My Home is Smarter than your Home!

Gone are the days when The Clapper was the most high-tech device in our homes. Clap on! Clap off! Today we can actually speak to our home appliances – even rely on them to take care of a number of unusual requests. 2020 trends show us moving away from single-usage products toward more multi-tasking solutions and cross-compatibility platforms. This is a good thing, enabling consumers to move away from closed environments (think Apple) to high-tech brands actually working together to make our lives easier – opening up choices for the products we purchase without limited use on one platform over another. 

Simply clapping lights on and off is so... 1980! Today lightbulbs are managed through Alexa or Google Assistant (today's virtual personal butler). Robots are sweeping up our floors and trimming our lawns, even trying to replace our beloved pets! (Have you seen the Sony Aibo ERS-110 Entertainment Robot - over $8k!) As voice recognition gets better and smarter, we'll soon be able to give more complex instructions. I can't wait for the day I can speak to my computer or phone and not have a clunky keyboard to deal with. We can only hope that as AI continues to permeate our homes and lives in more helpful, meaningful ways, it will also become easier to set up and simpler to use. The integrated smart home is coming fast, In fact, Zion Market Research claims the global smart home tech market will reach a startling $53.45 billion by the year 2022. So.... get ready for the NEW smart home! 


The Basics. 

Not only smart but Wyze! The Wyze Bulb lets you control your lights with your voice! Yes, you heard right. Whether your hands are full or you don’t want to move from the couch, your voice is now your light switch. Command your lights with your voice by asking Alexa or Google Assistant to turn them on/off, adjust brightness or change color temperature.

Smart Thermostats. Nest has become the favorite for many homeowners. The Nest Learning Thermostat is the first ENERGY STAR-certified thermostat that automatically adapts as your life and the season changes. Just use it for a week and it programs itself. Nest gets to know what you like and starts building a schedule: cozy in the morning and cool at night. The Nest Thermostat is just one part of your heating and cooling system. But it can keep an eye on the rest of it. You’ll get an alert on your phone if there’s something wrong – like temperatures so low your pipes could burst. And if it looks like your furnace or AC unit is acting up, the Nest Thermostat will send you an alert.

Smart Locks for Your Door.  Yale knows secure locks. Nest knows the connected home. Together, they’ve made a tamper-proof, key-free deadbolt that connects to the Nest app. Now you can lock and unlock your door from anywhere. Give people you trust a passcode, instead of a key. Lock and check your door status with your voice using the Google Assistant. You'll always know who comes and goes. And, you won't have to worry about lost keys or picked locks. There are also several other keyless locks that work with Alexa, such as Schlage and Kwikset.

Smart Vaccum Cleaners. Roomba 675 Robot Vacuum by iRobot (how apropos) has Wi-Fi Connectivity and works with Alexa, is good for pet hair, and works on Carpets and Hard Floors. And what would a smart device be without self-charging, which it does! 

Smart Kitchens.  Never much of a home cook? Help is on the way! Gone are the days when you boil water for coffee, manually turn on the oven to bake, grill or adjust the heat from medium-high to low. Old school. With better voice activation you can speak to the stove, toaster, and crockpot. We have recipe apps that work with scales, scales that work with mixing bowls – appliances and devices that automate parts of the cooking process, keep you updated on the progress of your food, or simply make sure you're following a recipe correctly. But can they help with the cleanup, you ask? But of course! Here's a peek into how smart your kitchen can be.

Fail-Safe Cooking? You bet. Here's an example. For baking and mixing drinks, the Perfect Bake Pro is a connected scale that works with an app on your smartphone or tablet to make sure you use the right proportions of ingredients. Best part? The scale monitors your mixing bowl in real-time, telling you how much to pour and even make adjustments on the fly if you accidentally dump in too much of one thing. 

Smart Microwaves are here! The AmazonBasics voice-activated Microwave works with an Echo so you can set up quick-cook voice presets. A simplified keypad lets you just ask Alexa to start microwaving. And, Amazon has enabled the device to automatically reorder popcorn when you run low and save 10% on popcorn orders—enabled by Amazon Dash Replenishment technology. 

Smart Refrigerators are also getting in the game like LG's SmartThinQ fridge, which let you check their status through your phone so you can make sure things are working properly. You may ask why you would need to do that. How about you have friends coming over for drinks after work - you have to be sure you have enough ice! Some brands even have cameras inside so you see what you're low on while you're out shopping.

Smart Ovens. No more turning dials or punching in keypads. Now you can talk to your oven. For example, the GE Connected Double Oven Electric Convection Range connects to wifi and connects to Amazon Alexa, Nest, Google Assistant, and several other apps to make cooking a breeze. "Hey Alexa, preheat the oven to 375, while I serve my guests a Martini and tiny hotdogs"!  The Samsung Chef Collection oven is a multifunctional oven that comes with an awesome cleaning featured. Pyrolytic cleaning function reduces food residue to ash, requiring just a wipe rather than a scrub. It also has Gourmet Vapour Technology to add moisture to your meals! 

Never Run Out of Your Favorite Whatever. Raise your hand if you've ever thrown out an empty bottle of ketchup and forgotten to order more, only to realize it when you're in desperate need of it? Meet GeniCan Scanner. The GeniCan attaches to your trash can, so you can scan items (or use the voice control feature) as you throw them out to add them to your shopping list. 

Although 2020 is not the year lifelike robots penetrate our homes en masse, there's a plethora of home gadgets, appliances, and kitchen tools that will change the way we experience daily life - hopefully for the better.