CES Top Pick: Five Cool Gadgets You’ll Want In Your Smart Home in 2020
Paul LamkinContributor Consumer Tech
It’s been one helluva week over in Las Vegas for the biggest tech show on Earth (apart from IFA, which is actually bigger but happens in Europe). We’ve seen bezel-free TVs , a device that chills drinks in just two minutes, a Sony car(!) and a whole lot more.
But, let’s face it, you’re not actually going to buy any of those things. However, there was plenty of things on show at the, er, show that you will want in your smart home in 2020.
Things such as... August Wi-Fi Smart Lock
CES is a place where bigger often means better. But that’s not the case with August’s 4th-gen smart lock; the call-it-what-it-is August Wi-Fi Smart Lock.
The big addition here, in a design which is half the size of the original August lock, and 20 percent smaller than the 3rd-gen model, is - you guessed from the name - the inclusion of Wi-Fi, meaning there’s no need for an additional hub to get it singing and dancing with the likes of Alexa, Google Assistant and HomeKit.
Today In: Innovation
The price is still TBC, but you can register your interest right now.
Royole Mirage
There was a bunch of new smart speakers on display out in Vegas but none more slick looking than the Mirage, from bendy display specialists Royole.
The Royole Mirage, which packs in Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant, boasts an 8-inch AMOLED wrap-around screen which, according to reports will enable Echo Show-like features.
It’s set to cost $899 when it hits stores in Q2 2020.
The new Yale Smart Delivery Box
YALE Yale Smart Delivery Box
Yale, a big name in the lock game in the UK, used CES 2020 to show off a bunch of security focused connected devices, the most notable of which is its new Smart Delivery Box.
Couriers can pop parcels inside the unlocked box, and it will automatically lock when it’s closed. You can unlock it using your phone when you get home or, even smarter than that, you can add Yale’s $50 Wi-Fi Bridge to make it always-connected. That way, you can open the box remotely if another delivery arrives.
Out in the spring, the box itself will be $229. Abode Outdoor/Indoor Smart Camera
There were approximately 8,640 smart security cameras that were unveiled at CES 2020 but none with the charm of smart security specialist Abode’s effort that also doubles up as a smart doorbell.
Using a doorbell mount, you can have it sit flush on your door-frame. Sure, it lacks an actual button but Abode doesn’t see that as a problem. “We think facial recognition removes the need for a button for the homeowner,” Scott Beck of Abode told The Ambient.
“For the visitor expecting a button it will still be a bit of a hurdle, but we think we’ve solved that as the camera has a blue LED light that illuminates to indicate to the person they’ve been seen.”
“Coming soon”, it will cost $199.
LIFX Switch
LIFX LIFX Switch
LIFX makes great looking, easy-to-use (Wi-Fi connected, so no need for a seperate hub), smart light bulbs.
And now, LIFX also makes great looking, easy-to-use (Wi-Fi connected, so no need for a seperate hub), smart light switches.
The new LIFX Switch is a four-gang smart light switch that can be used to control both dumb and smart lights.
Another spring time launch, the Switch is set to land with a $119 price-tag.
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3.2¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
