Smart Home

40 New Tricks For Your Amazon Echo

Amazon recently announced that the Alexa AI powering its Echo and other hardware has now learned 1,000 “skills” (up from just 135 in January). In case you’re not up to speed with all the new tricks, we’ve picked out 40 of our favorites—you can discover the other 960 yourself. Our previous Echo guide focused on…

Gadgets David Nield

Frigidaire’s Gorgeous New Connected AC Works Like a Fever Dream

The first time I saw the new Frigidaire Gallery Cool Connect smart air conditioner my jaw dropped. It was the best-looking window AC unit I’d ever seen with a sleek design and supposedly neat wi-fi functionality. After a month of using it, I now remember that no gadget is truly perfect—not even if you want…

Reviews Adam Clark Estes

Apple’s Amazon Echo Competitor Sounds Goddamned Terrifying

Earlier this week The Information reported that Apple is making a smart hub to compete with the very cool Amazon Echo and recently announced Google Home. This is not shocking. Consumer technology companies’ new favorite thing is to get their remarkably well-designed talons into every aspect of our lives. If we want the convenience they…

Tech News Alex Cranz

Leave Your Keys Behind With the Best Smart Locks

We spent more than three months researching all of the top-rated smart locks currently available and put 10 leading models through their paces in both side-by-side tests and real-world everyday use to find the best for your home. We have a best overall pick for most people, one with a keypad, an alternative for renters…

Tech News The Wirecutter

This Pet Camera Confused My Dog and Busted My Naughty Landlord

My dog started to get anxious about my recent move as soon as he saw me packing boxes. So when Furbo, an Indiegogo success, offered us its new pet camera with a built in treat dispenser, it seemed like a great way to keep an eye on him and keep him happy. Naturally, I wanted…

Reviews Alex Cranz

Samsung’s Smart Home Platform Is Full of Security Holes

The “smart home” is a Jetsonian future concept in which all our domestic needs are automated. As it stands today, however, smart devices are buggy and often very easy to hack. The latest scary example of a security failure comes from a team of researchers at the University of Michigan who managed to hack one…

Privacy & Security Darren Orf

After Bricking Their Devices, Google Will Help Revolv Owners ‘Case by Case’

Yesterday, news broke that Google will be discontinuing services for Revolv smart hubs, rendering a lot of people’s smart homes anything but. Following some (highly justified) backlash, the company has said it will help individual owners, possibly including compensation. In statements posted to Twitter and given out by Nest’s PR, the Google-owned company is encouraging…

Tech News Chris Mills

If You Use Revolv’s Smart Hub, You Are Officially Screwed (Thanks Nest!)

After Nest was bought by Google in the summer of 2014, it went on a acquisition spree, snapping up connected home products. The haul included Revolv, a kind of pre-Nest smarthome hub. Now Revolv is being shut down. This is inherently good for anyone who wants better Nest-type products for their home—and really shitty for…

Tech News Alissa Walker

How to Turn an Old Smartphone Into a Home Security Camera

Devices like Nest Cam and Canary can keep an eye on your home while you’re away, but all you really need to set up your own home security system is an old phone or tablet you’re not using, an internet connection, and the right app. Here’s how to get started and what you should know.…

Gadgets David Nield

Everything You Can Say to Your Amazon Echo

Voice control is one of the core capabilities of the Amazon Echo: the tall, black cylinder comes with a basic remote and some on-board buttons, but speaking commands and questions is the most intuitive way of interacting with it. If you’re wondering just what your Echo can do and which commands it responds to, here’s…

Gadgets David Nield

Everything You Can Say to Siri on the New Apple TV

Siri is a big part of the next-generation Apple TV. You can use the personal assistant app to choose content, identify movie actors, skip songs and more. If you own one of the latest puck-shaped boxes, then here are just about all the things you can say to Siri—just press and hold the microphone button…

Gadgets David Nield

GE Will Stop Making CFL Lightbulbs Because LEDs Are Better

GE just announced that it no longer make or sell compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) lightbulbs in the US. The company will wind down the manufacturing of CFL bulbs by the end of 2016, and it will begin to shift its focus on making the newest and most energy-efficient lightbulbs, LEDs. This is good news for…

Tech News Michael Nunez

Nest Thermostats Leaked User Data But Don’t Freak Out Quite Yet

It’s no secret that connected home devices are riddled with security concerns. A recent investigation into Nest thermostats leaking user data onto the internet seemed especially anxiety-inducing, given how incredibly popular the gadgets are. But the story’s not as scary as some reports might lead you to believe. The new research comes out of Princeton’s…

Privacy & Security Bryan Lufkin

How Connected Cars Will Transform Our Lives at Home

Let me put this bluntly: Smart homes are pretty dumb. Or at least historically, connected devices for the everyman’s house have seemed gimmicky at best. This week at CES, however, we saw new technology that stands to reform our very conception of how homes work. But the gamechanging device we saw isn’t really a device…

Commerce Bryan Lufkin

Nest Thermostats Are Having Battery Problems and There’s No Fix Yet

If you own a Nest smart thermostat, you may be experiencing problems with the battery. Big problems with the battery. As in, the battery keeps draining and leaving you in the literal freezing cold. A Gizmodo reader told us that his Nest had a software bug that caused his battery to drain—which caused Nest to…

Tech News Kate Knibbs

A Smarthome-Connected Febreze Dispenser Makes Me Appreciate My Dumb Home

For $49, if you pre-order at CES, Procter & Gamble will sell you what is probably one of the least essential smart home devices announced at the show this year: a wi-fi connected scent dispenser that lets you make any room smell like a Yankee Candle store right from your phone or tablet. Through the…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

A Gift Guide for Making Any Dumb Home Smarter

Do you or someone you love (or at least give enough of a damn about to buy a holiday gift for) want to explore this whole “smart home” idea without buying into a whole ecosystem? There are plenty of ways to get started, but these gadgets seamlessly integrate into your current, IQ-challenged abode. Best of…

Commerce Darren Orf

Can a $35 Battery Beat Smart Smoke Alarms At Their Own Game?

Here is a truth: There’s no such thing as having too many smoke alarms. There’s also no such thing as having too many companies trying to make smoke alarms smarter–which is why Roost, a $35 battery that connects any old smoke alarm to the web, is so interesting. What Is It? A 9-Volt battery that…

Reviews Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan

Savant Takes a Simple but Elegant Approach to Home Automation

Unless you’re super rich, you’ve probably never heard of Savant. The home automation company brags about catering to “the one percent of the one percent.” But now that the internet of things is all the rage, Savant is offering a slick smart home system for the everyman. Savant’s new home automation system is wonderfully simple.…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

Philips New Hue 2.0 Hub Lets Siri Control Your Home Lighting

Today, Philips announced the newest incarnation of its smart light system, Hue. While the hub may have changed from a circle to a more rounded square, much is still the same—with one key exception—HomeKit. Hue 2.0 is now Apple HomeKit certified, which allows the lighting system to work within Apple’s Internet of Things framework. You…

Tech News Chelsey B. Coombs

40 New Tricks For Your Amazon Echo

Frigidaire’s Gorgeous New Connected AC Works Like a Fever Dream

Apple’s Amazon Echo Competitor Sounds Goddamned Terrifying

Leave Your Keys Behind With the Best Smart Locks

This Pet Camera Confused My Dog and Busted My Naughty Landlord

Samsung’s Smart Home Platform Is Full of Security Holes

After Bricking Their Devices, Google Will Help Revolv Owners ‘Case by Case’

If You Use Revolv’s Smart Hub, You Are Officially Screwed (Thanks Nest!)

How to Turn an Old Smartphone Into a Home Security Camera

Everything You Can Say to Your Amazon Echo

Everything You Can Say to Siri on the New Apple TV

GE Will Stop Making CFL Lightbulbs Because LEDs Are Better

Nest Thermostats Leaked User Data But Don’t Freak Out Quite Yet

How Connected Cars Will Transform Our Lives at Home

Nest Thermostats Are Having Battery Problems and There’s No Fix Yet

A Smarthome-Connected Febreze Dispenser Makes Me Appreciate My Dumb Home

A Gift Guide for Making Any Dumb Home Smarter

Can a $35 Battery Beat Smart Smoke Alarms At Their Own Game?

Savant Takes a Simple but Elegant Approach to Home Automation

Philips New Hue 2.0 Hub Lets Siri Control Your Home Lighting

Artemis 2 Crew Become First Humans to Travel Beyond Earth Orbit Since the 1970s

Artemis 2 Day 2: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Labubus Might Be Labu-Bust After Pop Mart Posts Record Share Loss

Cursor’s New Tool Lets Users Delegate to a Team of Coding Agents

Nvidia Needs to Remind Itself What PC Gamers Actually Want

Iran Says It Hit Oracle Facilities in UAE

‘Invincible’ Season 4 Is Doing Right By Debbie

New Theory Says We’ve Been Overcomplicating the Big Bang

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

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