Enlarge (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

Before last week, owners of certain Mazda vehicles who also had a Home Assistant setup could set up some handy connections for their car.

One CX60 driver had a charger that would only power on when it confirmed his car was plugged in and would alert him if he left the trunk open. Another used Home Assistant to control their charger based on the dynamic prices of an Agile Octopus energy plan . Yet another had really thought it through, using Home Assistant to check the gas before their morning commute, alert them if their windows were down before rain was forecast, and remotely unlock and start the car in cold conditions. The possibilities were vast , and purportedly beyond what Mazda's official app offered.

Mazda, however, had issues with the project, which was largely the free-time work of one software developer, Brandon Rothweiler . In a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice sent to GitHub , Mazda (or an authorized agent) alleges that Rothweiler's integration:

Enlarge / Alexa using generative AI to create a taco poem. (credit: Amazon News/YouTube )

Amazon is trying to make Alexa simpler and more intuitive for users through the use of a new large language model (LLM). During its annual hardware event Wednesday, Amazon demoed the generative-AI-powered Alexa that users can soon preview on Echo devices. But in all its talk of new features and a generative-AI-fueled future, Amazon barely acknowledged the longstanding elephant in the room: privacy.

Amazon's devices event featured a new Echo Show 8, updated Ring devices, and new Fire TV sticks. But most interesting was a look at how the company is trying to navigate generative AI hype and the uncertainty around the future of voice assistants. Amazon said users will be able to start previewing Alexa's new features via any Echo device, including the original, in a few weeks .

Alexa's added features are enabled by a new LLM that Amazon says was fine-tuned for voice conversations and that uses algorithms for body language and intonation recognition. The company was clear that Alexa will focus on generative AI going forward. But the new features are in their early stages, Amazon noted, so bumps, bugs, and errors are expected at first.

Enlarge / This guy? This guy can be tricked into offering remote control if you give it a long name. But he's too old for his maker to care much about that.

I once co-owned a coworking space. The space had doors with magnetic locks, unlocked by a powered relay. My partners and I realized that, if we could switch power to the system on and off, we could remotely control the door lock. One of us had a first-generation Wemo plug, so we hooked that up, and then the programmer among us set up a script that, passing Python commands over the local network, switched the door lock open and closed.

Sometimes it would occur to me that it was kind of weird that, without authentication, you could just shout Python commands at a Wemo and it would toggle. I'm having the same feeling today about a device that's one generation newer and yet also possesses fatal flaws.

IoT security research firm Sternum has discovered ( and disclosed ) a buffer overflow vulnerability in the Wemo Mini Smart Plug V2 . The firm's blog post is full of interesting details about how this device works (and doesn't), but a key takeaway is that you can predictably trigger a buffer overflow by passing the device a name longer than its 30-character limit—a limit enforced solely by Wemo's own apps—with third-party tools. Inside that overflow you could inject operable code. If your Wemo is connected to the wider Internet, it could be compromised remotely.

Enlarge / The Nest 2020 thermostat is getting Matter support, making it (theoretically) easier to control across multiple smart home platforms, including Apple's Home. (credit: Google)

A major piece of the smart home market now supports the Matter standard . The 2020 Nest Thermostat is the first smart thermostat to join in the slow-going wave and, in doing so, now works in an Apple Home system without additional bridges or hubs.

Take note that only the 2020 redesign of the Nest Thermostat will be updated with Matter support, starting today and rolling out "over the next few weeks," according to a Google Nest Community post . Google has said it is investigating Matter support for the more common Nest (3rd generation) Learning Thermostat and Nest Thermostat E (now mainly available in Europe). Let's hope it does, because the Learning Thermostat has the broadest compatibility across HVAC systems and is the one we see installed in most homes, at about a 100-to-zero rate versus the 2020 version.

If you have a newer Nest, your device will quietly absorb an over-the-air update at some point today or in the next few weeks. After that, you can control your Nest from multiple Matter-compliant systems. Nest already worked with Amazon's Alexa, Samsung's SmartThings, and, of course, Google's Home platform. But with Matter support, you can set it up to interact with other Matter-enabled devices, such as non-Nest temperature sensors or motion detectors.

Enlarge / The Monitor-IO in its natural habitat, glowing green to let you know that everything is copacetic with the network to which it's connected. (credit: Jim Salter)

Monitor-IO was a gadget that did one thing: live near a router and tell you how its network is doing. It did this both with detailed reports you could access from the local network and with a screen that glowed one of three colors: green for good, purple for problems, and red for dead. It could replace, or at least augment, typing a bunch of IP addresses into a browser and waiting for them to time out.

We liked the device when we reviewed it in August 2018 , despite our broad understanding of it as a "butter-passing robot," a device that relays information you could otherwise find out on your own. It had, beyond color-coded awareness, "obvious technical chops and real, careful attention to detail" in how it measured and what it could report. However, we also noted that the $100 price made sense for a small business but "might be a bit steep" for a household on a tight budget.

Monitor-IO seems to have run out of people willing to pay for better network awareness. In an "End-of-service" notice posted on its site , the company cites "rising costs and supply chain issues," among other "numerous headwinds." Faced with no better option, Monitor-IO is shutting down its business and monitoring service on April 15, 2023. (Support will be offered through May 30, 2023.)

Enlarge / SwitchBot's new Hub 2 is most helpful for those who already have SwitchBot products in their home, but also those with infrared devices they'd like to automate. (credit: SwitchBot)

The Matter smart home connectivity standard has huge promise and lots of device makers lined up to engage with a theoretically more open, less server-dependent future. And yet, so far, I haven't been compelled to write about any individual products launching with Matter support. Most of them are simply familiar products—light bulbs, turning door locks, wall switches—that now can be set up in a different, cross-platform way ( however painfully ). Most wouldn't compel anyone who already has a functioning version of them to upgrade or expand their setup.

Here's the first thing to make me take notice, and it is, of all things, a hub. The SwitchBot Hub 2 (also $70 on Amazon ) makes the most sense if you already have some SwitchBot products in your home and might want to take them beyond their default Bluetooth range with Wi-Fi connectivity. But I think it might also appeal to someone looking for an entryway to a small, controlled, and useful smart home.

For one thing, the Hub 2 isn't just a puck of plastic that does nothing but coordinate traffic for a subset of devices. I have two of those taking up space in my home, from Phillips Hue and Samsung SmartThings. They hang out within Ethernet distance of my router, eating trickle power and generating a little heat pocket on that shelf. They are quiet, mostly useless roommates who will be evicted by some future upgrade.

Whether you're just starting to smarten up your home or looking to add new Internet of Things (IoT) pieces to your existing smart home, Dealmaster is here with some terrific deals on everything from routers and doorbells to door locks and everything in between. If you're new to the smart home game, adding a video doorbell or smart lock, like Eufy's 2K Dual Camera doorbell or the August 4th Gen Smart Lock , will help you keep tabs on what's happening at your front door and give your family some extra security without requiring you to subscribe to a monitoring or alarm service. These are two of the best smart home investments I've made.

For more advanced users, adding smart lighting and smart switches can take your smart home to the next level, letting you turn off the lights from your couch, change to mood lighting when you're zoning out in front of the television, or pretend like someone's home with an automated lighting schedule when you're on vacation. A smart robot vacuum or combo vacuum and mopper will help keep things tidy, while a new router will give you better Wi-Fi coverage for all your devices. Whatever your needs are, we have you covered with the curated deals below.

Routers

• Linksys MX8000 Velop Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router (2-pack) for $187 (was $350) at Amazon
• Amazon eero 6 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router (3-pack) for $180 (was $199) at Amazon
• Amazon eero Pro 6 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router (2-pack) for $240 ($was $300) at Amazon
• TP-Link Deco X55 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router (3-pack) for $185 (was $280) at Amazon

Cameras, doorbells, smart locks, and security system

• Ring Video Doorbell 3 camera for $140 (was $199) at Amazon
• Ring Alarm 7-piece security system (refurbished) kit for $135 (was $200) at Amazon
• eufy 2K Video Doorbell with Hub for $135 (was $200) at Amazon
• eufy 2K Video Doorbell with Dual Cameras for Package Detection for $140 (was $200) at Amazon
• eufyCam 2 Pro (4-pack with hub) for $480 (was $600) at Amazon
• August 4th-Gen Wi-Fi Lock for $199 (was $230) at Amazon
• Kwikset Halo Wi-Fi Deadbolt for $227 (was $249) at Amazon

Lights and switches

• Kasa Smart Light Switch (3-pack) for $35 after additional $5 coupon (was $45) at Amazon
• Lutron Caseta Deluxe Smart Dimmer Switch (2-pack with hub) for $136 (was $256) at Amazon
• Kasa Smart Color Light Bulbs (2pack) for $19 after additional $4 coupon (was $25) at Amazon
• Kasa Smart Color LED Light Strip for $19 (was $25) at Amazon
• Govee TV Light Bar for $59.50 after additional 15% coupon (was $70) at Amazon
• Smart Candelabra LED Bulbs (4-pack) for $29 after additional 12% coupon (was $43) at Amazon
• mujoy Smart Editon Filament Bulbs (4-pack) for $28 after additional 30% coupon (was $40) at Amazon

Robot vacuums

• Roborock Q7 Max+ Smart Vacuum for $650 (was $870) at Amazon
• Roborock Q7+ Self-Emptying Vacuum for $550 after $250 coupon (was $800) at Amazon
• iRobot Roomba 692 for $189 (was $300) at Amazon
• iRobot Roomba i4+ EVO (4552) for $419 (was $650) at Amazon
• iRobot Brava jet m6 (6012) Robot Mop for $314 (was $500) at Amazon
• Roborock S7 Robot Vacuum and Mop for $430 (was $650) at Amazon

Enlarge (credit: Mycroft )

Open source voice assistant software-maker Mycroft disappointed thousands when it announced Friday it will not be sending its Linux-based smart speaker to any more people who backed the product on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Remaining inventory of the privacy-focused Amazon Echo alternative will go to those who buy the Mark II from Mycroft's website for 171 percent more than early backers pledged.

Mycroft says its open source software can run on anything, from a computer to a car to a Raspberry Pi. The company promotes flexible customization for user and business needs and says it doesn't collect data unless a user opts in. Opt-in data is published publicly for open source development. The technically savvy could also customize Mycroft to their will and use it to run their own server or work offline, and the software shows potential for broader use cases, like Linux phones . Open source voice assistants like Mycroft have won the attention of smart home enthusiasts, but their complexity has prevented them from becoming mainstream solutions over Big-Tech voice assistants packaged into neat hardware.

That's what made Mycroft's Mark II seem like a good idea; and while privacy-first, open source smart hardware still is, Mycroft has upset a lot of its early supporters.

Enlarge / There's a new, improved Home system coming for Apple's smart home users—for the second time. (credit: nurPhoto / Getty Images)

An upgraded architecture for Apple's Home smart home system, one that would potentially make device-packed networks faster and more reliable, is coming back to iOS soon after a failed launch late last year.

Apple originally pushed a Home app update in iOS 16.2, one that, separate from the OS itself, offered "improved performance and reliability of the accessories in your home." The upgrade required that every single Apple device connected to the home—iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, MacBooks, HomePods, and Apple TVs—updates to the latest OS version or not have access. A number of people who clicked all those Settings icons and waited through reboots ended up with unresponsive devices , slow responses to commands and scene changes, and devices stuck in a "Configuring" stage.

Apple later pulled the Home architecture upgrade from 16.2, gave Home owners advice on how to regain control of their Home, and reportedly added the problems to an internal list of major hardware and software issues, seen by Apple, Apple Store, and Authorized Service Providers. The visual refresh given to the Home app was still in place, providing easier access to multiple devices and rooms from the home screen and adding widgets to the lock screen. But those who didn't jump to upgrade (and complete it) were held back. Apple listed the " Upgrade to the new Home architecture " as "temporarily removed" but noted it would "return soon."