Jennifer Pattison Tuohy (aka Jen) writes about all things smart home, home automation, and connected tech for The Verge. A journalist for three decades, she has covered the smart home since 2013, writing for The New York Times: Wirecutter, Dwell, Wired, The Ambient, BBC Science Focus, and US News & World Report, among others. She joined The Verge in 2021, and now tests everything from robot vacuums, video doorbells, and smart locks to connected chicken coops and smart ovens. She’s an expert on the Matter smart home standard and is passionate about the connected kitchen and home energy management. She started her career on London’s Fleet Street with The Daily Telegraph newspaper before moving to Sun Valley, Idaho, where she worked in local news for ten years. She now lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, two children, a dog, two cats, a rabbit, and several chickens.
According to Hueblog.com, the smart lighting company is readying a new solution for its popular entertainment sync feature. “Screen Sync” is a TV-mounted camera that matches Hue lights to on-screen content. Unlike Hue’s HDMI Sync box and TV Sync apps, a camera-based system — popularized by rivals Govee and Nanoleaf — should be able to sync with any content on the screen.
I tested four locks that unlock with a look, and while hands-free with UWB is better, if you want a sci-fi experience for your front door, facial recognition is worth considering.
As spotted by MacRumors, to get the new AI-powered camera features — text descriptions, searchable camera clips, and noteworthy clips — you’ll need Apple’s 2TB plan or higher.
HomeKit Secure Video has always required the base iCloud plan for recording, but now you may need to upgrade to get these smarter alerts. I’ve been testing them in the beta, and they’re a big improvement.
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Verge Score
The $399 smart lock ditches keys for ultra-wideband hands-free unlocking. It’s magical, but it’s Apple-only for now.
The new Fi Ultra adds satellite connectivity to track your dog anywhere in the US, even in cellular dead zones.
Made by Weave Robotics, Issac 1 is a fuzzy, colorful home robot that promises to collect dirty clothes, fold and put away laundry, make beds, and tidy clutter. Shipping is slated for later this year, with a $250 deposit required. While its main tasks are automated, Weave says that, like its predecessor Isaac 0, Issac 1 will be teleoperated “when needed to guarantee we complete tasks.”
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Verge Score
The Google Home Speaker nails the hardware, but Gemini for Home isn’t the assistant we’ve been waiting for.
At the CSA’s inaugural Unify conference, the mood was optimistic but realistic. Matter hasn’t delivered on its promise — but I left convinced that it still can.
