The Internet of Things Podcast - Stacey On IoT

This is the final episode of The Internet of Things Podcast, and to send us off after eight years, we don’t discuss the big news of the day such as Arm’s planned IPO , a new display option from Brilliant , or new gear from Leviton . Instead we share our reasons for stepping back from the show, and where we’re heading next. Also, because everyone wants some new podcasts or IoT new...

Amazon’s head of devices,  David Limp, plans to retire  as part of a wave of executives that have been leaving Amazon in the last year. Also, next year Alexa and the Amazon Echo will be 10 years old, which prompted us to take a look at the role Alexa and the Amazon Echo have played in the smart home, along with what has and hasn’t changed. Our concerns about the state of the smart home...

This week we make a big announcement about the podcast and newsletter. Get ready! Then we talk about the issues with Matter and who’s to blame . We lay out the challenges that both we and The Verge have highlighted with Thread credentialing, and talk about uneven device support. It’s a mess. Other messy topics include the prospect of hacked radiation sensors in Chernobyl, as reported b...

This week’s show kicks off with a surprising revelation from Kevin, who has decided to swap out his smart home platform . He explains his choice, which also may represent a theme of sorts, as we see more and more high-end smart home hubs hit the market. We discuss the HOOBS Pro device and the Homey Pro , both of which cram a bunch of different radios into one powerful box. Then we talk about...

This week we didn’t see a ton of news, yet we managed to talk about several big trends in IoT. We started with an update on Amazon’s planned acquisition of iRobot, and Amazon dropping the price by 15% . We explain why and then decided to explain in depth why we need the planned cybersecurity labeling plan for connected devices because so many people asked me why we need this. We then t...

This week we dig in on two topics that will make the internet of things friendlier for consumers. The first is the newly announced cybersecurity label plan from the White House that will create a way for consumers to see if their planned IoT purchase meets adequate cybersecurity standards . The second is our suggestion that device makers plan for failure when building a smart product, to help prev...

This week on the show, Kevin and I start off talking about some of the Roku gear I’ve been playing with for the last week. We discuss the gear and the subscription plans and how they compare with what else is on the market, before moving on to talk about Latch laying off 59% of its workforce in preparation for what I suspect will be a pivot from access control to a services business aimed at...

This week’s podcast focuses on wearables, from hearing aids to mixed reality headsets. We start the show talking about the potential future of Apple AirPods as a hearing aid or an additional health-focused wearable. And while on the topic of Apple, we mention that the badges on your smart home devices will say the device works with Apple Home as opposed to Apple HomeKit . And then it’s...

This week we learned a bit more about streaming provider Roku’s plans to build a smart home operating system . This is in addition to all of the new smart home devices the company has developed using Wyze hardware. Because Kevin Tofel is on vacation, I’m talking about all this with my co-host and the creator of the Lowpass newsletter Janko Roettgers, who is a smart TV expert. Janko exp...

This week’s podcast tackles Kevin’s real-world experience with the Google Pixel tablet and speaker dock . He liked the tablet, but as a smart home accessory it’s lacking, which is what we had originally anticipated. But it’s still a bummer, because I want a good Google Home display option as Google deprecates third-party Google Home display devices. Then we talk about a cou...

We start this week’s show with a review of DeviceScript , a limited subset of the TypeScript programming language, built by Microsoft to bring a more modern programming option to connected device programing. Kevin downloaded the code and tried it out on a simulated device and shares his thoughts. Also in programming news, Google released a script language for programming complex automations...

It may not surprise anyone, but Kevin and I have thoughts on Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset that we’re sharing with y’all. We also lay out some details about changes to Apple’s various operating systems and services that relate to Siri and the smart home. Google also added Matter support for its Home app on Apple devices, which is another means for chipping away a...

Krogers and Walmart are both expanding various IoT devices to more of their stores as part of a larger shift in how connectivity and intelligence will change how we shop. Walmart is deploying electronic shelf labels in 500 stores while Kroger is installing Cooler Screens’ connected refrigerator doors that replace the glass doors with a screen and uses optical sensors to track when people are...

This week’s show is live from Dallas as I attend the Parks Associates Connections smart home event, so I start out discussing some of the themes I’ve seen so far, including the growing importance of data privacy, local processing and generative AI. We also talk about the five-year-anniversary of the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU and evaluate its impact so far (it’s...

We start this week’s show with a conversation about Latch, the company that is acquiring Jamie Siminoff’s stealth startup . Siminoff, who also founded Ring, left Amazon (which had acquired Ring in 2018) this week ahead of the planned deal. He will become the CEO of Latch after the deal closes. Then we discuss Google I/O and wonder why we didn’t hear more about Google Assistant, a...

Google launched a new tablet and dock at the Google I/O event Wednesday, and Kevin and I share our thoughts on how it might fit in with a smart home. Will it replace your Nest Smart Displays? We also share some of the updates expected in the new Google Home app before moving on to discuss Roku’s new smart home security system . Then we ask questions about the new State Farm and ADT combined...

Amazon has turned on the Thread-capabilities inside its Echo devices so they can support the Matter smart home interoperability standard in its totality, so Kevin and I talk about what that will and won’t do for smart home users. It’s also the moment I give up on my dreams for the Matter specification. We also discuss the end of the Amazon Halo products , and plans to make Alexa savvie...

This week we start the show with my first impressions of the Aqara FP2 mmWave sensor . This $83 sensor can detect multiple people in a room, light settings, and falls. It’s also one of the first presence sensors that uses radar to detect people as opposed to interruptions in infrared light. ( The newest Ecobee thermostat also has a radar sensor for person detection.) After talking about my e...

This week’s show has lots of updates and small updates. We start off with a story about a golf course near San Diego that has saved millions of gallons of water using connected soil sensors. And then we review what changed with Zigbee PRO 2023 and cover the NIST efforts to create practical framework for protecting medical device privacy and security. In other medical news we talk about a new...

This week’s show is full of both good news and bad news, starting with Google apparently dropping software update support for third-party smart displays . We question Google’s commitment to the smart home, even though the good news from Google is that it has released more capabilities to control new device types — a bit of good news. Then we review Nanoleaf’s Matter-enabled Essen...

This week’s podcast is focused on IoT infrastructure, with our first conversation explaining the upcoming 6G cellular connectivity standard . After that, we discuss sales of IoT connectivity chips and modules , and the leaders in each category before moving on to low-power wide area network news from Unabiz, which is open sourcing the code for Sigfox . Then we talk about smart home systems a...

With this week’s show I feel like we’re singing the same old tune. Philips Hue maker Signify is delaying its implementation of Matter while it waits for others to implement features it needs. Meanwhile Eve has started selling plugs that are Matter-ready from the get go, and will sell new Matter-ready contact and motion sensors starting April 17. In related news, we tout the fact that t...

This week’s show starts off with our take on Belkin deciding to hold off on releasing Matter products , and an update on Matter plans from other vendors including Wyze and Yale. We also talk about Nanoleaf’s new Matter-compatible Essentials bulbs and lights strips . We try to explain why Matter is still frustrating to use and wonder where all the other gear is. Then we discuss Google k...

We kick off this week’s show with a focus on generative AI and what new models such as GPT-4 and even things like Stable Diffusion could mean for the internet of things. Along the way we disagree with an article trying to compare digital assistants such as Siri with ChatGPT, and highlight some of the opportunities generative AI provides , especially when it comes to robots . Then we discuss...

This week’s podcast kicks off with a story about the Pentagon’s fears over a Chinese-connected crane maker and its prevalence in U.S. ports. The Pentagon and others focused on national security question whether or not ZPMC , the maker of these cranes, could gather intelligence or cause work stoppages using sensors and motors connected to the internet. It’s a concern that undersco...