Smart Home

While the Google Home Speaker was nowhere to be seen at I/O, the company did announce it’s getting back into the third-party smart speaker game. A new Speaker Reference Design will let manufacturers build Gemini-powered smart speakers, and rumors point to a Walmart Onn speaker being the first.

Come join me for a robot vacuum-themed subscriber AMA. Drop your questions in the post linked below, and I’ll be answering them starting at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.

Its new DIY security system, ADT Blu, revives the Blue by ADT name (the company’s last attempt at an off-the-shelf system) and uses the same hardware as ADT Plus (its self- or pro-installed system). But it’s DIY-only and can be bought on Amazon. The other difference? No Google Nest cameras. The system comes with new ADT cameras. Pricing for ADT Blue starts at $249.

Today, the company announced that on May 27th, it will reveal when its Cyber X bionic quad-track stair-climbing system will launch and, presumably, how much it will cost. The robot that can transport a robot vacuum up a flight of stairs will arrive alongside three new X60 Pro series robots, the most intriguing of which features Dreame’s first dual-joint bionic robotic arm that can extend a mop pad into tight corners and under furniture.

The $109.99 to $139.99 TV Backlight 3 is priced between Govee’s TV Backlight 3 Pro and older Backlight 3 Lite, but could be a compelling alternative to both. It uses two cameras with new hybrid glass-plastic lenses and increased resolving power to more accurately mirror your TV’s onscreen colors onto surrounding walls using dense LED light strips.

The Bluetooth range is dependent on what obstacles may lie between you and your grill, but the battery life for KitchenAid’s new $99.99 wireless Smart Thermometer is equally impressive. A full charge gets you 24 hours of use but a five minute quick-charge delivers up to five hours of remotely monitoring meat temps.

I’m not saying Dyson should weaponize its next camera-controlled AI air purifier, but the name does suit it.

A new “Google Home Display” has been spotted in the code for the iOS Google Home app. We already knew that Google is launching a Gemini-powered Home Speaker this spring, but this suggests that a Nest Hub-like device is also in the works — Google’s first since 2021.

The home security company launched two new products today: the Ring Spotlight Cam (2nd Gen) at $169.99 and the Ring Floodlight Cam (2nd Gen) at $199.99. Both feature Ring’s Retinal 2K video resolution, bringing higher-res support to Ring’s base models.

The Narwal Freo Z10 Turbo uses a laser mapping system instead of a camera to navigate your home, but it includes a base station that empties dirt and sterilizes the mopping pads, and a mode that deep cleans carpets with boosted suction and multiple passes. It will be available on May 18th for $899.99 and discounted to $599.99 until the end of the month.

Google says it has “optimized backend processing” for smart home device controls, alarms, and timers to make Gemini for Home better at the basics. Improved age-gating and content controls mean it should now be able to give you the recipe for a margarita too.

Sean Hollister let a hacked robot lawnmower run him over in the name of journalism, but it took a Verge commenter to find the right language that really sets the stakes.

The company is planning to discontinue certain consumer electronics products in the region — including home appliances and televisions — amid intensifying competition from domestic brands. Phone sales will be unaffected. As popular as Samsung TVs are, this goes to show they do struggle somewhere.

A new feature called Sports Live is being rolled out to the Philips Hue app that will trigger lighting effects in response to goals being scored or referees issuing cards during the World Cup in June and July. Your lights can also match the color of your favorite team or the team that’s currently in the lead during a match.

This was one of my favorite gadgets from CES, and Lifx says the $199.99 Matter-enabled LED lighted mirror will ship later this month. I have one to test and will be posting a review soon.

First announced and demonstrated at CES 2026, Philips Hue’s new SpatialAware feature that better distributes the colored lighting in a preset scene around a room is now available through the mobile app. The feature requires the Hue Bridge Pro and you’ll need to scan each room using your smartphone’s camera first.