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Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Senior Reviewer, Smart Home

Senior Reviewer, Smart Home

    More From Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

    This smart pizza oven improved my pie-making skills

    7

    Verge Score

    But not quite enough for me to consider ditching my local pizzeria.

    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    More than a million people now have Alexa PlusMore than a million people now have Alexa Plus
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Amazon Key is coming to apartment buildings.

    Amazon Key Access Control system is a new building intercom solution that uses the Ring app to let apartment dwellers answer their building door and buzz people in on their phones.

    The intercoms need to be installed by a property manager, and the system includes virtual keys for communal spaces; keys for individual apartments aren’t mentioned. Interestingly, Ring founder Jamie Siminoff left Amazon to run a smart building access solution, but he’s now back at Amazon.

    <em>The new system offers four options: Intercom Boost can be added to an existing call box to show a resident directory on a smartphone, allow visitors to call through the Ring app, and allow residents to unlock the door.</em>
    <em>Intercom Lite does the same thing but fully replaces the call box, or can be added to an existing one.</em>
    <em>Intercom Plus is a touchscreen version that also shows a resident directory and acts as a keypad for building access.</em>
    <em>Virtual Key can be added to an existing intercom, allowing users to unlock the building door and grant visitors access through the Ring app without the video intercom capability.</em>
    1/4
    The new system offers four options: Intercom Boost can be added to an existing call box to show a resident directory on a smartphone, allow visitors to call through the Ring app, and allow residents to unlock the door.
    Image: Amazon
    How to move a smart homeHow to move a smart home
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Wyze’s latest smart bulb is also a cameraWyze’s latest smart bulb is also a camera
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Sunny and Gizmo are the best thing on YouTube right now.

    ICYMI, the livestream of a bald eagle nest in California’s Big Bear Valley is mesmerizing. Eagle-eyed viewers are anxiously waiting for the two twelve-week-old eaglets to fledge the nest, where they’ve been carefully raised by parents Jackie and Shadow since hatching in March.

    The nest is perched about 145 feet above Big Bear Lake, so it’s a hair-raising prospect. But just yesterday, Sunny caught some serious air. Will this weekend bring the big day?

    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Homey’s pint-sized smart home hub is now available.

    Announced at CES, the $199 Homey Pro Mini can connect to Zigbee, Matter, and Thread devices, along with those from brands like Ikea, Sonos, Lutron, Roomba, Nest, Philips Hue, and Aqara, to run your smart home.

    Unlike its bigger sibling, the $400 Homey Pro, it doesn’t support Z-Wave, BLE, or IR, and can handle fewer integrations, but is a good option for a simpler way into more advanced home automation.

    Homey launches a $200 smart home hub

    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    My cat just outsmarted my smart home.

    As I was making breakfast this morning, Smokey jumped onto the counter, walked over to the sink, nuzzled his head against the motion sensor in the Moen smart faucet, and proceeded to drink from the flowing water.

    I’m so proud! (Now, if I could train him to do the dishes... .)

    The smartest cat in the house.
    The smartest cat in the house.
    Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge