Recent Smart Home Stories

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While Google's plans for new Pixel phones and Pixelbook Chromebooks have leaked repeatedly, this one, I think, is new.

Two new reports point to an inevitable conclusion: Google could overtake Amazon in the smart speaker market as soon as this year.

Some of Google's hardware is on sale via the Google Store, and the prices match the lowest we've seen yet for this generation of devices.

Amazon's Echo devices may still dominate the smart speaker market, but customers rarely use them to purchase goods from the e-retailer.

Costco is now selling the 10-inch version of the Lenovo Smart Display for just $200. That's a full $50 off the normal price.

Google hasn't officially announced this yet, but it has added the ability to schedule custom routines for its Google Home speakers.

Lenovo's new Google Assistant-powered Smart Displays are now available. Here's an early peek at the 10-inch version.

This week marks the five-year anniversary of the release of the first Chromecast, Google's low-cost streaming video solution.

Google this week updated the software for its Chromecast devices to support a new Ambient Mode that displays when no content is being cast.

Roku today announced its first step into the smart speaker market with its Roku TV Wireless Speakers.

Several cord-cutting services have announced price hikes recently. This isn't the way it's supposed to work.

Connecting your home to the Internet can add a lot of convenience to your life but can also add unneeded stress as well.

Google has released its new Podcasts app globally to the Play Store, giving Android users another option for listening to audio content.

Cord-cutters are familiar with popular services like Netflix and Hulu. But many have probably never heard about Tubi.

Anyone interested in smart home technologies will immediately run into a long list of issues. And it's hard to know where to start.

With little fanfare, Google has bumped the number of simultaneous queries and actions its Home smart speakers can handle at once.

Today, Amazon announced the Fire TV Cube, an interesting hybrid of its Fire TV set-top boxes and Echo smart speakers.

More bad news for Cortana: Amazon has made it easier than ever for all PC makers to bring Alexa-powered PCs to market.

Last week's unexpected Groove news has triggered some latent remorseful feelings from Microsoft's world-weary fans. I feel it too.

Last week, I provided an update on our cord-cutting efforts. Maybe I should have waited, as things are changing yet again.

Not sure how I missed this when it happened three weeks ago, but the Hulu with Live TV service now offers a guide.

In the three months or so since we've switched (back) to cord-cutting services, we've been mostly happy with the decision.

The Philips Hue app just received its biggest update in years, adding a pleasant-looking new user experience and improved smarts.

Acer announced this morning that it is the first to ship notebook PCs preinstalled with Amazon Alexa. It won't be the last.

Microsoft announced that it has purchased Semantic Machines, an AI startup. But this purchase may have a chilling effect on Cortana.

Google smart speaker sales are growing over three times faster than those from Amazon, closing the gap in this critical market.

Heading home from Seattle and reflecting on this week's Build conference, I'm struck by the major change in Microsoft's tone and direction.