smart home on xda-developers- XDA Developers

Amazon Prime Day 2021: Best deals on TP-Link Kasa smart plugs

Pranob Mehrotra June 22, 2021

TP-Link is offering some great deals on its Kasa line of smart plugs during Amazon's ongoing Prime Day sale. Although the best deal on the Kasa Smart Plug Mini HS103 isn't available any longer, you can still grab the Kasa Smart Plug Mini HS103 combo, the Kasa Smart Outdoor Plug KP400, and the Kasa Smart...

Apple’s smart home vision is getting more cohesive and interconnected

Pranob Mehrotra June 7, 2021

Apple has announced it will support the new industry interoperability standard called Matter to offer a more cohesive and interconnected smart home experience to users. Support for Matter will go live in iOS 15 later this year, and users will be able to control all connected devices using the Home app. Google and other leading...

Get a Wi-Fi Kasa Smart Plug for just $8 on Amazon

Corbin Davenport May 26, 2021

Smart plugs are some of the simplest smart home devices around, but also can be some of the most useful. They can turn almost anything powered by a wall outlet into a remotely-controllable device, including lamps, appliances, and TVs. Now you can get one of the best smart plugs around, the TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug...

Samsung SmartThings integration with Google Nest goes live

Chris Merriman January 15, 2021

Google and Samsung have confirmed that the promised tighter integration between Google Nest and Samsung Smartthings has been launched, following its announcement at the end of last year. Although quietly announced alongside yesterday's Samsung Unpacked launch, reports on Reddit suggest it actually went live at the start of the week, offering control for Nest cameras,...

Arlo and Alarm.com made touchless video doorbells

Chris Merriman January 12, 2021

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and it seems that's true of the global pandemic, which has seen not one, but two contactless doorbells being announced at CES, from Alarm.com and ex-Netgear subsidiary Arlo. The Alarm.com Touchless Video Doorbell works using a doormat sensor which rings when the caller steps on it....

Look for Seamless Setup support on your next Google Assistant smart home gadget

Pranob Mehrotra December 17, 2020

If you've ever had the pleasure of setting up a cheap Chinese smart bulb, you'd know that the setup process can sometimes be a bit of a hassle. You often have to download an app from the smart bulb's manufacturer, create an account on that app, connect the smart bulb to the app, and then...

Best Smart Home gifts under $100

Chris Merriman December 9, 2020

The concept of a “smart home” is something that, ten years ago, would have been reserved for elite sportsmen and James Bond villains. These days, there are so many different products, it’s difficult to know where to start - particularly when many OEMs are trying to produce devices because they can, not always because they’re...

Google Nest and Samsung SmartThings devices to work together fully, at last

Chris Merriman December 8, 2020

Google Nest and Samsung SmartThings have agreed to start playing nice, after years of being largely incompatible, rival systems. As two of the largest ecosystems for smart home, closer cooperation between the two is a massive step in breaking down the fragmentation that has built up as thousands of companies attempt to make their eco-system...

Ring recalls some batches of its smart doorbells due to overheating risk

Chris Merriman November 11, 2020

Ring, the Amazon-owned smart security company, is recalling selected batches of its iconic smart doorbells after a potential overheating hazard was discovered. The recall affects the Ring 2nd Generation Video Doorbell, first released in 2018. Although, when connected and installed correctly, the units pose no threat, if incorrect screws are used, it can cause the...

[Update: Continued Support] Google has discontinued the Nest Secure alarm system

Chris Merriman October 28, 2020

Google has confirmed to AndroidPolice that the Nest Secure alarm system it launched in 2017 has been discontinued. The product, made up of a combination keypad and siren called the Nest Guard and a series of sensors has been unavailable on the Google Store for a week or so, and now we have confirmation that...

Xiaomi demos intuitive smart home controls with Ultra-Wide Band technology

Chris Merriman October 12, 2020

One of the features of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra was Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) technology. UWB is used for initiating faster device-to-device connections, taking advantage of the precise, indoor positioning features enabled by the technology. After Samsung, now Xiaomi has announced plans for UWB (ultra-wideband) technology adoption, using it to unify smart home products...

This developer made a tool to schedule Google Assistant commands

Aamir Siddiqui July 28, 2020

Google Assistant offers a lot of functionality as a digital assistant, and a fair few of it extends to smart home and automation. Google provides some scheduling functionality for smart homes through Routines, which allow users to launch certain tasks routinely whenever certain conditions are met. Over the years, functionality under Routines has expanded, but...