Smart Home



Flo by Moen Announces New Smart Water Detector to Help Protect Your Home

By now, you must have read our glowing review of the Flo by Moen Smart Water Shutoff and you may have been wondering, “Why don’t they have a water detector accessory yet?”  Well, you’re in luck because Flo by Moen has just introduced a new Smart Water Detector that will alert you if it comes into contact with water.


Make Your Home Smarter Than You with Brilliant’s Smart Home System

The promise of the smart home is always offset by the reality of setup. It’s one thing if you can design how you want it from scratch, but if you rent or are trying to smarten up an existing home, it’s a headache. Brilliant is aiming to make life significantly smoother with its new Smart Dimmer Switch and Smart Plug.



Nest Hub Max Is the Smart Assistant to Beat

As I’ve written in recent months, I’m deeply entrenched in Amazon’s Alexa voice services but I’m slowly being won over by Google’s offerings. I reviewed a JBL smart speaker last year (read my review) and Google’s Nest Mini last month (read my review). I’ve had a chance to play with the Google Nest Hub Max, and I have to admit that I’m impressed.


Google Nest Mini Is Small but Mighty Connectivity for Your Home

I’ve been all-in with Amazon’s Alexa smart devices since they first came on the scene. In recent months, however, devices leveraging Google’s smart assistant have been winning me over. The new Google Nest Mini is, in part, responsible for that. It is under $50, sounds surprisingly good, and it lets you control your home and more using only your voice.


Eufy’s RoboVac L70 Hybrid Is the Robotic Combo Vacuum & Mop to Beat

Eufy is a brand from Anker that I’ve trusted for a while now. They are known for their high-quality products at reasonable prices while listening to customer feedback to constantly improve. The latest innovation is the RoboVac L70 Hybrid; a robotic vacuum that mops as well as vacuums and uses laser navigation. The RoboVac L70 Hybrid retails for $549.99.



Brilliant Is my Favorite Smart Home Control

I’ve found my favorite smart home controller and its name is Brilliant. With a name like that, it could be difficult to live up to the hype, but the features and performance do just that. With a vivid touch screen display, Amazon Alexa built-in, and lots of smart home device integrations, it’s difficult to beat the Brilliant home control.




Gear Diary’s Best of IFA 2019 Awards

  Berlin’s annual IFA show is the largest consumer electronics event in Europe with “more digital lifestyle products in one place than any other show worldwide.” After walking the show floor, sitting in on private pre-briefings, standing inside packed press conferences, and attending media-only showcase events, these are the items we’ve chosen for Gear Diary’s Best of IFA 2019 Awards.




Harmony Express Is the Simplest but Most Powerful Harmony Remote Yet

My living room home theater has gotten a bit too complex. There are remotes for the cable box, for the TV, for the Apple TV, and the Amazon Fire TV Cube. I’ve tried universal remotes but came back to using the individual devices. With the new Harmony Express, I’ve finally found a universal remote that works for me.



Ecovacs Deebot 500 Is a Great Robot Vacuum That’s Easy on the Wallet

In a world of expensive robot vacuums, the Ecovacs Deebot 500 is an affordable option for families looking for a quality clean without spending a fortune. Deebot 500 is compatible with smart home assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and can also be controlled via the Ecovacs mobile app. The Deebot 500 retails for $279.99.



Satechi Gets Smart with HomeKit-Enabled Dual Outlet

We all know that Apple is pretty finicky when it comes to opening up access to their HomeKit products. We’ve covered plenty, but the Dual Smart Outlet by Satechi is one of the few that manages to knock smart accessories out of the park in both price, and practicality.