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Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Senior Reviewer, Smart Home

Senior Reviewer, Smart Home

    More From Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Ok. Now I want one.

    When I saw how the app Shortcut Buttons lets you put virtual buttons around your home to trigger smart home devices using Apple’s Vision Pro, I was (almost) sold.

    This is a use case for the $3,500 head computer I can really get behind (you know, once it doesn’t cost $3,500). The lack of new interfaces for the smart home is something I complain about a lot. This might shut me up for a bit.

    Check out Matthew Cassinelli’s rundown of how the $8 app works.

    <a href="https://www.finnvoorhees.com/shortcutbuttons"><em>Shortcut Buttons</em></a><em> lets you set up home automation shortcuts in relevant places. “Easily dim the lights or order food when watching a movie, or start a timer when cooking in the kitchen.”</em>
    <em>You can position the Shortcuts above things in your home, and they “will anchor-in-place in your spatial computing environment.”</em>
    <em>The shortcuts can be styled however you like using colors and icons.</em>
    1/3
    Shortcut Buttons lets you set up home automation shortcuts in relevant places. “Easily dim the lights or order food when watching a movie, or start a timer when cooking in the kitchen.”
    Image: Finn Voorhees
    Amazon left Roomba with a huge mess to clean up

    By abandoning its deal to buy iRobot, Amazon has left the robot vacuum maker stuck under the couch.

    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    How the smart home is finally getting out of your phone and into your home

    From map views and smart TVs to smart buttons and generative AI, controlling your smart home is getting simpler and smarter — and less dependent on your smartphone.

    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    “Alexa Plus” may be a smarter version of Amazon’s voice assistant that you pay for.

    While the new Alexa voice technology (dubbed “Remarkable Alexa”) is supposedly scheduled for a June 30th launch, a report from Business Insider cites sources who say early testing with 15,000 customers has not gone well.

    Apparently, Alexa is “often giving unnecessarily long or inaccurate responses.” I am all for a smarter Alexa, but a hallucinating Alexa could be downright dangerous.

    Amazon showed off some of what it planned for Alexa and generative AI at its hardware event last fall, where Dave Limp hinted it might come with a price tag.

    Shelly’s new climate sensor cuts the cloud and adds MatterShelly’s new climate sensor cuts the cloud and adds Matter
    Amrita Khalid and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    LG’s other transparent TV is the one I want in my living room.

    LG’s DukeBox is pitched as a modern-day jukebox, but in person, it’s got much more potential.

    A smooth-sounding 3D audio speaker with a 30-inch transparent OLED display that lets you see its retro-style insides and displays album art, the DukeBox is also a TV.

    The music controls on the screen are just for show — it’s not a touch screen. But if LG ever ships this concept product it should totally be one. It would make a gorgeous smart display.