Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Senior Reviewer, Smart Home

Homey just made the smart home controller I hoped Apple would

Jennifer Pattison TuohySep 1

Ring says its new encryption limits what it can give police

Jennifer Pattison TuohyAug 26

Jennifer Pattison TuohyAug 24

Philips Hue may launch a cheaper TV Sync Box.

As spotted by HueBlog, the Hue Play Sync Box Lite is a stripped-down version of the Hue Play Sync Box, a device that connects to your TV to sync your Hue lights with the content.

Listed at a British retailer for £109.99, about $150, the Lite looks to be less than half the price of the existing 8K model, with a single HDMI output and support up to 4K. With IFA around the corner, we should hear more about this and Hue’s rumored camera soon.

<em>Images indicate the Hue Play Box Lite will support just one HDMI output for syncing with a single device, such as a set-top box or games console.</em>

<em>It appears to support 4K content, as does</em> <em>the existing <a href="https://news.halloffame.workers.dev/23302947/philips-hue-play-sync-box-gradient-lightstrip-review">$250 model with four HDMI ports</a>. There is also an <a href="https://news.halloffame.workers.dev/2024/9/5/24236307/philips-hue-play-sync-box-8k-upgrade-price-release-date">8K model for $385. </a></em>

<em>The listed dimensions indicate it will be smaller than the existing models.</em>

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Images indicate the Hue Play Box Lite will support just one HDMI output for syncing with a single device, such as a set-top box or games console.

Image: Very.co.uk

Amazon just hiked the prices for Echo, Fire TV, and Kindle products by up to 60 percent

Jennifer Pattison TuohyAug 22

Jennifer Pattison TuohyAug 20

On today’s Vergecast: Nilay and Jen talk smart home voice assistants. Are they good yet?

For better or worse, Amazon Alexa and Google Home’s smart voice assistants have been imbued with new generative AI powers.

The promise is you can use natural language with your smart speaker to adjust your thermostat, lock the doors, and find out what your pets have been up to. The reality is smart home voice assistants are going through an identity crisis. I invited Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel onto his own podcast to compare notes on life with Alexa Plus versus Gemini for Home.

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Here’s what data Comcast says its motion-detecting routers collect

Jennifer Pattison TuohyAug 20

Jennifer Pattison TuohyAug 19

This leak detector lasts two years on a single battery.

The Shelly Flood S Gen4 is a $28 flood sensor that supports Matter, Wi-Fi, and Zigbee, so it should fit into any smart home setup. It also has a built-in alarm. Two-year battery life on a single CR123A is impressive; Ikea’s Klippbok leak sensor gets a year (but costs half as much). Wireless leak sensors are more flexible than wired models; you can just stick this under your washing machine, and you’re good to go.

Correction: This story previously said the sensor uses a coin cell battery; it’s a CR123A.

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