Smart Home

Leaked images indicate a new smart lamp is on its way, with its lampshade fixed at an interesting angle.

However, according to HueBlog.com, the lamp uses Hue’s “multi-source light” technology, which uniquely allows you to control the direction of the light in the app.

There’s no pricing yet, but it appears the wired lamp comes in black or white with a cork base.

I’ve been trying out the new widget, now available in Public Preview, which lets you put shortcuts to Google Home devices directly on your Home screen, and it’s very useful.

It can be resized to one tile, three tiles, six tiles, or a total of 9, and can control devices like lights directly, but cameras and thermostats launch the Home app.

Correction: The widget is still only available in Public Preview, not for everyone, and it has up to 9 tiles.

I watched the Nymble cooked a pasta dish at the Smart Kitchen Summit this week, and the result was surprisingly good.

A $1,500 robot-powered induction cooktop, it automatically adds all the ingredients at the correct time, uses a robot arm to stir them, and a camera to watch over the process. But you still have to do the washing up.

With 8 temperature sensors, the Combustion Predictive Thermometer works even if you don’t place it “just right.” Those sensors also track temperature on the food’s surface and in the oven to “predict” when your food will be ready within minutes of starting to cook.

Reviews say the Combustion is very good at its job and makes guessing when the turkey will be done or overcooking a steak a problem of the past.

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Most induction requires a 240V outlet, but this new cooktop from Impulse Labs has a battery inside that stores up juice for when you want to cook.

This means it will still work when the power is out, but the company plans to make more appliances with batteries to eventually form a “fractionalized home battery backup system.”

The Impulse Cooktop costs $6,000 and should ship later this year.

I have a lot of questions about the Chefee — a robotic kitchen insert that stores, preps, and cooks meals for you. And I’m not alone. At the Smart Kitchen Summit this week, there was plenty of chatter about the impressive-looking contraption. Helpfully, the company’s CEO put together this Instagram reel to address some of them. But I still want to know how anyone is supposed to afford this.

The Chef IQ Mini Oven is a $300 smart oven that can heat up 40 percent faster than the fastest air fryer, the company told me at the Smart Kitchen Summit in Seattle this week.

The countertop oven features a ceramic interior, edge-to-edge glass door, and touchscreen display. It works with the Chef IQ app and wireless thermometer for guided cooking, and is coming this September.

The cordless kitchen could soon be real. Kitchenery showed off a wirelessly powered blender and kettle at the Smart Kitchen Summit this week. But — unlike other wirelessly-powered gadgets — it doesn’t require a special (expensive) charging pad. Instead, both devices can be powered off an induction cooktop.

The company is also developing a silent blender, cordless toaster, air fryer, and pressure cooker.

He shared The Verge’s article about the smart home protocol appearing in Apple devices across social media this week. Fadell developed Thread for the Nest Thermostat over a decade ago and says Apple’s move “reminds me how long deep tech takes for broad adoption. But, when it’s the right thing, it’s the right thing.”

From doorbells to a doorman, Siminoff’s new company Door.com has a new app for building owners that puts all the elements of living in a smart apartment building into one place. Powered by a Doorman AI, Siminoff says the Door app can help residents with everything from fixing the washing machine to connecting them with a neighbor’s favorite dog walker.

It’s expanding InHome delivery to 10 more cities, including Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and San Bernardino.

With InHome, a delivery person wearing a camera uses a one-time code for a smart lock or garage door to deliver orders inside your home.

Soon, you won’t even have to order. Walmart is developing a replenishment service that automatically orders groceries for you.