Smart Home Archive

Google’s battery-powered Nest Doorbell is $40 off right now

Sheena VasaniMar 20

Andrew LiszewskiMar 19

Ikea’s Matter-compatible glowing donut is now available in the US.

First announced at CES 2026, the Ikea Varmblixt donut lamp is now available from the company’s online store and retail locations across the US. It’s still priced at $99.99 and comes with one of Ikea’s Bilresa remotes for cycling through 12 preset colors. To connect it to your smart home and unlock new colors you’ll need a Matter hub.

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Ikea’s Varmblixt donut table lamp being adjusted by someone pressing a wireless remote.

Image: Ikea

Jennifer Pattison TuohyMar 19

Another smart oven shuts down.

The company behind the Brava Oven, the innovative smart kitchen gadget that cooks with light, has announced it ceased operations on March 6, 2026. It will no longer sell its $1,300 countertop ovens or provide software updates.

If you own a Brava, the good news is that the Brava Cloud is currently working. The bad news is that “may change, be limited, or be discontinued at any time.”

Brava, Maker of the ‘Cook With Light’ Smart Oven, Is Shutting Down

[The Spoon]

Kasa’s Matter-compatible smart plugs are on sale for $11 a pop

Sheena VasaniMar 18

My favorite robot vacuum now supports Matter

Jennifer Pattison TuohyMar 18

Ikea tried to build a smart home for everyone — here’s why it’s not working yet

The company’s new line of affordable gadgets was supposed to prove Matter’s promise. Instead, it exposed just how far interoperability still has to go.

Jennifer Pattison TuohyMar 17

Leaving civilization is now easier with this ‘off-grid utility core’

Thomas RickerMar 17

Jennifer Pattison TuohyMar 17

Aqara’s first wired doorbell works with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video and costs $100.

The Aqara Doorbell Camera G400 goes on sale today following its launch last November. Unlike the G350 Camera Hub camera, which also arrives today, it doesn’t support Matter, but it does have dual-band Wi-Fi 6, PoE, 2K resolution, a 165-degree field of view, and a 3:4 aspect ratio.

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The Aqara G400 Doorbell Camera offers local and cloud storage, along with RTSP support for streaming video to platforms like Home Assistant.

IMAGE: Aqara

Hands on with Aqara’s new Matter-compatible camera

Aqara’s G350 brings Matter 1.5 camera support, promising easier smart home integration — but it only works with Samsung SmartThings.

Jennifer Pattison TuohyMar 17

Ecovacs’ Deebot X8 and X9 Pro Omni robovacs are nearly 50 percent off

Sheena VasaniMar 16

Amazon’s best Echo speakers and screens just got their biggest discounts

Cameron FaulknerMar 16

Richard LawlerMar 12

Amazon’s “sassy” personality style for Alexa Plus has a lot of warning labels.

Brief, Sweet, and Chill options launched in January for Alexa Plus, and now there’s also Sassy, an “unfiltered personality with razor-sharp wit, playful sarcasm, and occasional censored profanity.”

The clever comebacks-equipped voice is adults-only and requires additional verification checks, but it’s no Microsoft Tay, M3gan, or AIA. Where the Sweet version leads with “I’m radiating pure joy,” this one suggests mayhem and being “ready to wreck some things together.”