Carbon Chemist

Tag: smart home

  • Blink Mini 2 Review: Small Size, Big Value

    Blink Mini 2 Review: Small Size, Big Value

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    I set the camera to record clips when it detected a person, and it hasn’t made many mistakes. (It has categorized a couple of clips with people in them as motion, but there have been no false positives.) Most recorded events seem to have been captured in full, but a couple of times, it missed the beginning of someone walking into the frame. You can also tweak the motion sensitivity and set privacy or activity zones by graying out squares in a grid to reduce false positives or cut out areas you don’t want triggering recordings.

    While the overall sound quality isn’t great, it is better than the original Blink Mini. You can carry on a two-way conversation with minimal lag. Certain sounds and weather cause distortion, so it sounds better indoors but is passable in a pinch. Blink cameras also work well with Alexa, but there’s no official support for Google Home or Apple HomeKit. However, there are lots of IFTTT integrations that provide workarounds to use Blink with Google, Samsung SmartThings, and other platforms. One last feature I like in the app is the biometric lock, so you can open it with your fingerprint or face.

    Subscribe or Pass

    You can use Blink cameras without a subscription if you buy a Sync Module 2 ($50) and stick a USB flash drive in it to record locally, but I can’t recommend the Blink Mini 2 without a subscription. Only subscribers get person detection, live view recording, cloud recording with 60-day video history (30 days in the UK and Europe), video sharing, rapid access, and a few other perks. Person detection is a must unless you want lots of false positives.

    Without the subscription, your live views are limited to five minutes, and recorded videos may be much slower to load. This is because videos are uploaded to the cloud from your USB flash drive and then sent to your phone. I have tested without the subscription. With a fast internet connection and flash drive, my videos loaded fairly quickly, taking maybe a couple of seconds longer on average, though they occasionally took much longer. If you subscribe but already have a Sync Module 2, it defaults to a once-a-day backup of your videos. (You can also stick the drive into a computer to review recorded events.) You can see the complete subscription comparison here.

    You get a 30-day trial of the subscription with each Blink camera. After that, the Blink Basic subscription, covering one camera, costs $3 per month or $30 per year, which is about as cheap as it gets nowadays. The Blink Plus subscription, covering unlimited cameras, costs $10 per month or $100 per year. Since Amazon owns Blink, you can connect your Amazon account and manage your subscription through the Amazon site.

    Many of the best indoor security cameras require you to subscribe to enjoy all their features. But if you can’t abide another subscription, the Cync Indoor Smart Camera ($70) or TP-Link Tapo C110 ($30) are good alternatives. You can find better, but not cheaper, outdoor options in our Best Outdoor Security Cameras guide.

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  • Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover Review: Sleep Well

    Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover Review: Sleep Well

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    With celebrity endorsements from Elon Musk and Danny Green generating plenty of biohacking buzz, you may have heard of Eight Sleep’s Pod 3 Cover. It’s a mattress cover that can heat or cool your bed to help you sleep better. You can tweak the temperature in the Eight Sleep app or have the autopilot mode adjust it automatically, and the Pod 3 can provide in-depth, accurate sleep tracking.

    To unlock the smarts of this system, including autopilot and sleep tracking, you need an expensive subscription (from $15 per month), and that’s on top of the astronomical asking price (from $2,045). The UK Super King cover I tested costs £2,495 (around $3,175), which is far more than I could ever justify spending on a gadget like this. (The US equivalent is a Queen, roughly $2,145.)

    High prices and billionaire endorsements are a turn-off for me, so I approached the Eight Sleep Pod 3 with a healthy dose of skepticism. Turns out rich people have nice things. Closing in on a month with the Pod 3, I’m a grudging convert. It is far too expensive, and I don’t need another subscription in my life; not to mention there are some quirks I’m not keen on. But my wife and I have both been sleeping better, and that kind of trumps everything else.

    Make Your Bed

    The Eight Sleep Pod 3 is a thick mattress cover with a network of rubber tubing inside and a soft, plush black material on top. It is elasticized for a snug fit on your mattress, but I’d advise enlisting some help to fit it. There’s a sticker to ensure you put it on the right way around with the connectors at the top. The brushed fleece top is soft, and I found the cover very comfortable. It doesn’t feel as though it’s filled with tubes with sensors.

    Dark grey mattress cover with white 8 sitting on light wood bedframe with white pillow in topright corner

    Photograph: Simon Hill

    A device that resembles a desktop PC with a big 8 on the front connects to the cover via a double tube. I slipped mine next to my bedside cabinet. This unit is the brains of the operation, with a quad-core CPU inside, and it pumps chilled or heated water through the mattress cover.

    Hooking up the app and Wi-Fi was a five-minute job; the app walks you through every step. The first time you set it up, you need to fill the Pod 3 with water. A cylinder slides out of the top with a clear fill line. You have to do this a couple of times, and it takes around 90 minutes after each fill to pump the water into the system and calibrate, so don’t start the installation right before bedtime.

    The cover has two distinct sides, so your partner can configure different settings, which is ideal if one of you runs cold and the other warm. It was easy to invite my wife from the app, so we could both control the Pod 3 from our phones. It took maybe four hours to prime the system, but most of that was waiting.

    Logging Some Z’s

    On my first night with the Pod 3 Cover, I slept like a log. My sleep score was 100. Like, actually 100. I fell asleep in less than five minutes and got seven hours and 55 minutes of blissful slumber. I woke refreshed and bounded out of bed, ready to tackle the day. This is rare for me. I usually take up to an hour to drop off and frequently wake through the night. But this auspicious start was not to last.

    Dark grey mattress on light wooden bedframe. Black towershaped device placed on the floor between the bed and nightstand.

    Photograph: Simon Hill

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  • Amazon Echo Hub Review: Bare-Bones Smart Display

    Amazon Echo Hub Review: Bare-Bones Smart Display

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    Widgets are one of my favorite features of Echo Show devices, and I love that the Hub is entirely focused on them. My Echo Show 8 ($150) won’t always show me my widgets, and the Echo Show 15 ($280) is great for widgets but too big to, well, put anywhere. But the Echo Show is a perfect little screen with my favorite widgets, the smart home controls I need, and no obstacles to get to them.

    Amazon Echo Hub

    Photograph: Nena Farrell

    Smart Home Power

    With the widgets and menus on the almost-always-live dashboard, it’s easy to quickly control your home. There’s plenty of info stuffed into the main homepage. While it’s not exactly beautiful, it’s easy on the eyes and simple to navigate, and it’s easy to swipe through the smart-home devices that the Hub is connected to.

    In the side menu, you can tap the Routines button to access the routines you’ve made in the Alexa app and activate them. You aren’t able to edit or create new routines on this page, so you’ll need the app handy if you want to make changes. Below that is the room list. My Echo Hub showed the Living Room, Office, and Nursery, since those are the three rooms I’ve created within the Alexa app.

    There’s a final bottom menu where you’ll see entire categories of devices, such as lights, cameras, and plugs. You can tap these to see all the devices of that type at once; I see 10 different lights from my home when I open on the generic Lights option. But even without opening it, that little menu also shows me the total number of lights on in my home, so it’s handy at a quick glance. Finally in the list of menus is the classic top-down menu that matches an Echo Show device. It’s where you’ll find the device’s settings, alarms, brightness, and more.

    Hub in Name Only

    Ironically, for a device named Hub, there is no smart-home hub built in. You’ll find that in certain Echo Shows, such as the newest Show 8 and the Show 10, and the screen-free Echo (4th Gen), but not this device.

    A smart-home hub is needed for certain products to work and communicate with each other. Philips Hue has always needed a hub for its lights, and smart security systems often have hubs and base stations too. But fewer products require an individual hub to work—Abode’s security system has a hub, for example, but then offers a suite of products that are hub-free.

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  • 12 Best Amazon Echo and Alexa Speakers (2024): Earbuds, Soundbars, Displays

    12 Best Amazon Echo and Alexa Speakers (2024): Earbuds, Soundbars, Displays

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    Amazon’s family of Alexa-enabled devices is vast. From the spherical Echo to the swiveling Echo Show 10, you can get Alexa into your home in many ways. These devices can answer your questions, help you order essentials, set timers, play all sorts of audio content, and even function as the control hub for your growing smart home. These are our favorite Echo- and Alexa-compatible speakers for every home and budget.

    The best time to buy any Amazon speaker is during a major sale event like Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day, as there usually are steep discounts. If you’re trying to decide which smart devices might be best for you, be sure to check out WIRED’s picks in our roundups: Best Smart Speakers, Best Smart Displays, and Best Bluetooth Speakers. We also have guides on setting up your Echo speaker, creating Alexa routines, and Alexa skills that are actually fun and useful to help you get started.

    Updated February 2024: We’ve added the Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) as our new smart display pick. We’ve also added advice for controlling content shown on your Echo Show device.

    Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you’d like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

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  • 9 Best Smart Speakers (2024): Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri

    9 Best Smart Speakers (2024): Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri

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    Connects to Alexa.

    ★ Cheaper, Similar Echo Show: The second-gen Echo Show 8 ($130) is a little cheaper and is still a great choice if you don’t have your heart set on new features like the smart home hub or spatial audio.

    If you aren’t in it for the music, the Amazon Echo Dot With Clock (5th Gen) and Google’s Nest Mini (7/10, WIRED Recommends) will give you most of the perks of owning a smart speaker, and you can use them to make existing speakers smarter on the cheap. The sound is very similar between models, and they have nearly identical footprints, so you can argue that one is better than the other based on the ecosystem alone. We used to prefer the Nest Mini for this reason, but now that Amazon has added a simple clock to the front of the Echo Dot, we like it a bit more.

    The tiny display on the Echo Dot With Clock comes in handy. It can tell you when your timers are going to expire in the kitchen or when your alarm is set for the morning. It tells the time too. That makes it a better bedroom and kitchen companion. You can also ask it the weather, have it answer random questions, and play white noise at bedtime to help you sleep. Plus, it presents an easy way to get a smart assistant into the places in your home where you don’t normally listen to music.

    Connects to Amazon Alexa.

    ★ Alternative: The Nest Mini ($49) is also a great mini speaker if you prefer Google Assistant. It’s usually on sale for $25, making it one of the most affordable smart speakers out there. It can do everything the Nest Audio can do, though its sound quality is nothing to write home about.

    The pint-size Sonos Roam (9/10, WIRED Recommends) has become our new favorite portable speaker. Reviewer Parker Hall has taken it on road trips, to outdoor weddings, and in the basket of his bike. The simple-to-use Sonos ecosystem works with Google Assistant and Alexa, and the speaker has Bluetooth for when you’re out of Wi-Fi range. It even includes wireless charging, which makes it the perfect speaker to set down at home between trips outdoors.

    You’ll get 10 hours of listening on a full charge at medium volume, and the thing is rugged; an IP67 rating means it can survive in 3 feet of water for 30 minutes. Hall is not easy on speakers, and his review unit is still going strong. If you’re looking to up your out-and-about game, buy one of these and stash it inside a stainless to-go mug. Just grab a drink along the way.

    Connects to Google Assistant or Alexa.

    ★ Alternative: The second generation of Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound A1 ($279) added Alexa voice assistant to the mix. It’s a beautiful, great-sounding, and durable mono speaker we’ve had on our Best Bluetooth Speakers list for a while, and with Alexa in tow, it’s a good portable option for fans of Amazon’s voice assistant.

    This butt-shaped speaker from Sonos (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is the best way to hear spatial audio tracks—audio that is mixed with more than two channels and can be projected anywhere in a 3D space. (Apple Music and Amazon Prime Music both offer this.) It can project audio throughout your room and can even be paired with a Sonos soundbar to work as Dolby Atmos surrounds in a home theater.

    Even if you’re not listening to spatially mixed audio, the speaker still sounds fantastic. It has big, confident bass and details up top, and it can tune itself to your room using iOS or built-in microphones on the speaker. It’s a bit harder to place than the Era 100 above, and is also nearly double the price, but this is still worth considering if you have a larger space or a modern home with a more open floor plan.

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  • The 10 Best Mesh Wi-Fi Routers of 2024

    The 10 Best Mesh Wi-Fi Routers of 2024

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    The Deco app and web interface are functional with limited options and feel a little clunky to navigate. The app failed to identify many of the devices on my network. I was also disappointed in the lack of an option to run a speed test on the router to see what my ISP delivers. Ultimately, the inclusion of that 6-GHz band won’t make a difference for many people, but this is an affordable way to dip your toe in 6E waters. If you are prepared to spend a bit more, the Deco XE200 ($800 for a 2-pack), listed in other routers we have tested below, is an excellent performer and one of the best Wi-Fi 6E mesh systems you can get. The MSRP is high, but keep an eye out for price drops.

    If you are an early adopter desperate to sample the delights of Wi-Fi 7 and don’t mind paying for the privilege, the TP-Link Deco BE85 (7/10, WIRED Review) is likely on your radar. There are very few Wi-Fi 7 devices available today. The BE85 is fully backward compatible with previous Wi-Fi versions, but only devices that support Wi-Fi 7, like the OnePlus 11 5G, can take full advantage of this system. It is precertified, so some Wi-Fi 7 features will come later via firmware updates.

    TP-Link has stuck with the vase-like design that marks its Deco range, but these are by far the largest mesh routers it has released, and each has a stylized seven on the front, lest you forget this is a Wi-Fi 7 system. Each router boasts four auto-sensing WAN/LAN Ethernet ports, two 10-Gbps ports (one is an SFP combo), two 2.5-Gbps ports, and a USB 3.0 port. Setup is quick and easy with the Deco app on your phone.

    It is a tri-band system, and by default there is one SSID for the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands, a separate SSID for the 6-GHz band (your network name with “-6-GHz” appended), and an optional SSID for multi-link operation (with “-MLO” appended). MLO is a new Wi-Fi 7 feature that allows devices to connect on multiple bands simultaneously. Wi-Fi 7 also enables wider channels (up to 320 MHz from the current high of 160 MHz) and a handful of other improvements, but automated frequency coordination (AFC), which should boost range on the 6-GHz band, is not yet available.

    You can expect fast Wi-Fi on any band and excellent coverage from this system (TP-Link says up to 9,000 square feet for a 3-pack). There’s potential for stable, low latency, multi-gigabit speeds if you have Wi-Fi 7 devices. But you may also encounter bugs, since Wi-Fi 7 is still so new. The Deco app is decent, though you only get basic network security and limited parental controls included. You need HomeShield Pro, at $6 per month or $55 for the year, to unlock the full set of options.

    Unless you have a large home, multi-gig internet connection, and at least a couple of Wi-Fi 7 devices, you should save your money and buy one of our other recommendations. By the time Wi-Fi 7 rolls out more widely, Wi-Fi 7 routers will have dropped in price. The Deco BE85 is one of very few Wi-Fi 7 options today, but the Eero Max 7 arrives soon, and the Netgear Orbi 970 Series just landed.

    You know this mesh system is for gamers because it says so prominently on the side. It also features an LED grid on the front that you can customize (it glows red by default). Gaming routers are commonplace, but this is the first gaming mesh system I have tested. Truth be told, there’s no reason that gamers need a special gaming router. A good router is a good router. But, aside from the look, Asus touts game modes that boost performance and prioritize related traffic. My 2-pack of black routers (they come in white too) was simple to set up, and each sports a 2.5 Gbps WAN port, three 1 gigabit LAN ports, and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port.

    The tri-band Asus ROG Rapture GT6 finished near the top of the table in most of my tests. It has a single 2.4-GHz band and two 5-GHz bands (one is used for backhaul unless you connect the routers with an Ethernet cable). While the 2.4-GHz band performance was very good, the 5-GHz results were among the best I have recorded, and this system supports the wider 160-MHz channels and WPA3 for security. You also get AiProtection security software and comprehensive parental controls free for the lifetime of the product. The GT6 has VPN support, too, and you can use it as a VPN server when you are out.

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  • 11 Best Smart Bulbs (2024): Lamp Bulbs, Ambient, Color, Etc

    11 Best Smart Bulbs (2024): Lamp Bulbs, Ambient, Color, Etc

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    Remember the allure of the Clapper? No more getting out of bed to hit the light switch! It seemed cutting edge at the time (you can still buy it), but technology has come a long way since then. Now you can control the lights, set timers and schedules, and change colors with your smartphone or your voice if you have a voice assistant—no clapping required.

    Smart bulbs are a great place to start when creating a smart home. Most options are relatively cheap, they’re easy to install, and they’re something you use everyday already. Plus, there are no cameras or door locks for someone to hack into, and no wiring to mess with. Do you want to try voice controls? Consider getting a smart speaker or smart display, but you can always use the smart bulb’s app. Of the dozens we’ve tested over the years, these are the best smart bulbs.

    Updated February 2024: We’ve added new testing notes on bulbs from Nanoleaf, Philips Wiz, and Philips Hue.

    Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you’d like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

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