Good Morning…Just back from a short run in the rain, and looking forward to a relaxing day ahead! This week is very much a series of Amazon-centric smart homes:
New Ring Features 🚪
At a recent Amazon devive event; one of its smart home divisions, namely Ring got a lot of mention. Here are the headline announcements:
- Ring alarm pro enhancements – Existing Ring base stations use the Z-Wave protocol, with this announcement, the new hardware will include Wireless mesh capabilities. Ring is also making improvements in terms of backup Internet and local storage capabilities.
- A new subscription service – Dubbed a virtual security guard, this new service will keep a close eye on your Ring cameras and doorbell video feeds.
- Package alerts – Ring is doing its bit to supporting the surge in online shopping through the release of a new package alerts feature.
- Ring jobsite security – This one will be really useful for smart home and electrical contractors. As the name implies, Ring now has specialized hardware that can be used to improve work-site security levels.
You can check this article for all the details if you want to read more.
Alexa Status Messages 💬
Wouldn’t it be nice if Alexa smart home devices could provide you with status notifications? Well, while on my journey through the interweb this week, I came across a blog post that explains this upcoming feature. The announcement is aimed at Amazon Alexa developers, but when introduced, Alexa products will be able to activate messages such as:
- “Your washer is done”
- “Your robotic vacuum is stuck”
- “Your oven has preheated”
Looking forward to using some of these utilities when available on our Alexa devices.
This Weeks Blog Post ✍️
Smart homes are becoming increasingly popular by the day, and it’s just a matter of time before most of the world’s population gets in on it.
If you’re trying to convert your home into a smart home, you must have learned that there are too many brands to choose from, and it might become confusing for some people. One of those brands that can aid your smart home transformation is Google. Since Google started their Google Home back in 2016, there have been great advancements and the introduction of even more products. There have been major software updates to Google Assistant, Google Nest devices to increase the functionality and comfort of Google Home. Whether you own a Google Home Mini, Google Nest Hub, Nest Hub, or any other hub that has Google Assistant fitted in it, there is a lot you can get a lot of service from it. >> Read the complete article on the blog
And Yet More Alexa 📺
Amazon is making a new flavor of its Echo Show smart display and its 15 inches in size. And from the pictures, it does look pretty cool. Designed to hang on your wall, the new 1080p HD display is designed to support the following:
- Calendar appointments
- To-do lists
- Sticky note reminders
- Shopping lists
- Playing music
- Showing weather reports
- Streaming video
- Controlling smart home gadgets
The design mimics a picture frame, and you can use it for a full-screen photo viewer if you want. Pricing is $250 and could be a nice addition to your smart home. Take a look here yourself.
Weekly Smart Home Voice Command! 🎤
Hey Siri, turn off the lights downstairs
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.
They can sign up for the newsletter by going here.
– Gerard