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Roku could soon enter the smart home market to challenge Google and Amazon

Roku wants to give its Smart TV platform a smart home upgrade. What you need to know Roku is reportedly planning to expand into the connected home market. Along with developing its own smart home products, the company is also looking to partner with existing smart home brands. Former Amazon executive Damir Skripic recently joined Roku as the Director of Product Management, Home Technologies. Streaming device maker Roku is looking to foray into the highly competitive connected home market, according to a report from Protocol . Roku had published a job listing for a "Director of Product Management, Home Technologies" earlier this year. While the listing has since been removed, it all but confirmed the company's plans of expanding into smart home technologies. The job description made it clear that applicants would have to "develop home technology product strategy" and "develop the company's product roadmap," among other responsibilities. Th

Create the ultimate home theater experience with these Android TV boxes

There are plenty of ways to stream content on your television, and if you get one of the best Android TV boxes, you can make sure that the experience is as fast, seamless, and enjoyable as possible. Android TV boxes allow you to instantly access all of your favorite video and music apps, along with some light games, without going out and buying a completely new TV. There are a few different options to choose from, with these being the best of the best. What are the best Android TV boxes? Our overall pick has to be the Chromecast with Google TV when it comes to the best Android TV boxes. In almost every regard, the new Chromecast is basically perfect. It has 4K HDR streaming with support for Dolby Vision/Atmos, a great remote that's easy-to-use, and comes in at an incredible price. The star of the show is the special Google TV software that's layered on top of Android TV, offering new features and an upgraded design that we think you'll love. If you aren't thrilled

Got an old Samsung phone laying around? Turn it into a smart home sensor!

At CES 2021 , Samsung introduced Galaxy Upcycle , which is a way to turn old Samsung smartphones that may be sitting on a shelf collecting dust into something useful that you can use with SmartThings. Currently, functionality is limited to a light sensor or a sound sensor. Some use cases include using SmartThings to turn on your smart lights when it gets dark (regardless of the time of day) or using an old smartphone as a baby monitor or broken glass alarm. To set up a Samsung phone as an upcycled sensor, you need a Galaxy-branded Samsung smartphone from 2018 or newer. Technically, you should also have a new Galaxy-branded smartphone to assist with setup, but there is a workaround for that (see step 8 below). Both phones need SmartThings and the latest software updates installed. So here's how to do it! How to turn your old Samsung smartphone into a smart sensor using SmartThings Open SmartThings . Tap the Hamburger menu on the left side. Tap SmartApps . Tap the three

Save $191 today on SuperHandy Mini Wood Chipper Shredder Mulcher Heavy Duty 7HP 212cc Compact

SuperHandy Mini Wood Chipper Shredder Mulcher Heavy Duty 7HP 212cc Compact Design 3" Inch Max Capacity list price: $530 | Price: $339 Show More About this item: EFFFICIENT PERFORMANCE; This Mini Wood Chipper Shredder Mulcher design has a Reduction Ratio of 15:1, capable of high volume Chipping/Shredding/Mulching via the Large Extended Feeing Chute for upto 3" MAX branches, limbs and garden debris  UNIQUE DESIGN; Built to be compact and lighter than other steel chippers, this design has a highly desirable Vertical Extended Discharge Chute with Adjustable Discharge Guide to deliver accurate debris discharge, with a angled range of 90°-145° degrees  POWERFUL; This Chippers powerful recoil starting 7HP 212cc Horizontal 4-stroke Single Cylinder OHV Gas Powered Engine, handles up to 3" diameter wood without a problem; Fuel w/ 87+ unleaded gasoline (NO ETHANOL recommended), 0.7 gallons Max capacity  SAFETY; Always operate according

Let the Alexa-enabled iRobot Roomba 960 clean for you at over $100 off

Amazon currently has the refurb iRobot Roomba 960 robotic vacuum cleaner marked down to just $279.99, which is around $120 lower than it regularly sells for there. Today's price is a match for the lowest we have ever tracked for it and saves you even more compared to a new model . Despite being refurbished, your robot vac will look and work like new and comes backed by a 90-day warranty. We named the Roomba 960 our favorite overall robot vacuum cleaner in 2020 so this is a deal you don't want to miss. You can schedule it to run via the free iRobot HOME app, or by using your voice through one of Amazon's Alexa-enabled Echo devices , making it super convenient. You can also tell it not to clean a specific area. The included sensors warn the device if it is getting near an obstacle or if it's about to fall down a flight of stairs. It can run for 75 minutes before needing to be recharged, and it has the ability to recharge and then resume cleaning from the same place

Breathe easier today with $20 off Winix 4-stage air purifiers

One of Amazon's daily deals today includes your choice between the Winix A230 and Winix A231 H13 True HEPA air purifiers. Both devices are on sale for just $79.99, which is 20% off their regular prices. They were $5 lower during Black Friday, but besides that they've never dropped this low before. These air purifiers just released back in September and haven't spent much time on sale at all. Both purifiers work in any small to medium sized space and can cover rooms up to 230 square feet in size. They work hard to make sure whatever air you are breathing is as clean as possible. All of that starts with a pre-filter made with fine mesh. Consider it the tower's first line of defense as it captures the largest airborne particles. The pre-filter is washable, so it helps extend the life of the product by keeping the worst stuff out and making it easy to clean. The activated carbon filter helps reduce odors and volatile organic compounds that arise from cooking, smoke, or

Yeelight M2 is a budget LED smart bulb that's easy to set up and use

The Yeelight M2 is brighter, easier to set up, and just as affordable as its predecessor. Yeelight is a Xiaomi-backed lightning manufacturer that makes some of the best LED smart bulbs you can buy today. Yeelight's differentiation comes from the fact that its products are very affordable: the brand routinely delivers bulbs that are identical in quality to Hue smart bulbs for around half the cost. I've used Yeelight smart bulbs for the better part of four years, and they continue to hold up just fine. The brand is now launching its latest LED bulb, dubbed the M2, and the standout feature is Seamless Setup. The bulb is the latest addition to Google's protocol for setting up smart devices with the Google Home app. The Yeelight M2 bulb is easy to set up, and doesn't need a hub to work. With Seamless Setup, it takes just over a minute to set up the Yeelight M2 with Google Home. Just insert the bulb into a socket (it uses the standard E27 socket), power it up, and op

Need to light up the dark? Check out these high-lumen smart light bulbs.

When times get dark, we need bright light to see our way out — and the brightest LED smart bulbs make it that much better. A high-lumen (unit for measuring the quantity of light) bulb can do the trick in a small or large room. Adding in some smarts to that bulb gives it the flexibility to control from your favorite smart speaker or phone . Whether you want a standard A19 E26 bulb or the BR30 for recessed lighting, there's a bulb for you. The Feit Electric OM100 is our top pick for its incredibly high lumen rating and hubless smart controls, which means it only needs Wi-Fi and your phone to control. Brightest LED Smart Bulbs: Go hubless Requires a hub Best Overall: Feit Electric OM100 - RGBW While Feit Electric may not be the well known smart bulbs, but it's been innovating and creating high-quality lighting solutions since 1978 — and the OM100 RGBW bulb continues that trend. Since this bulb doesn't require extra hardware such as a hub, this Wi-Fi-enabled smar

Black Friday smart home sale drops smart plugs and switches as low as $15

As more of our appliances get smart, certain things we use daily begin to stand out and seem even dumber if they are not yet integrated into our smart home setups. Meross offers a number of accessories to smarten up dumb devices, and a few of their most popular products are on sale at Woot with prices starting at just $15. This means you can save up to 40% on these popular items. Whether you use Alexa, Google Assistant, or Apple HomeKit to control your smart home, this sale has got something for you. There are affordable indoor smart plugs as well as a dual outdoor smart plug with prices from just $17. You can control them using the Meross app from anywhere in the world, or voice control them using your smart speaker. You can also set custom schedules, work the plugs into your scenes, or set up automations for turning things on and off based on other conditions. We actually took a look at the Meross outdoor plug and gave it 4.5 stars out of five, praising its HomeKit support, aff