Tech Talk

Choose your smart speaker wisely. Your first smart speaker purchase will influence future expansion and accessory purchases. Black Friday is only a few days away, and you are more than likely already looking for deals on big-ticket items, including smart speakers. When it comes to smart speakers, they come in various sizes and price points, so it can be tough to choose the best for you. However, the biggest decision you have to make is which ecosystem you want. Both Amazon and Google offer a handful of first-party options coming in at various price points, and some third-party devices also work with certain systems. However, the biggest mistake people make when buying a smart speaker is not knowing what ecosystem fits their needs best. What happens if they choose a smart speaker that doesn't work with their current ecosystem of products? Here's how to make sure you avoid that this Black Friday. Choose your platform Before you even look into any smart speakers at all, you&

The best wired video doorbell around Arlo took some time to get its first video doorbell to market, but the Arlo Video Doorbell was well worth the wait. For quite a few years now, Nest has ruled the roost when it comes to wired video doorbells by not only offering better hardware than most other vendors but by packing in a level of smarts into its subscription plan that most companies could only hope to emulate. Arlo's efforts are similar to Nest's: deliver top-tier hardware with unique features and bundle it with a subscription plan that puts it over the top. The difference? The Arlo Video Doorbell is 35% cheaper than the Nest Hello Video Doorbell . On top of that, the subscription cost for a single camera is half of what Nest charges — $3 per month for Arlo Smart versus $6 for Nest Aware. Both offer cloud storage and advanced AI-powered detection options, and neither offers local storage options, so a cloud subscription is basically a requirement for regular operation. A

When there's just not enough time in the day for you to get the house cleaned up, a smart robot vacuum can be an ideal home helper. Fortunately for you, there's an early Black Friday deal running at Amazon that offers up to 40% off Yeedi robot vacuums for today only. These deals form part of the first day of Amazon's 'Holiday Dash' event that is offering daily deals up until Black Friday. The most affordable option in the sale is the Yeedi K600 . At just $89.99, it's a super-affordable way to get a helping hand around the home thanks to a 40% discount. It uses an advanced brushless motor. The motor runs up to 20,000 revolutions per minute to generate powerful suction up to 1500Pa. Its design reduces vacuuming noise to just 55dB which is about the same as a microwave. That means it won't be a huge distraction having this vacuum running. Since it's so slim, it can glide under your couch or bed with ease, eliminating the hassle of trying to clean und

If you're consistently running low on time throughout the day, having a smart robot vacuum cleaner like one of these discounted models from ILIFE could work wonders for your life. Even though Prime Day is long gone and Black Friday sales are yet to kick off, you can actually snag all-time low pricing on a couple of robot vacuums thanks to this one-day sale at Amazon. Both of the featured models actually went on sale in the run-up to Prime Day and today's prices are even lower with up to 35% off. The popular ILIFE A9 is discounted as part of the sale. It's down to $149.99 which is its biggest price drop to date, $10 lower than its Prime Day price. Unlike some robot vacuums, the A9 will not just run around randomly cleaning up your floors. It uses sophisticated mapping and navigation technology and cleans in a methodical back-and-forth pattern. It won't repeatedly go over the same spots and it won't miss areas. Plus, the vacuum has 14 smart sensors that help it

If you're looking for a little help around the house, the recently-released Eufy RoboVac G30 Edge smart robot vacuum is well worth picking up today at Amazon. It's $120 off there today only as a pre-Black Friday, dropping its price to a new all-time low of $229.99. Considering it hit the market at $370 and sells for $350 these days, this is one of the best robot vacuum deals out there right now. The RoboVac G30 Edge features Smart Dynamic Navigation 2.0 for powerful cleaning and increased efficiency, 2000Pa suction power, and drop-proof technology that prevents it from falling down stairs. Eufy's BoostIQ technology automatically increases the suction power as needed and the battery lasts for as long as 110 minutes. When it's finished cleaning or when it runs out of battery, it returns to its charging base all on its own to power back up. Since it can charge itself, you can have the G30 Edge to clean on a schedule that suits you automatically. Alternatively, you can

Right now you can get the Ring Alarm's 14-piece home security kit on sale for $199.99 from the Ring website. That's $130 off what it's going for at Amazon . It's such a low price it's actually $50 better than the 8-piece kit and even the same price as the 5-piece kit is going for currently. That's a whole lot of extras essentially for free, which means you can cover a whole lot more of your home and feel better about it. The 5-piece kit actually dropped as low as $150 during Prime Day, but this is still better value than that given that two contact sensors go for around $40 and you're getting seven extra sensors with this. The 14-piece kit comes with one base station, two keypads, eight contact sensors, two motion detectors, and one range extender. That's a whole lot of sensors that can all be programmed to communicate with your smartphone and your smart home. The do-it-yourself system doesn't require any professional installation either

The TP-Link dual-outlet HS107 Kasa Smart Plug has dropped to $19.99 when you clip the $10 off on-page coupon. That's a great low price, a match for the lowest price drop we've seen this year, and a deal that beats out the previous one we shared by about two bucks. The smart plug has only dropped this low twice — once in July and once during last year's Black Friday sale. This smart plug is just one way you can improve your smart home. Amazon's Prime Day is right around the corner, and smart home tech is always huge during big sale events like this. Want even more ways to improve your smart home? Get ready for sales on thermostats, smart light bulbs, major hubs, and more. Given the way the smart plug is designed, you can essentially use this to add an extra place to plug in on any AC outlet. The device stretches horizontally with two plugs on either end, leaving the second wall outlet unused and available. (Although you won't be able to fit two of these on t

The best Wi-Fi 6 routers get us closer to 5G speeds at home. Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) has arrived and promises to push Wi-Fi speeds over 10Gbps by combining 2.4GHz and wider 5GHz bands to provide a better experience and much wider coverage in the home. The new Wi-Fi standard is becoming increasingly common in phones and laptops and now is the right time to invest in one of the best Wi-Fi 6 routers on the market. Asus RT-AX88U Incredible Wi-Fi 6 speeds Great included software Premium build $300 at Amazon Linksys MAX-STREAM Mesh Ultra affordable Mesh-compatible Easy setup $130 from Amazon Best Wi-Fi 6 Routers: 1. Asus RT-AX88U 2. Linksys MAX-STREAM Mesh 3. Asus RT-AX86U 4. Asus RT-AX92U 5. TP-Link Archer AX1500 6. Linksys Velop MX5 7. Netgear Nighthawk MK62 8. Netgear Nighthawk AX5400 9. ASUS ROG Rapture AX11000 10. NETGEAR Orbi Mesh RBK752 What are the best Wi-Fi 6 routers? The Asus RT-AX88U is the best Wi-Fi 6 router for most people, with fast

Pretty colors without the hub LIFX Z LED Strip $99 at Best Buy $112 at Walmart $84 at Home Depot Pros Way more affordable No hub needed Millions of colors Individual color zones Extendable Works with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit Cons Doesn't change color based on what's on TV LiFX designed the Z LED Lightstrip to set the mood in any room, with a special emphasis on providing brilliant lighting behind a TV or monitor. Control the colors and brightness from the LiFX app, or connect to your favorite virtual assistant and let your voice make the commands. Extremely nice, for a price Philips Hue Play Gradient Lightstrip Preorder from Best Buy Preorder from Philips Pros Can change color based on what's on TV (with sync box) Easy installation brackets included Blends light perfectly with other Hue lights Works with Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit Cons Very expensive Requires a hub and a Hue sync box Designed fo