An IT professional who specializes in Mac and iOS home implementations probably has a leg up on the next guy when it comes to building an Apple-centric home office and man cave.
Or is it a man cave and home office? We’ll let Paul O’Toole, an IT pro from Worcestershire, England, decide that. It’s his, after all. He calls it a “sitting room,” actually.
He turned his garage into an office and movie palace, thanks to an LG 34UC99 curved monitor and a pair of HomePods running with his Mac Pro.
Lutron is taking its top-notch HomeKit smart plug outside. The upcoming Caséta Outdoor Smart Plug is a beefy-looking, iP-65-rated AC outlet that’s built to take all the abuse Mother Nature can dish out.
Designed to give you control over things like outdoor lighting and pumps, it’s smart enough that it can adjust your timers when daylight saving time arrives.
“It’s essentially weatherproof, dirtproof and sunproof,” said Matt Swatsky, Lutron’s vice president of residential mid-market business, in a press release Monday. “A homeowner can now enjoy all the benefits of a Caséta system for their outside spaces.”
The Meross Smart WiFi LED Bulb integrates almost any lamp or light fixture into a HomeKit smart home. It can be controlled with an iPhone, and offers color changing and dimming.
I added a pair to my smart home. Here’s how it went.
The Meross Smart WiFi Plug lets you control two lights, fans or other appliances from your iPhone or iPad. And because it’s a simple plugin unit, it brings the convenience of Apple’s HomeKit home automation with minimal hassle.
After extensive testing, here’s how this accessory stood up to regular use.
Roku has begun rolling out AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support for smart TVs and streaming devices.
The update, Roku OS 9.4, gives users the ability to control their Roku using the Home app on iPhone and iPad, and to send content from Mac and iOS devices to their TV via the Roku platform.
Roku players will soon support AirPlay 2, Apple’s wireless video streaming technology. This will allow an iPhone, iPad or Mac user to share content directly to a supported Roku device.
In addition, Roku announced a new iOS app, and upcoming support for Apple’s home automation system.
Level Home’s second HomeKit-compatible smart lock lets you use your fingertip as a key. But you won’t even really need that finger tap to open your door. The new lock, called the Level Touch, offers a variety of entry methods — including fully automatic (triggered by your smartphone’s Bluetooth connection when you arrive home).
“With Level Touch, keys are optional,” the company said in a press release Tuesday unveiling the new device. “You can enter and exit in any way that is most convenient for you, with the touch of a finger, using your voice or even an included programmable keycard. All of this while maintaining the highest level of residential security of any smart lock to date.”
Home automation is convenient and even kind of fun. And a smart plug is the easiest way to get started. The redesigned Wemo WiFi Smart Plug from Belkin lets you find out if you really want to be able to control your lights or other appliances from your iPhone, without making a big investment.
A couple of weeks of testing this pint-size HomeKit accessory went into this review. Here’s what I found out.
Belkin on Monday began offering a much smaller version of its Wemo WiFi Smart Plug. Like the original, it supports Apple’s HomeKit home automation system. But the updated version of this smart outlet doesn’t crowd the wall socket nearly so much.
Add Siri voice control to your outside spotlights with the Meross Smart WiFi Indoor/Outdoor Plug. It’s waterproof and actually offers two plugs, each separately controllable with Apple’s HomeKit.
I tested this home-automation accessory around my house. Here’s how well it lives up to regular use.
