Recent Smart Home Stories

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Apple and Google are both terrible in their own ways. But while one has the upper hand when it comes to marketing privacy, that won't help it win this war.

Excited by the possibility of integrating Sonos smart speakers into my whole-house audio system, I purchased a Sonos One recently.

Lenovo’s new Smart Clock is a modern take on the alarm clock with Google Assistant support, voice control, and touch navigation.  

Bose is adding Google Assistant compatibilities to its most recent smart speakers and soundbars via a software update.

Google’s surprise announcement that it would replace its Home brand with Nest was well-received. Then all hell broke loose.

Sonos is rolling out an update that will bring Google Assistant to the Beam and One players.

First announced in September 2018 for new Echo smart speakers, Alexa Guard is now available on all Echo speakers.

18 months after it promised this functionality, Sonos will finally bring Google Assistant compatibility to its entry-level smart speakers.

I’m plenty-busy here in Seattle for Microsoft Build, but I wanted to at least provide a quick rundown of today’s Google I/O announcements

Amazon released a new version of its Alexa app for Windows 10 that runs in the background and enables hands-free use.

Hulu announced today that its U.S.-based subscriber base jumped by 40 percent in the past year to 28 million.

Apple posted net income of $11.6 billion on revenues of $58 billion for the most recent quarter. Both are major declines year-over-year.

Microsoft, an also-ran in the market for digital personal assistants, has issued a report about digital personal assistants.

Amazon today announced that its Alexa customers now have access to a free, ad-supported version of Amazon Music.

Google announced a free, ad-supported version of YouTube Music to all users of Google Home and other Google-powered speakers.

The market researchers at Canalys claim that the smart speaker installed base will top 200 million globally by the end of 2019.

Billboard reports that Amazon plans to launch a free, ad-supported music streaming service similar to Spotify’s base offering.

Cord-cutting isn’t about saving money, though that’s still very much the case despite recent price increases. It’s about freedom.

Roku’s latest system software begins a not-so-subtle shift towards pushing the firm’s own streaming service.

Quirky Swedish furniture retailer IKEA has announced a range of Sonos-powered smart home devices that it will begin selling in late 2019.

According to a new report, Amazon plans to ship Alexa-powered wireless earbuds in late 2019 to take on Apple’s AirPods.

In memory of the beloved Microsoft consumer products and services that have been ripped from our cold, dead hands.

The BBC has admitted that it is blocking all of its podcasts from appearing in Google Podcasts, Search, and Assistant. For some reason.

Don’t get too distracted by Apple’s coming video and news services. The firm’s services ambitions are much, much bigger than that.

Brad, Mary Jo, and I will be appearing live in New York City on Tuesday, March 26, 2019 for our first-ever discussion about the Health Of Tech, or H.O.T.

The latest Deloitte Digital Media Trends report claims that the average American subscribes to three streaming video services.

No surprise here, but Netflix confirmed last night that it will not participate in Apple’s coming video service.