Tag: Smart Home Technology

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From NYT AI Recipes to Readwise Ebooks and More! | Tech News

Feel like you’ve missed all the tech news buzz this week! Don’t fret, we have you covered! From NYT AI Recipes to Readwise Ebooks and more, stay connected with our weekly wrap-up. Check out what you may have missed from across the web in this week’s blog below!

NYT Cooking Tests AI-Powered Recipe Modifications

Home cooks now have a new way to personalize recipes in the NYT Cooking app. An AI-powered NYT feature can suggest ingredient substitutions, adjust serving sizes, recommend equipment changes, and tailor cooking instructions to a user’s needs. The system is designed to make practical adjustments rather than rewrite a NYT recipe from scratch. Likewise, this includes changing when a softer ingredient should be added during cooking. Customized versions remain private to the user and cannot be published or shared through the app. The feature is currently available to NYT Cooking subscribers on iOS. Of course, broader availability is planned as the Times continues testing how AI fits into its NYT recipe platform.

Amazon Expands Alexa Into a More Capable Shopping Assistant

Online shopping is becoming more hands-off as Amazon adds new list, registry, and customer-service features to Alexa for Shopping. Users can now create and edit grocery lists, manage gift registries, move items between lists, and check which products remain unpurchased. The assistant can also compare products, monitor prices, set alerts, and automatically buy eligible items when they fall below a chosen price. New service tools allow customers to update delivery instructions, review unfamiliar charges, track refunds, and modify recurring deliveries without navigating through several menus. The rollout gives Amazon a stronger first-party AI shopping experience as it continues limiting how outside agents interact with its marketplace.

Apple Finally Embraces the Touchscreen MacBook

More than 15 years of resistance came to an end this week when Apple officially introduced its first touchscreen MacBook Pro. The new model features a tandem OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, up to 2,000 nits of brightness, and a touch sensor integrated directly into the screen. Apple also replaced the familiar notch with a hole-punch camera area and redesigned the chassis to weigh as little as three pounds. Prices start at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch version, with both powered by M5 Pro or M5 Max chips. The launch marks a notable reversal for a company whose executives spent years arguing that touchscreen laptops blurred the line between tablets and traditional computers.

Readwise Takes Aim at Kindle With Its Own Ebook Store

A new beta platform from Readwise is attempting to combine ebook reading, social discovery, and reading analytics in one place. Readwise Books lets users buy titles, track reading time and pace, share progress, write reviews, and discover recommendations through a social feed. The company has secured agreements with all five major U.S. publishers, giving it a broad catalog and the ability to compete more directly with Kindle and Kobo on price and availability. Limited Kindle integration allows users to bring some existing reading activity into the platform, although Readwise acknowledges that switching ecosystems will take time. The company hopes its stronger note syncing, social features, and customizable reading experience can attract readers looking for something more interactive than a traditional ebook store.

Meta Quietly Launches an AI Pet Journal

A cozy new experiment from Meta turns personal journaling into a conversation with a virtual pet. Waddle World is a free 16-bit app where users talk to an AI-powered creature. The creature can listen, remember details, respond to conversations, and create small doodles inspired by what it hears. The experience also includes low-pressure mini activities such as word games and grocery stacking. Additionally, there are no streaks or competitive scoring to maintain. Meta describes the app as a “daily journal disguised as a pet.” Of course, this positions the app as a more playful alternative to traditional diary apps. Waddle World is currently limited to select markets. Meta has not yet confirmed whether the app will expand to the United States.

Firefox’s Smart Window Can Fill Out Forms for You

Browser automation is getting more practical with an update to Mozilla’s AI-powered Smart Window experience. The new form-filling feature can pull relevant information from open tabs. This includes a LinkedIn profile or online portfolio and uses it to populate fields on another webpage. That could make tasks like job applications, account registrations, and other repetitive online forms considerably faster. Smart Window is also gaining broader monitoring capabilities. Current updates allow users to keep track of changes on webpages without repeatedly checking them manually. Mozilla’s approach shows how browser-based AI is shifting. Likewise, taking browsers from answering questions toward completing more of the tedious work people already do online.

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From RTX Spark to WhatsApp calls and More! | Tech News

Stay connected with what’s happening in the world of tech and media! From RTX Spark to WhatsApp calls and more, this week is buzzing with major news. Check out what you may have missed in this week’s Tech News round-up.

Shelly Adds Camera-Free People Tracking to the Smart Home

A new presence sensor from Shelly can detect and track up to 10 people at once without relying on a camera. The $84.99 Presence Gen4 uses mmWave radar to monitor movement and activity across spaces as large as 650 square feet, helping trigger automations while preserving more privacy than a traditional indoor camera. Users can create up to 10 detection zones, allowing lights, heating, cooling, music, or other connected devices to respond only when someone enters a specific area. Sensitivity can also be adjusted to include pets or ignore low-to-the-ground objects such as robot vacuums. Support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Matter allows the sensor to work with platforms including Google Home, Apple Home, Alexa, SmartThings, and Home Assistant. 

Microsoft Redesigns Photos Around One Unified Gallery

Managing pictures across multiple devices is getting easier with a redesigned Windows 11 Photos app. The updated experience combines images and videos stored locally on a PC with libraries from OneDrive and iCloud, allowing users to browse everything from one gallery. Microsoft has also rebuilt the editor with Crop, Enhance, Repair, and Stylize categories while adding support for editing HDR, HEIC, and WebP files without changing their original formats. Performance improvements include faster launching, smoother scrolling, and quicker loading for HEIC images. The new Photos experience is rolling out first to Windows Insiders, with a wider Windows 11 release expected later this year.

Windows Gets Ready for Nvidia’s New RTX Spark AI Laptops

Local artificial intelligence is becoming a bigger part of the Windows experience with RTX Spark AI. Microsoft has optimized its operating system for Nvidia’s new RTX Spark laptops. These machines combine an Arm-based processor, Blackwell GPU, and unified memory. This also lets users run powerful RTX Spark AI models directly on the computer rather than relying entirely on the cloud. Microsoft has created a streamlined setup process for RTX Spark that lets users discover, install, and launch compatible AI agents through the Microsoft Store with only a few clicks. Hermes, Perplexity, and OpenClaw are among the first supported agents, with more expected to join the platform over time. The broader effort also includes behind-the-scenes improvements to Windows compatibility with RTX Spark and memory management as Microsoft prepares PCs for increasingly demanding local AI workloads. 

Google Launches a Universal Shopping Cart Across Retailers

Holiday shopping could become easier to organize with Google’s new Universal Cart, which is now rolling out across Search and the Gemini app in the United States. Shoppers can save products from multiple retailers inside one unified space instead of maintaining separate carts or wish lists on different websites. Google will monitor saved products for price drops and restocks, surface available promotional codes, and allow users to pay through Google Wallet or transfer items into a retailer’s own checkout system. The tool can also evaluate perks from stored credit cards to help shoppers choose a payment method with the most useful rewards. Google plans to extend Universal Cart into Gmail and YouTube in the future, further integrating AI-assisted shopping across its ecosystem. 

Ledger Builds a Crypto Wallet That Looks Like an Android Phone

Security-focused hardware is taking a smartphone-inspired form with Ledger’s new Atom device. The Android-based gadget resembles a traditional handset, but its cellular connection is limited to data and does not support standard calls or text messaging. A separate Ledger OS runs on a secure element for sensitive tasks such as approving cryptocurrency transactions, while a physical privacy switch can cut power to the camera and microphone at the circuit level. Ledger has also designed Atom to work with AI agents, allowing software to prepare financial actions while still requiring physical approval before a transaction is completed. The device will receive five years of Android updates and at least seven years of spare-part support, including access to a user-replaceable battery.

WhatsApp Opens Calls to People Without Accounts

Joining a WhatsApp call no longer requires installing the app or creating an account. Meta’s new guest calling feature allows a WhatsApp user to send a link that anyone can open in a web browser to join an end-to-end encrypted voice or video call. Guests can use features including screen sharing, hand raising, and emoji reactions, but they must wait for the host to approve them before entering. They also cannot view other participants’ phone numbers, send messages, or invite additional people into the conversation. Meta plans to add Google Calendar and Outlook integrations later this year, making it possible to include WhatsApp call links directly inside meeting invitations. 

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From Meta Muse to a New Blue Yeti and More! | Tech News

Sleep’sThe tech and media world is buzzing this week with the latest drops, upgrades, and mergers. From Meta Muse getting a standalone device to a new Blue Yeti mic, we have you covered on the major headlines you might have missed. Stay connected and check out this week’s tech news!

Meta Is Turning Muse Into a Standalone AI Gadget

Muse, the new Meta AI agent, is getting a dedicated hardware device. Likewise, this would give the assistant a home beyond phones and computers. Called the Muse Charm, the compact device resembles a chunky smartwatch without a band. The device features a screen, fingerprint sensor, camera, microphones, and a small lanyard for carrying it around. Users will be able to press the fingerprint sensor and immediately speak to Muse without unlocking a phone or opening an app. Meta says only a few prototypes currently exist, but the company hopes to ship the device in time for the December holiday season. The Charm gives Meta another entry into the still-experimental AI hardware market as companies search for a device that can make always-available assistants genuinely useful.

Logitech Gives the Blue Yeti Its First Major Sequel

One of the internet’s most recognizable microphones is finally getting a successor with Logitech’s new Blue Yeti 2. The $159.99 USB microphone adds AI-powered noise reduction, an interactive LED display, and a proximity sensor that can detect where a speaker is positioned in relation to the mic. That sensor automatically adjusts gain, equalization, and pickup patterns as someone moves around, helping beginners maintain consistent recording quality without constantly changing settings. Logitech has kept the familiar silhouette of the original Blue Yeti while modernizing the technology for podcasters, streamers, YouTubers, and other creators. Available in black and white, the Yeti 2 offers a more automated alternative for users who want polished audio without becoming an expert in microphone settings.

Creators are getting an AI boost on YouTube to Optimize Almost Everything

YouTube is expanding its AI-powered creator tools with an agent designed to monitor channels and recommend ways to improve performance. The system can review older videos that suddenly become relevant again and suggest new thumbnails or titles that could help them capitalize on renewed interest. Creators will also be able to generate complete thumbnails and titles, request feedback on their own designs, and have the AI assemble audience data into pitches for potential brand partners. A new testing feature can show different thumbnails or slightly different video edits to small audience groups before selecting the version that produces the strongest watch time. The updates move YouTube further into the creative process, giving creators increasingly sophisticated tools for deciding not only what to publish but how to package it for the algorithm.

Eight Sleep Makes Its Smart Bed System Smaller and Smarter

The Pod 6 is a redesigned version of Eight Sleep’s temperature-controlled sleep system. The new version features more sensors and a much smaller cooling hub. The new hub is half the size of its predecessor and can adjust bed temperature 20 percent faster. Additionally, it circulates heated or cooled water through the mattress cover. Health tracking has expanded from two biometric sensors to 18. Of course, this allows the system to monitor metrics including heart rate, breathing, sleep stages, snoring, and heart rate variability. Eight Sleep says the Pod can distinguish between adults, children, and pets before using its AI-powered Autopilot system to make automatic adjustments throughout the night. Prices start at $1,999 for a new Solo version that covers half of a mattress, although access to Autopilot still requires an annual subscription.

Apple Opens Its First Dedicated Live Music Venue

Across the pond, Apple is expanding its connection to the music industry with Apple Music Hall. A new 600-person performance venue beneath its European headquarters at London’s Battersea Power Station. Opening September 28, the space is designed for intimate concerts, recording sessions, and professionally produced video broadcasts. A 48-speaker spatial audio system surrounds the audience. The venue also includes infrastructure for at least 16 broadcast cameras and two recording and mixing studios. Likewise, this turns the venue into a complete production facility. Apple is also relocating its London-based Apple Music radio hosts and shows to new studios inside the Battersea complex. The project brings Apple back into London’s live music scene nearly a decade after the company ended its long-running iTunes Music Festival.

The Retro Camera gets a Digital Makeover with Camp Snap

Camp Snap is leaning further into nostalgia with the 110D. The screenless digital camera is inspired by the slim Kodak 110 film cameras popularized in the 1970s. Priced at $74.95, the pocket-sized camera combines an 8-megapixel Sony sensor with an optical viewfinder. Additionally, it features five built-in filters designed to recreate vintage, analog, and black-and-white looks. There is no screen for reviewing photos, so users have to wait until images are transferred to a phone or computer. Likewise, this creates some of the anticipation associated with film photography. A bundled 4GB microSD card can hold roughly 2,000 images. Camp Snap is tapping into renewed interest in cameras that encourage people to photograph first and review later.

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From Google Home to Meta One and More! | Tech News

Wrap up the week with the latest tech and media news from across the web. This week, we are serving up the major headlines keeping the internet abuzz, from third-party AI Agents on Google Home to Meta One and more. Check out what you might have missed in this week’s tech news blog!

Google Home Opens the Door to Third-Party AI Agents

The smart home platform for Google will expand with support for the Model Context Protocol. Google Home will allow third-party AI agents such as Claude to interact with connected devices and household data. The new Google Home MCP can analyze event history, monitor device activity, and build custom dashboards. In addition, Google Home devices can even complete certain smart home tasks on a user’s behalf. Gemini for Home will remain the primary assistant for Google Home. Likewise, the MCP support creates another layer for people who want to use other AI tools with their connected Google Home devices. Access will initially be limited to U.S. Google Home Premium Advanced subscribers. Cost for the premium tier begins at $20 per month or $200 annually. 

Meta Bundles Social Media and AI Into New Subscriptions

Meta is launching Meta One, a collection of subscription bundles that combine premium features across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Meta AI. Individual plans start at $7.99 per month for Core and $19.99 for Premium, offering perks such as longer Instagram Stories and increased access to Meta’s AI-powered image and content tools. Separate packages for creators and businesses range from $14.99 to $499 per month and add features including verified badges, advanced analytics, scheduling tools, impersonation monitoring, and expanded AI business assistance. Meta says the core versions of its social platforms and AI products will remain free, while subscribers gain additional capabilities and higher usage limits. The rollout signals a broader effort to generate recurring revenue from users who want more sophisticated social media, creator, and AI features.

SimpliSafe Lets a Human Guard Watch Your Front Door

SimpliSafe’s new Video Doorbell Series 2 combines artificial intelligence with live human monitoring. This update allows the device to respond to suspicious activity outside a home. The $199.99 wired doorbell features 2K video, 10x zoom, and a 150-degree head-to-toe view. In addition, it includes two-way audio, package alerts, and a built-in siren. When Active Guard detects potentially concerning behavior, a monitoring agent can access the live feed, speak through the camera, and attempt to deter intruders or package thieves. The service is optional and requires a qualifying monitoring plan starting at $49.99 per month, with color-coded lights showing when either the homeowner or an agent is viewing the camera. By bringing live monitoring directly to the front door, SimpliSafe is pushing smart home security beyond passive notifications and toward real-time intervention.

Voicemod Brings Real-Time Voice Changing to Smartphones

Voicemod is expanding beyond PCs and consoles with the Key Pocket, a compact accessory that lets users alter their voices during mobile games, livestreams, and phone or video calls. The device acts as an external audio bridge, processing sound from a wired or Bluetooth microphone through Voicemod’s mobile app before passing it along to other apps. Six programmable buttons allow users to quickly switch between voice effects or trigger soundboard clips, while a customizable LED dial handles volume and additional controls. The Key Pocket works with USB-C-equipped Android, iOS, and iPadOS devices and is available for $99.90, or $129.90 bundled with a lifetime Voicemod Pro license. That Pro tier unlocks hundreds of official voices, thousands of community-created options, custom voice tools, and cross-platform cloud syncing without an ongoing subscription.

Apple May Be Developing Its Own iPhone Game Controllers

Apple is reportedly working on two game controllers designed specifically for the iPhone. The news potentially gives the company a bigger role in mobile gaming hardware. References to two first-party controllers were recently discovered in macOS code. Bloomberg reports that the accessories are being developed for iPhones rather than Macs. The products are expected to be led by Apple’s Beats division. This development could allow the company to experiment with more affordable gaming accessories without positioning them as premium Apple-branded hardware. Beats has already expanded into categories such as iPhone cases and cables. Likewise, making a controller would be a logical extension of the brand’s accessory lineup. If released, the devices could strengthen Apple’s gaming ecosystem.

Meta’s Project Phoenix Could Blur the Line Between Glasses and VR

A possible leak is offering an early look at Meta’s Project Phoenix. The slimmer mixed reality headset is expected to launch next year. Images reportedly discovered inside Meta software show a device with a glasses-style frame. The device is considerably smaller than a Quest headset but more substantial than the company’s Ray-Ban smart glasses. The design appears to include outward- and downward-facing cameras. In addition, it includes a cable that may connect the glasses to an external battery or computing unit. That approach would place Project Phoenix closer to lightweight XR devices. Of course, companies such as Xreal and Viture already offer this change from traditional virtual reality headsets. Meta Connect is scheduled for September 23. Of course, the leak provides another clue about how the company may be trying to make immersive computing easier to integrate into everyday life.

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