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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeAlexa, Is My House on Fire?
Many devices are now pulling double-duty these days. Game consoles are entertainment streaming devices. Smartwatches tell you the time while also telling you which of your coworkers is demanding your attention. Lightbulbs are burglar deterrents, at least when they’re not setting the mood. So Onelink’s Safe and Sound, a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm with … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeHisense’s Absurd 100-Inch Laser TV Turned Me Into a Big Screen Believer
When discussing a big-screen TV, size is bound to be the primary topic of conversation, but with Hisense’s 100-inch Ultra HD Laser TV, bigness approaches a thought-terminating cliche—one I have been happy to let take over my puny mind. “How’s the big TV?” more than one coworker asked after I agreed to review the $10,000 … Continued
By Hudson Hongo -
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeSonos Beam Is a Great Smart Soundbar for Not Too Much Money
People who own Sonos speakers love their Sonos speakers. I’m one of them. In the three to four years that I’ve been living in the Sonos ecosystem, however, one big complaint was that I couldn’t use Sonos for my TV unless I barfed up $700 for the Sonos Playbase or Playbar. Now, with the $400 … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeAlexa Is a Pretty Crappy TV Remote, for Now
Plenty of companies want to build the centerpiece for tomorrow’s smart home. Amazon has a head start, too. Tens of millions of Americans now own Echo devices, and Alexa now has tens of thousands of skills. Adding a voice assistant to any TV, I’ve always thought, could be a game changer. And now, Amazon’s Fire … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeTCL Made Its Terrifically Cheap 4K TV Even Better
It seemed unbelievable last year, when a handful of TV companies started selling 4K TVs with HDR and Dolby Vision for around $600. TCL’s Roku-powered P-Series was the best of them, and this year, the company is selling an even better version called the 6-Series. The best part? Same price, more features. At first, the … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeDon’t Expect Miracles From a Cheap Soundbar
Cheap soundbars are a lot like cheap headphones. Many of them will do the job. Few of them will do it well. The new TV Mate by Samsung fits firmly in the first category. It will indeed make the audio on your TV louder and better. It will not, however, trick your friends into think … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeI Love Sharp’s New Steam Powered Oven Even If My Steak Was Soggy
As Moe the Bartender proudly reveals his new restaurant’s Navy surplus deep fryer that can flash fry a buffalo in 40 seconds, Homer laments: “Forty seconds? But I want it now!” He was right. In a time when instant messages and same day shipping are the norm, waiting for food to cook feels like an … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart Home
There Are Maybe 4 People on Earth Who Would Use This Overpriced Universal Remote
In a lot of ways, I love the Caavo universal remote. I have five different devices plugged into it at the moment, and it moves between them with utter ease. It’s informative, beautiful, and far easier to set up than any Logitech Harmony remote I’ve used. Yet for the life of me, I don’t know … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeHomePod Is the Ultimate Apple Product—in a Bad Way
Sometimes, years pass before Apple creates a completely new product like the HomePod. During that parade of iPhone redesigns and MacBook upgrades, it can be easy to forget that when Apple enters a new space, the company does it with swagger. The products are beautiful. They work well. But they are also usually exclusively designed … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeThe Google Home Max Almost Made My House Go Boom
The weird thing about picking up the Google Home Max is the weight. It’s only 11 pounds, but it feels heavy, the way speakers used to feel. So I feel like I smirked when I plugged it in, thinking, “This thing’s gonna be loud.” At top volume, the Google Home Max did not blow me … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeAmazon’s Echo Spot Is a Good-as-Hell Alarm Clock
The smartphone made the standalone alarm clock worthless. Sure you probably know some alarm clock holdouts (a parent or grandmother perhaps), but you probably just use your phone, which is already resting on the nightstand and has a decent enough alarm. The $130 Amazon Echo Spot, a new, tiny, Alexa device with a camera, display, … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeThis Battery Pack Turns the Google Home Into My Favorite Portable Bluetooth Speaker
It seems inevitable that one day your entire home will be wired so that smart assistants can hear your every request, no matter where you are. But if you mostly rely on a smart speaker, its built-in mic can only eavesdrop so far. Companies like Google would certainly love it if you bought a smart … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeParanoid Suburbanites Will Love the Nest Secure Alarm System
Nest’s next big thing underwhelmed me at first glance. It wasn’t anything different, just a home security system and some sensors. This, from the company that made me believe thermostats were incredible and futuristic. The product’s announcement felt disappointing, but after spending some time with the system, Nest Secure, I have another feeling. Because innovation … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeI Let an $800 Alexa Robot Creep Around My House Like a Tiny, Mechanical Zombie
Have you ever fantasized about having the weather read to you every morning like it was a beautiful Shakespearean sonnet? That’s probably the best reason to choose UBTECH Robotics’ new Alexa-enabled Lynx robot over the Amazon Echo—that, or you’re very, very lonely. Whether you’re interested in talking to Google’s Home platform, Microsoft’s Cortana, or Amazon’s … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeAmazon’s Echo Plus Gets Close to Giving Us the Easy Smart Home We Deserve
Despite what you may have read, the Amazon Echo was never a do-anything smart home device. Sure it could tell you about the weather and maybe control your lights, but it lacked the under-the-hood hub capabilities that could make all your connected devices work together. The new Amazon Echo Plus offers just that. I’m not … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeAmazon Echo Has Come a Long Way Baby
The original Amazon Echo was an ugly black tube—a speaker meant to be set back in the corner, hidden from view. It was a cheap imitation of the computer from Star Trek. The new Amazon Echo is a much prettier device. It’s not suddenly faster or smarter, and your old Echo will do the exact … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeSamsung’s Sonos Playbar Clone Isn’t Worth It
I expected something wonderful. The $630 Samsung Sound+ has eleven drivers, wi-fi audio capabilities similar to the slightly more expensive Sonos Playbar, and a very attractive design. In short, I was hoping for a cheaper version of the Sonos Playbar, and in many ways that’s very much what you get, particularly if you’re using a … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeAmazon’s Tiny New 4K Fire TV (Almost) Does It All
In recent years, set-top boxes have been shrinking down to tinier, cheaper packages with a growing list of fun new features. The new Fire TV dongle with 4K, HDR, and Dolby Atmos showcases some of the best aspects about this trend. It’s cute. It’s a thrill to use. It’s just $70. The only problem is … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeThe Roku Streaming Stick+ Is Too Good to Be This Small and Cheap
It feels like we’re leaving the world of set-top boxes as we know them behind. For one, few people own a TV big enough that you could actually put a box on top of it—that’s been true for a long time. The box itself has also dwindled down to a dongle, a handy little thing … Continued
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ReviewsHome Entertainment & Smart HomeIt’s Hard Not to Love the Google Home Mini
It’s almost unfair that most of the world met our voice-controlled future in the form of an Amazon Echo. Sure, the gadget works, but damn is it ugly. The Google Home was better but still sort of silly-looking. That’s why the sleek, minimalist Google Home Mini feels like a revelation. This donut-sized device does almost … Continued