15 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Smart Home

The smart home was once a far-flung pipe dream, but it is now a reality. Wherever you live, your home is ground zero for some of the most interesting tech available right now, and tech that’s yet to come. Best of all, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get your home up and running with smart hardware and services.

Home security and monitoring solutions can alert you to a burglary, smoke, fire, or just simple motion activity. There are plenty of options with a range of capabilities, from smart doorbells and smart locks to indoor and outdoor cameras that can see in the dark.

Smart speakers, like the Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Apple HomePod each play a big role in helping you out, too. In the kitchen, they can read out recipes, or if you’re cleaning, you can call out to them to change the song on the fly. If you buy smart light bulbs, for instance, you can turn them on and off by using your voice.

Google’s latest Nest Learning Thermostat is down to one of its best prices to dateGoogle’s latest Nest Learning Thermostat is down to one of its best prices to date
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Matter plans to fix your home Wi-Fi.

The Wi-Fi Alliance and Thread Group have revealed they’re working with the CSA on several solutions to make sure your Wi-Fi router plays well with your smart home devices:

These include features like IPV 6 and multicast discovery, which we want to make sure are consistent and reliable across routers ... The way routers implement their multicast discovery can be broken, and that leads to a pretty bad experience for users ... We need to make Wi-Fi work reliably for all of the IoT use cases.

I’ve experienced network issues setting up Matter devices and keeping them online, and I’m not alone. If Matter can fix Wi-Fi routers, all will be forgiven.

Matter will be better in 2025 — say the people who make it

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Here’s another use for that Thread radio in your iPhone.

In an interview with The Verge, Vividh Siddha, director of engineering at Apple and president of Thread Group, shared another use case for the Thread radio in newer iPhones.

As well as allowing setup of a Thread device when you don’t have a Thread border router, the Thread radio in the iPhone lets you control devices when the power is out:

But the other important factor is the ability to use your accessories, and some important ones, like your front door lock when there’s a power outage. If you have no infrastructure — your Wi-Fi router is down, your Thread border router is down — and you still want the ability to get into your house or do other things that might be smart home related. Those are some use cases that it’s explicitly designed for, but it’s not limited to that.

Matter will be better in 2025 — say the people who make it

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
mmWave tech is set to take motion sensing to the next level in the smart home.

The radar-based technology can detect movements as slight as breathing, so it won’t turn the lights out on you when you’re sitting on the couch.

Superior to PIR sensing, mmWave is seeing fast adoption, with Samsung seemingly poised to add it to its appliances. Here’s a great explainer from The Ambient on how the tech could help your smart home.

What is mmWave, and what does it mean for your smart home?

[The Ambient]

Google’s Gemini AI smart home controls are rolling out to everyoneGoogle’s Gemini AI smart home controls are rolling out to everyone
Matter will be better in 2025 — say the people who make it

The CSA, Thread Group, and Wi-Fi Alliance say they’re working to fix the biggest problems with the smart home standard. In this exclusive interview, I ask them how and when.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Samsung is bringing ambient sensing to SmartThingsSamsung is bringing ambient sensing to SmartThings
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Here’s the tech that could turn millions of Zigbee light bulbs into motion sensors with a single updateHere’s the tech that could turn millions of Zigbee light bulbs into motion sensors with a single update
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
These POE smart shades are the first to work with Matter.

SmartWings, one of the first to offer Matter over Thread smart shades, has another first. Today, the company announced its Matter over Ethernet smart shades, which use a single cable to provide power and connectivity — no batteries, Thread, or Wi-Fi required.

Matter compatibility means the shades, which come in roller, zebra, and woven styles, will work with Apple Home, Google Home, SmartThings, Alexa, and other smart home platforms.

SmartWings’ new Matter over Ethernet shades have a CAT 6A Inline coupler to connect to a port on a compatible router or switch for power and connectivity in one cable.
SmartWings’ new Matter over Ethernet shades have a CAT 6A Inline coupler to connect to a port on a compatible router or switch for power and connectivity in one cable.
Image: SmartWings
The Roborock Q5 Max Plus drops to an all-time low of $280The Roborock Q5 Max Plus drops to an all-time low of $280
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
You can now control your LG appliances with Homey.

The electronics giant has followed through on its promise to open the APIs for its ThinQ appliances, and Homey, which is owned by LG, is one of the first platforms to implement it.

The LG ThinQ app for Homey is available now for both cloud-based and hub-based setups and lets you add connected LG washers, dryers, TVs, and more to Homey and control them directly or with automations.

LG appliance integration with Homey allows users to set up automations like this one, which will dim the Philips Hue lights and close the Aqara curtains when the LG TV turns on after 8pm.
LG appliance integration with Homey allows users to set up automations like this one, which will dim the Philips Hue lights and close the Aqara curtains when the LG TV turns on after 8pm.
Image: Homey
The Google Home app will soon support the Nest ProtectThe Google Home app will soon support the Nest Protect
Wyze cameras will use AI to describe what they seeWyze cameras will use AI to describe what they see
Robot vacuums just keep growing

CES saw wild innovations from Roborock and Dreame and helpful upgrades from the rest of the pack, all of which are set to make 2025 a banner year for those who’d rather leave the cleaning to the robots.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
This mechanical keyboard can control your smart home.

ThirdReality’s MK1 Magic Keyboard ($80, launching March) is a Matter smart button. Ingenious!

The function keys are programmable buttons. Just press to activate a scene or control smart devices like lights through Apple Home, SmartThings, or Home Assistant. Mechanical keyboard / smart home nerds rejoice!

This smart keyboard has RGB lighting, Gateron Yellow switches, and a Matter-over-Wi-Fi chip on board.
This smart keyboard has RGB lighting, Gateron Yellow switches, and a Matter-over-Wi-Fi chip on board.
Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Nanoleaf brought smart lighting for the face to CES.

So, of course, I had to go try it out. This $150 LED Light Therapy Face Mask is the smart lighting company’s first lighting-focused wellness product, and it sounds like there may be more to come. I think it’s rather fetching ... don’t you?

Yeedi Cube robot vacuum and mop drops to an all-time low of $300Yeedi Cube robot vacuum and mop drops to an all-time low of $300
The Verge Awards at CES 2025

Fluffy robots, portable TVs, and vacuums with arms and legs. This is what we come to CES for.

Verge Staff
The touchless smart locks are hereThe touchless smart locks are here
This robovac has an arm — and legs, tooThis robovac has an arm — and legs, too
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
The best stuff we’ve seen at CES so farThe best stuff we’ve seen at CES so far
Google Home hubs can now work locally thanks to MatterGoogle Home hubs can now work locally thanks to Matter
All the smart home news from the Matter launch eventAll the smart home news from the Matter launch event
I found the first Matter smart fridgeI found the first Matter smart fridge
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
This sun-tracking security camera keeps watch in 4KThis sun-tracking security camera keeps watch in 4K
A smart breaker box system lets you direct your home’s electricity from an appA smart breaker box system lets you direct your home’s electricity from an app
Reolink’s new cameras can record 24/7 without a power outlet or internet connectionReolink’s new cameras can record 24/7 without a power outlet or internet connection
This cat tree is also an air purifierThis cat tree is also an air purifier
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
US Cyber Trust Mark launches as the Energy Star of smart home securityUS Cyber Trust Mark launches as the Energy Star of smart home security
GE Cync’s new smart switches look better and work with MatterGE Cync’s new smart switches look better and work with Matter
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
LG’s new smart speaker has heart eyes.

This cute little guy is all over LG’s CES booth, winking at people and offering them popcorn.

The LG On-Device AI Hub (great name) is a smart speaker with a 4-inch screen, built-in camera, and microphone. Designed to be a satellite to the ThinQ ON home hub, LG says it’s a concept product, so there’s no price or release date.

<em>The speaker has a circular LCD screen that shows animated eyes.</em>
1/3
The speaker has a circular LCD screen that shows animated eyes.
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Yes, I’m taking a picture of Vee with a door lock.

Lockly’s latest smart lock, the Vision Prestige, shows your visitor through a built-in camera. It’s a neat concept, but bending down to see who’s at the front door feels a tad awkward.

The video was also quite dark, and the screen was tiny, but it showed the visitor instantly — not always the case when pulling up a feed from a video doorbell on your smartphone.

The Verge’s Victoria Song poses for a picture through a door lock.
The Verge’s Victoria Song poses for a picture through a door lock.
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Netgear’s new Wi-Fi 7 Orbi mesh system is a solid bump with plenty of portsNetgear’s new Wi-Fi 7 Orbi mesh system is a solid bump with plenty of ports
Narwal’s latest mopping robovac keeps corners cleanNarwal’s latest mopping robovac keeps corners clean
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
An air purifier for pet parents worried about animal smells.

Levoit’s new Pet Odor and Hair Air Purifier can detect substances that contribute to common pet odors and increase airflow to help capture them in a four-stage filter.

It also uses a motion sensor to track activities, like if you leave to walk the dog, to create custom routines. It will be available in Q2 for $199. A self-cleaning version will cost $249.

The regular and self-cleaning versions of the Levoit Pet Odor and Hair Air Purifier pictured side by side.
Levoit’s new air purifier detects and responds to substances known to contribute to pet odors like wet dog.
Image: Levoit
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
There’s now a $130 Philips Hue app for LG TVs.

The Hue Sync TV app was previously only available for Samsung TVs, but now you can sync up your lighting with content playing on your LG TV (for a pretty hefty price, of course).

The app, which also comes with the option for a $3.99 per month subscription, is available on LG TVs with webOS 24 and newer.

Image: Signify
Eureka’s new robot vac can tackle wet messesEureka’s new robot vac can tackle wet messes
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
LG’s side table grow light is also a speaker.

For the ultimate in multitasking, this “Indoor Garden” from LG is a grow light, accent light, and a speaker all in one.

It’s still a concept product, but it can auto water your garden while it grows and also play it some tunes from the 120 watt, 4.1 channel sound system.

The Indoor Garden from LG.
The Indoor Garden from LG.
Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Samsung just added ships to Matter.

“SmartThings for ships is a new integration that uses Matter, the connectivity standard, to connect with compatible ships,” Sean Michael of Samsung Electronics America said during the company’s press conference today.

Apparently, you’ll be able to automate the climate, lighting, and even the engine of your yacht or, you know, cargo ship.

Screenshots by Wes Davis / The Verge
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Screenshots by Wes Davis / The Verge
Toyota’s futuristic Woven City in Japan is ready for its first residentsToyota’s futuristic Woven City in Japan is ready for its first residents

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