Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

I used Claude to vibe-code my wildly overcomplicated smart home Home On.

We've got a new batch of Verge stories that are completely free to read for today only. First up, from @jp2e.bsky.social:

After years of trying to switch to Home Assistant, Claude Code got me (mostly) there in one afternoon.

I used Claude to vibe-code my wildly overcomplicated smart home Home On.

Claude Code + Home Assistant = smart home harmony at last!
www.theverge.com/report/86931...

Ring claims it’s not giving ICE access to its cameras Influencers are telling users to smash their doorbells

Ring claims it’s not giving ICE access to its cameras

Breaks my heart to share this, but today is my last day at The Verge and I am looking for work! I'd really like to stay in video games, preferably in some kind of journalistic capacity but I can do PR/Marketing and maybe even a lil Narrative Design. Please get in touch!
www.ashparrish.com

And we're live! Stop on by and hit us with your best CES questions

The Verge's CES crew is doing an AMA at 3 pm ET today. Come ask us anything about CES -- from the gadgets and gizmos to the behind-the-scenes scoop. (Subscribers only)

I tested Apple’s hands-free Home Key — and it’s a big upgrade Open Sesame

We've got a new batch of Verge articles that are completely free to read for the day. First up, from @jp2e.bsky.social:

Aqara’s new U400 smart lock is the first to use Apple’s UWB-based hands-free unlocking, and it works every time, even with full hands.

I had a great time chatting about all the cool tech I saw at CES on TWiT, including a rundown of @theverge.com 's picks from the show floor.

It was a banner year for the smart home at CES

I spent my week at CES hunting down humanoid robots and trying to get them to do my laundry, or at least open a bottle of detergent. Here's how it went...
#smarthome #robotics

Finally met the legendary @jp2e.bsky.social IRL!

The Mui Board is a delightful, expensive way to control your smart home Wood with Wi-Fi.

Our next free daily article comes from @jp2e.bsky.social:

Mui’s long-gestating calm-tech board finally ships — and it’s a thoughtful, if very expensive, alternative to screens.

The Mui Board is a delightful, expensive way to control your smart home Wood with Wi-Fi.

This smart home controller is literally a piece of wood

This smart garden turned my black thumb green It really made my garden grow

This smart garden turned my black thumb green

The problem is that the new assistants aren’t as consistent at controlling smart home devices as the old ones. While they were often frustrating to use, the old Alexa and Google Assistant (and the current Siri) would generally always turn on the lights when you asked them to, provided you used precise nomenclature. Today, their “upgraded” counterparts struggle with consistency in basic functions like turning on the lights, setting timers, reporting on the weather, playing music, and running the routines and automations on which many of us have built our smart homes. I’ve noticed this in my testing, and online forums are full of users who have encountered it. Amazon and Google have acknowledged the struggles they’ve had in making their revamped generative AI-powered assistants reliably perform basic tasks. And it’s not limited to smart home assistants; ChatGPT can’t consistently tell time or count.

AI ran into a brick wall trying to control smart home devices this year, which feels like the canary in the coal mine for a lot of things. Excellent @jp2e.bsky.social dive into why and what comes next www.theverge.com/tech/845958/...

Verge headline: Roomba invented the home robot - and lost the future by Jennfier Pattison Tuohy Photo: A roomba

iRobot’s collapse marks the end of an era. Co-founder Colin Angle calls it a blow for robotics.

Read more from @jp2e.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/tech/844964/...

iRobot’s bankruptcy isn’t the end — it’s a reboot, says its CEO Roombas will keep rolling

iRobot’s bankruptcy isn’t the end — it’s a reboot, says its CEO

This $1,500 robot cooks dinner while I work And does it better than I can

And our last free daily article is from @jp2e.bsky.social:

Posha uses AI and a motorized arm to cook your dinner autonomously. It’s impressive but expensive, and raises all the usual concerns about connected kitchen appliances.

How Roomba invented the home robot — and lost the future This bot got lost

How Roomba invented the home robot — and lost the future

Who is Picea Robotics, Roomba’s new owner? They make robot vacuums, lots of them

Who is Picea Robotics, Roomba’s new owner?

This $1,500 robot cooks dinner while I work And does it better than I can

This $1,500 robot cooks dinner while I work

iRobot files for bankruptcy But your Roomba will still work, for now

iRobot files for bankruptcy

It’s all local.

August’s founders are back with a smart front door Shut the front door!

August’s founders are back with a smart front door

Chamberlain blocks smart home integrations with its garage door openers — again More cause for RATGDO

Chamberlain blocks smart home integrations with its garage door openers — again

The Matic robot vacuum is smarter, quieter, and gets the job done

Your smart home questions, answered On The Vergecast: smart home gadget design, replacing your smoke detector, and more.

I joined @davidpierce.xyz on The Vergecast this week to answer a bunch of your questions about the smart home:
@theverge.com #smarthome

www.theverge.com/podcast/8130...

Ikea’s new low-cost line is a huge win for Matter and your smart home  Furnishings with superpowers.

Ikea’s new low-cost line is a huge win for Matter and your smart home

I’m The Verge’s new AV expert, ask me anything! Let’s talk about TVs, headphones, speakers, and all things AV.

You might have noticed a new face on the team lately — John Higgins recently debuted as our senior reviewer of TVs and audio! We're holding a special subscriber-exclusive AMA today at 2PM ET, so drop your AV questions in the comments section of this article any time and we'll see you this afternoon!

Your smart home questions, answered On The Vergecast: smart home gadget design, replacing your smoke detector, and more.

Your smart home questions, answered