop over to this blog post on Rings European site.
This Weeks Blog Post
Pull away from the circuits and codes. Knowledge of that abstract coding is handy, especially if you enjoy following developments in artificial intelligence, but too much conceptual thinking can cause headaches. So pull your focus away from all of this talk about software architecture. Instead, let’s strip things back by assuming a clutter-free stance. At heart, a Smart Home Assistant (An SHA, for short or smart speaker) is, to use a colorful term, the Genie in the lamp. Alexa is one of these wish-fulfilling entities, as is the Google Assistant interface.
>> Read the complete article on the blog
A ton of Money for Wyze 🚪
Maker of multiple smart devices, Wyze, just secured a new investment round and it’s pretty significant. The new funding round is over one hundred million and will help the company in a number of areas, ranging from AI to expanding their reach to a worldwide audience. Wyze has launched a raft of products over the past 18 months, including everything from security cameras to robot vacuums to thermostats. Best of luck Wyze, in your continued expansion into the exciting world of the smart home. Some more details about the new funding round can be found over at Geekwire.
IKEA Smart Purifiers 😮💨
I always look forward to IKEA smart home announcements, and this latest one is no different. The most recent product innovation combines an air purifier with a coffee table. IKEA’s approach to date has been to ‘smartify’ different items of household furniture, and this is mirrored in the latest product launch. Basically, what they have done is built a smart air purifier into a side table. Named STARKVIND, these new smart air purifier slash tables will be available later this year. Check out the official announcement here.
Weekly Smart Home Voice Command! 🎤
Hey Siri, “Turn on the light switch”
This is it for today, See you next Sunday 😉. If you have colleagues, friends, or neighbors that would benefit from knowing about smart home devices, please consider sharing them.
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– Gerard