Everywhere you turn these days, you hear about how “smart” your home can be. In fact, Realtor.com states that 2016 is being hailed as the year that our homes truly enter the high-tech future. What exactly does this mean?
What are the new smart objects available for your home, and how will they all work together? For a glimpse at some of these products, keep reading to see how you can make your home a lot more savvy in the year ahead.
Your fridge – The upcoming Series 8 edition of the Bosch HomeConnect Refrigerator will snap a photo of the interior every time you shut the door. First, it will convince your kids that the little light does go off when the door is shut. But more important, you can view these fridge pics later on your phone when you’re at the store trying to remember if you need milk or if you’re stocked up on dinner ingredients.
Your doorbell – With the Ring doorbell, it’s as if you’re always home: When visitors ring your bell, the onboard camera transmits their images to your cellphone, letting you see who’s destroying your hard-earned privacy and allowing you to talk to these people from wherever you may be! Now you can remotely tell UPS exactly where to leave a package.
Your lights – The Fluxo smart lamp is designed to be the only light in the room. A sleek pendant containing 300 white and colored LED lights, it emits a wide range of light tones and intensities. You can turn on only certain sections in case you want to read on one side of the room and your partner wants to doze on the other. It also stores your favorite types of light, automatically cues them at the right times based on your past usage patterns, and turns off when you leave the room.
Your mirror – Get ready for the Selfie Mirror, a device that, true to its name, snaps photos with an HD camera and a lumen light, without the hassle of holding a camera. But the mirror provides a whole list of more essential services from behind its reflective surface: The camera lets you take Skype calls and keeps an eye on your home when you’re away. And you thought it was just about self-obsession!
Your front door – If you don’t want to sign on for a full scale alarm system, the Elephant Door alarm is a decent alternative. Just attach the modules to your door and pair it with your phone. The device contains an accelerometer, gyroscope and microphone which detect when someone tries to enter the door uninvited. When it detects a security breach, the Elephant emits a high-pitched alarm and alerts you to the situation through your device.
Your remote – If opening different apps to control your armada of smart devices is too much hassle for your future self to stomach, the Smart Remote might just save you. Simply point it in the direction of the device you want to control, and the remote will know which one you’re aiming for – which means you can adjust your speakers, lights and thermostat according to your whims without leaving your well-worn spot on the sofa.
Your electrical outlets – The Eve Energy is a little device that connects to electrical outlets to let you know how much energy is being used by a given outlet, providing a new way to keep your electric bills in check. Its lets you switch the appliance in that outlet on and off remotely on your phone, so if you forget to turn the lights off you can do it on your way to work.
Your alarm system – Elarm is a set of sensors you place around your home that sends you customized alerts so you’ll know if an intruder has crossed the threshold, your dog is leaving an unwanted gift on the floor, or if your children got home from school. The coolest feature: the Jiggle, a small stick-on sensor that you place wherever you want to detect movement, so you’ll know if your kids are snooping in your closet or whether your elder dad has taken his medicine.
Your cyber security – Some people are scared off of smart home devices by fears that hackers could steal their info or spy on them, but the Pebble aims to put those fears to rest. This sleek and wireless device resembling a river rock continually monitors all of your connected devices and alerts you to suspicious activity: Think of it as a smart device cop. Green equals all good, orange means that an issue has been detected and Pebble is resolving it, and red indicates a security breach that you should investigate.
