The Verge

The smart home was once a far-flung pipe dream, but it is now a reality. Wherever you live, your home is ground zero for some of the most interesting tech available right now, and tech that’s yet to come. Best of all, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get your home up and running with smart hardware and services.

Home security and monitoring solutions can alert you to a burglary, smoke, fire, or just simple motion activity. There are plenty of options with a range of capabilities, from smart doorbells and smart locks to indoor and outdoor cameras that can see in the dark.

Smart speakers, like the Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Apple HomePod each play a big role in helping you out, too. In the kitchen, they can read out recipes, or if you’re cleaning, you can call out to them to change the song on the fly. If you buy smart light bulbs, for instance, you can turn them on and off by using your voice.

Smart Home

We took a look at Sonos' entry into the soundbar market, the aptly-named Playbar.

Sonos Playbar hands-on photos

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Sonos Playbar hands-on photos

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After 151 years, Popular Science will no longer offer a magazine

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Sonos Playbar hands-on photos

Sonos Playbar hands-on photos

We took a look at Sonos' entry into the soundbar market, the aptly-named Playbar.

Ikea debuts a trio of affordable smart home sensors

This company just put the air in Apple’s MacBook Air

Google’s new geothermal energy project is up and running

After 151 years, Popular Science will no longer offer a magazine

Reminder: Google is about to start purging inactive accounts

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Sonos Playbar hands-on photos

Sonos Playbar hands-on photos

We took a look at Sonos' entry into the soundbar market, the aptly-named Playbar.

Share this story

Ikea debuts a trio of affordable smart home sensors

This company just put the air in Apple’s MacBook Air

Google’s new geothermal energy project is up and running

After 151 years, Popular Science will no longer offer a magazine

Reminder: Google is about to start purging inactive accounts

More from Smart Home

After promising support for Matter and Thread, Level launches a Wi-Fi bridge instead

eBay’s early holiday sale brings discounts on Samsung’s The Frame TV and Bose headphones

How Ecobee is becoming the smart home company Nest should have been

What is Wi-Fi 7 — and do you even need it?