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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
    Roborock is ready to rock your lawn.

    The robot vacuum company just launched its first robot lawnmower designed for US yards. The RockNeo Q110H combines RTK and VSLAM navigation and costs $1,299. It’s designed for small- to medium-sized yards and handles 45% slopes.

    I’m currently testing models from Mammotion and Dreame for a robot lawnmower battle royale take-two, and I’ve been impressed by the improved mobility and navigation of these new bots.

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    The RockNeo has a floating cutting deck that adapts to bumps in the yard, along with large-diameter wheels for traction and stability.
    The RockNeo has a floating cutting deck that adapts to bumps in the yard, along with large-diameter wheels for traction and stability.
    Image: Roborock
    Hue’s SpatialAware finally made me appreciate color-changing lights

    7

    Verge Score

    The Bridge Pro is Hue’s most compelling update in years, as long as you’re deeply invested in the smart lighting ecosystem

    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Meta remembers the Portal exists and turns it into an AI dev kit.

    The company’s new agentic developer tools are giving the discontinued smart displays a second life as a smart home controller, family message board, art display, or anything you can dream up. The move comes shortly after Microsoft announced Project Solara. Meta says the tools are hardware-agnostic and work with many existing devices. Still, anything that breathes new life into a defunct gadget is a good thing.

    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Shark is bringing some style to robot vacuums.

    Its PowerDetect UV Reveal now comes in four colors — brown, green, blue, and ivory. The earthy neutral palettes feature metallic accents and look surprisingly good — for a robot. I’ve been testing the blue one, and I like how it blends in with my kitchen cabinets.

    As robot vacuums become more capable, they are also getting bigger, so it’s encouraging to see manufacturers putting more thought into how they fit in with your decor.

    If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

    <em>The Shark PowerDetect in “Deep Harbor” (aka navy blue).</em>
    <em>The new colorful robot vacs are part of the <a rel="sponsored" href="https://sharkclean.sjv.io/c/482924/476540/8359?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sharkninja.com%2Fdiscover%2Fexplore-sharkninja%2Fthe-luxe-collection" target="_blank">Shark Home Luxe Collection</a> and come in deep harbor, evergreen, espresso, and ivory. Shark also announced complementary colors for its auto-emptying cordless vac. The PowerDetect Speed now comes in walnut, oatstone, sagewood, and harbor slate.</em>
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    The Shark PowerDetect in “Deep Harbor” (aka navy blue).
    Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Nest cams can now recognize your furry friends.

    The new feature in Google Home lets you add your pets’ faces to your indoor cameras, so you get alerts that tell you which cat is walking on the counter rather than just that a cat is traversing the kitchen. To enable it, type your pet’s name and species into the Ask Home search box in the Home app; you need Google Home Premium Advanced ($20/month).

    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
    Switchbot buys Nanoleaf for $40 million.

    The smart lighting company best known for its modular RGB lighting panels has been acquired by OneRobotics, the parent company of Switchbot. According to a filing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, the purchase will take two years to complete.

    Nanoleaf just announced a pivot to robotics and AI, an area in which the smart home company Switchbot is heavily involved, launching its first humanoid household robot at CES this year.