Hiya, and gooood morning!
Hope your weekend is going well. All cool here in Ireland; and a really Sunny day ahead ☀️; going to hang around and light up the barbeque later🍖. As expected news is slow in the smart home space this time of year; here are some interesting ones I picked up this week:
Time to Level Up!
A smart lock company called Level continues to pop up in my news feed and they are doing some really interesting stuff. The smart lock space is a tough one and for most people, justifying one is challenging. So innovation in this space is always welcome. So Level is a smart lock provider and this week’s news is got to do with the release of a new model (I assume the USA only). According to the Verge, the unit will sell for $249 and is available in a bunch of finishes. They do appear to be emerging as a formidable competitor to the famous August lock, so will keep you posted as they develop their product range and hopefully someday ‘internationalize’ their security solutions (hint beta tester available in Ireland) 😉
Google Wi-Fi M89
I know it sounds like a new road! But M89 is a software update slated for release later this month. From what I can see M89 will be applied to both Nest and Google Wifi network devices. And will include some enhancements such as:
- Improved Wi-Fi diagnostics within the Google Home app.
- Prioritization of certain traffic types, video calls for instance.
- Enhanced stability.
Here is a link if you want to delve a little deeper into this story.
This Weeks Blog Post
Among all the automation platforms out there, Samsung SmartThings is among the most popular ones. Ever since it was launched back in 2013, SmartThings has been turning heads in the smart home industry. One of its biggest inventions to date is the SmartThings hub. Not only is this smart hub one of the most affordable you’ll find in the market today but also, its functionality is up there with the best. The SmartThings hub has become a worthy competitor to other established smart hubs. These smart hubs include Amazon’s Echo, Google Home Mini, and Google Nest Mini.
However, like any other device in the smart home industry, the Samsung SmartThings hub has its advantages and disadvantages.
>> Read the complete article on the blog
This Week’s Words of Wisdom 😊
Another Smart Lock Story 🔐
Yep, another smart lock story, we typically go weeks if not months without any snippet of news from the smart lock providers, and this past week or two, stories are surfacing on the subject! So, this time it’s related to Wyze smart locks and its plans to integrate into Google Home. This is great news because it means that homeowners that have adopted Google Home as the digital assistant of choice will be able to control their Wyze smart locks. Once set up correctly, and after issuing an open lock command, you will be asked for a PIN to validate. This is a good idea and is the popular approach adopted by smart lock manufacturers to maximize security levels.
Weekly Smart Home Voice Command! 🎤
Hey Siri, Turn on the heater
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– Gerard