The true smart home essentials, Apple's Spring event, an EV convertible with a built-in drone, and more

March 3, 2022

We’re always trying to review the latest smart home products, and that means wading through a bunch of terrible pitches from weird no-name brands. Yeah, internet-connected rat traps, smart egg cartons—we’ve seen it all, and it’s a nightmare.

You don’t need this niche and impractical stuff to build a smart home. In fact, there are just a handful of smart products that can truly automate and improve your living space. Check out our top story to learn all about those essential smart home products and their capabilities.

• Wyze Home Monitoring is about to get a huge price hike. But if you sign up now, the company will honor its old pricing.
• Fitbit dubbed its Ioniq smartwatches a “burn hazard” and issued a massive recall. It’s a sad story, but hey, you can score $300 if you return your Ioniq watch.
• Suzanne reviewed a pair of Shokz OpenRun Pro bone conduction headphones, and man, they’re a killer exercise companion.
• … and more!

– Andrew

If we’ve learned one thing from reviewing smart home products, it’s that most of them are useless. Only a handful of smart devices can truly automate or improve your home. So, it’s time to focus on the stuff that actually matters—the essential products that every smart home needs. Read More »

Shokz (recently rebranded from AfterShokz) is famous for its bone conduction headphones and its latest—the magnificent OpenRun Pro—are headphones the company should be proud of. They sport better audio than ever and larger buttons, have tons of great features, and are a worthy workout companion. Read More »

Google is now rolling out a Fast Emergency Dialer (FED) for the Pixel lockscreen. This dialer automatically sources emergency numbers based on your location, so you can quickly call police, fire, or medical services at home or when traveling internationally. Read More »

The Swedish electric automaker Polestar has unveiled its second concept vehicle, called the Polestar O2, and it’s a stunner. Not only does the convertible EV have a sleek design that looks like something out of a James Bond movie, but it has the gadgets to go along with it. Read More »

After months of rumors and speculation, Apple now confirms that it will host a launch event on March 8th. The event, titled “Peek Performance,” may focus on new Apple Silicon products and the third-generation iPhone SE. Read More »

Need an easy, inexpensive way to print labels? This colorful little Bluetooth label maker is super easy to use, has a low price, as is designed to save you money on printing costs. It pairs with your smartphone and lets you create text and designs direction from its companion mobile app. It’s half the size of traditional label makers, has a built-in rechargeable battery, and doesn’t require ink, toner, or ribbons to work. The thermal label printer offers top-notch print clarity and can print whatever you create quickly so you aren’t left waiting.

Get it at Amazon →

Google’s affordable Pixel 6a and the long-awaited Pixel Watch continue to leak ahead of an inevitable release. While we don’t know all the details on these devices yet, they’re both apparently coming soon and have surfaced in U.S. carrier inventory systems along with a few other noteworthy details. Read More »

Fitbit has voluntarily recalled all of its Ioniq watches, referring to the products as a “burn hazard.” All customers who return their Ioniq watch through the official refund portal will receive $300 and a 40% discount on select Fitbit devices. This information applies to most countries, not just the United States. Read More »

The zombie uprising is not coming—I promise you. Now that that’s out of the way, c’mon: we’ve all thought about it—nay, yearned for it. For me, at least half the appeal is just thinking about my Z-day everyday carry kit. Read More »

Wyze Home Monitoring is one of the most affordable home security systems available today, but customers who sign up after April 6th will find themselves paying double the $5 monthly fee. That’s right; Home Monitoring is about to get a price hike, but you can avoid it if you sign up early enough. Read More »

Did you know that Google, Microsoft, and even Apple have big databases of nearly all the Wi-Fi networks in the world? It’s true, and your information is in those databases. You can take action—but should you even care? Read More »

Whether it’s for music or movies, a subwoofer will improve almost any sort of audio. If you’re not familiar with them, it can be tough to choose the perfect subwoofer for you, which is what we’re here for. Read More »

More than any other comic book superhero, Batman has been adapted extensively into other media, from TV to animation to video games to podcasts, and he’s been starring in movies for 50-plus years. Here’s how to stream every live-action Batman movie. Read More »

The way work gets done has changed drastically in the last several years. Even though the pandemic is beginning to subside and some businesses have started to go back to the office, many organizations around the world are struggling to keep remote and in-office employees connected. That’s where RingCentral’s robust communication platform for small and medium-sized businesses can help. Read More »