This is the final episode of The Internet of Things Podcast, and to send us off after eight years, we don’t discuss the big news of the day such as Arm’s planned IPO , a new display option from Brilliant , or new gear from Leviton . Instead we share our reasons for stepping back from the show, and where we’re heading next. Also, because everyone wants some new podcasts or IoT news options, we share some of our favorite resources. On the podcast side, I sometimes listen to the Mr. Beacon Show or ...
Aug 24, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Amazon’s head of devices, David Limp, plans to retire as part of a wave of executives that have been leaving Amazon in the last year. Also, next year Alexa and the Amazon Echo will be 10 years old, which prompted us to take a look at the role Alexa and the Amazon Echo have played in the smart home, along with what has and hasn’t changed. Our concerns about the state of the smart home are perfectly illustrated by this review of the Mill composting system created by Nest co-founder Matt Rodgers, a...
Aug 17, 2023•58 min
This week we make a big announcement about the podcast and newsletter. Get ready! Then we talk about the issues with Matter and who’s to blame . We lay out the challenges that both we and The Verge have highlighted with Thread credentialing, and talk about uneven device support. It’s a mess. Other messy topics include the prospect of hacked radiation sensors in Chernobyl, as reported by Kim Zetter . Then we get chippy, discussing the new RISC-V company that Qualcomm, NXP, Infineon, and others ar...
Aug 10, 2023•1 hr 4 min
This week’s show kicks off with a surprising revelation from Kevin, who has decided to swap out his smart home platform . He explains his choice, which also may represent a theme of sorts, as we see more and more high-end smart home hubs hit the market. We discuss the HOOBS Pro device and the Homey Pro , both of which cram a bunch of different radios into one powerful box. Then we talk about California’s Privacy Protection Agency and its decision to investigate how connected car companies are us...
Aug 03, 2023•1 hr 1 min
This week we didn’t see a ton of news, yet we managed to talk about several big trends in IoT. We started with an update on Amazon’s planned acquisition of iRobot, and Amazon dropping the price by 15% . We explain why and then decided to explain in depth why we need the planned cybersecurity labeling plan for connected devices because so many people asked me why we need this. We then talk about Unabiz creating a partnership with Semtech to bring Sigfox technology into the Semtech network. Then w...
Jul 27, 2023•1 hr 1 min
This week we dig in on two topics that will make the internet of things friendlier for consumers. The first is the newly announced cybersecurity label plan from the White House that will create a way for consumers to see if their planned IoT purchase meets adequate cybersecurity standards . The second is our suggestion that device makers plan for failure when building a smart product, to help prevent consumers from spending hundreds or thousands on a connected device only to see it lose function...
Jul 20, 2023•57 min
This week on the show, Kevin and I start off talking about some of the Roku gear I’ve been playing with for the last week. We discuss the gear and the subscription plans and how they compare with what else is on the market, before moving on to talk about Latch laying off 59% of its workforce in preparation for what I suspect will be a pivot from access control to a services business aimed at folks living in luxury apartments. After that, we share some tales of civil disobedience from San Francis...
Jul 13, 2023•58 min
This week’s podcast focuses on wearables, from hearing aids to mixed reality headsets. We start the show talking about the potential future of Apple AirPods as a hearing aid or an additional health-focused wearable. And while on the topic of Apple, we mention that the badges on your smart home devices will say the device works with Apple Home as opposed to Apple HomeKit . And then it’s back to wearables with our skepticism over the Humane AI pin . In smart home news, Shelly has new Z-Wave device...
Jul 06, 2023•1 hr
This week we learned a bit more about streaming provider Roku’s plans to build a smart home operating system . This is in addition to all of the new smart home devices the company has developed using Wyze hardware. Because Kevin Tofel is on vacation, I’m talking about all this with my co-host and the creator of the Lowpass newsletter Janko Roettgers, who is a smart TV expert. Janko explains what’s happening with this deal and the overall shift to control smart homes through televisions . We then...
Jun 29, 2023•1 hr 1 min
This week’s podcast tackles Kevin’s real-world experience with the Google Pixel tablet and speaker dock . He liked the tablet, but as a smart home accessory it’s lacking, which is what we had originally anticipated. But it’s still a bummer, because I want a good Google Home display option as Google deprecates third-party Google Home display devices. Then we talk about a couple smart energy products including Dracula Technologies’ new energy harvesting technology that can “suck” even more power f...
Jun 22, 2023•56 min
We start this week’s show with a review of DeviceScript , a limited subset of the TypeScript programming language, built by Microsoft to bring a more modern programming option to connected device programing. Kevin downloaded the code and tried it out on a simulated device and shares his thoughts. Also in programming news, Google released a script language for programming complex automations in the Google Home. Even I can use it. We also look at a new product offering from Vivint , which is selli...
Jun 15, 2023•1 hr 3 min
It may not surprise anyone, but Kevin and I have thoughts on Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset that we’re sharing with y’all. We also lay out some details about changes to Apple’s various operating systems and services that relate to Siri and the smart home. Google also added Matter support for its Home app on Apple devices, which is another means for chipping away at the challenges of deploying Matter across a variety of ecosystems. As we head into wildfire season, and with Kevin’s home ...
Jun 08, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Krogers and Walmart are both expanding various IoT devices to more of their stores as part of a larger shift in how connectivity and intelligence will change how we shop. Walmart is deploying electronic shelf labels in 500 stores while Kroger is installing Cooler Screens’ connected refrigerator doors that replace the glass doors with a screen and uses optical sensors to track when people are walking by a case to show them ads. We talk about how these changes may or may not benefit shoppers and w...
Jun 01, 2023•1 hr
This week’s show is live from Dallas as I attend the Parks Associates Connections smart home event, so I start out discussing some of the themes I’ve seen so far, including the growing importance of data privacy, local processing and generative AI. We also talk about the five-year-anniversary of the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU and evaluate its impact so far (it’s not as bad as you think). On the security front, we evaluate Samsung’s plans for IoT security with its Knox Matrix vi...
May 25, 2023•1 hr 1 min
We start this week’s show with a conversation about Latch, the company that is acquiring Jamie Siminoff’s stealth startup . Siminoff, who also founded Ring, left Amazon (which had acquired Ring in 2018) this week ahead of the planned deal. He will become the CEO of Latch after the deal closes. Then we discuss Google I/O and wonder why we didn’t hear more about Google Assistant, and explore what it means to bring large language models to the smart home. Surveillance is a possibility. And for resi...
May 18, 2023•1 hr
Google launched a new tablet and dock at the Google I/O event Wednesday, and Kevin and I share our thoughts on how it might fit in with a smart home. Will it replace your Nest Smart Displays? We also share some of the updates expected in the new Google Home app before moving on to discuss Roku’s new smart home security system . Then we ask questions about the new State Farm and ADT combined security and water monitoring plans that provide a 6% discount on your insurance premium. Will insurers se...
May 11, 2023•58 min
Amazon has turned on the Thread-capabilities inside its Echo devices so they can support the Matter smart home interoperability standard in its totality, so Kevin and I talk about what that will and won’t do for smart home users. It’s also the moment I give up on my dreams for the Matter specification. We also discuss the end of the Amazon Halo products , and plans to make Alexa savvier by updating the large language model behind the digital assistant. Then we talk about Arm’s plans for an initi...
May 04, 2023•54 min
This week we start the show with my first impressions of the Aqara FP2 mmWave sensor . This $83 sensor can detect multiple people in a room, light settings, and falls. It’s also one of the first presence sensors that uses radar to detect people as opposed to interruptions in infrared light. ( The newest Ecobee thermostat also has a radar sensor for person detection.) After talking about my experience getting the device working and covering its limitations, we move on to discuss the use of dark p...
Apr 27, 2023•51 min
This week’s show has lots of updates and small updates. We start off with a story about a golf course near San Diego that has saved millions of gallons of water using connected soil sensors. And then we review what changed with Zigbee PRO 2023 and cover the NIST efforts to create practical framework for protecting medical device privacy and security. In other medical news we talk about a new device from Cherish Health , which will use millimeter wave sensing to track falls and movement in a home...
Apr 20, 2023•1 hr 2 min
This week’s show is full of both good news and bad news, starting with Google apparently dropping software update support for third-party smart displays . We question Google’s commitment to the smart home, even though the good news from Google is that it has released more capabilities to control new device types — a bit of good news. Then we review Nanoleaf’s Matter-enabled Essentials light bulbs and strips and are a bit worried about what it means for Matter. If you’re putting these bulbs in yo...
Apr 13, 2023•1 hr 9 min
This week’s podcast is focused on IoT infrastructure, with our first conversation explaining the upcoming 6G cellular connectivity standard . After that, we discuss sales of IoT connectivity chips and modules , and the leaders in each category before moving on to low-power wide area network news from Unabiz, which is open sourcing the code for Sigfox . Then we talk about smart home systems and devices for aging in place , and what we’d like to see for products in this category. The bad news is w...
Apr 06, 2023•1 hr 2 min
With this week’s show I feel like we’re singing the same old tune. Philips Hue maker Signify is delaying its implementation of Matter while it waits for others to implement features it needs. Meanwhile Eve has started selling plugs that are Matter-ready from the get go, and will sell new Matter-ready contact and motion sensors starting April 17. In related news, we tout the fact that the Thread Group has now certified 200 devices . We also see a new integrated DIY home security product from Goog...
Mar 30, 2023•1 hr
This week’s show starts off with our take on Belkin deciding to hold off on releasing Matter products , and an update on Matter plans from other vendors including Wyze and Yale. We also talk about Nanoleaf’s new Matter-compatible Essentials bulbs and lights strips . We try to explain why Matter is still frustrating to use and wonder where all the other gear is. Then we discuss Google killing both Glass and its Jacquard touch-sensitive fabric interface . Samsung has a new ultra-wideband chip call...
Mar 23, 2023•52 min
We kick off this week’s show with a focus on generative AI and what new models such as GPT-4 and even things like Stable Diffusion could mean for the internet of things. Along the way we disagree with an article trying to compare digital assistants such as Siri with ChatGPT, and highlight some of the opportunities generative AI provides , especially when it comes to robots . Then we discuss a new deal between Senet and Unabiz that helps drive the concept of a unified LPWAN. We even include a lit...
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr 10 min
This week’s podcast kicks off with a story about the Pentagon’s fears over a Chinese-connected crane maker and its prevalence in U.S. ports. The Pentagon and others focused on national security question whether or not ZPMC , the maker of these cranes, could gather intelligence or cause work stoppages using sensors and motors connected to the internet. It’s a concern that underscores the importance of trust when it comes to connected devices. In train news, we discuss Norfolk Southern’s Ohio trai...
Mar 09, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Details about how the U.S. government plans to disperse $39 billion in funding for chips was announced this week, so we discuss the details and what the funds mean for the IoT. Mobile World Congress took place in Barcelona this week, and amid the news about 5G networks there were several IoT-related bits worth mentioning such as Qualcomm outlining plans for millimeter-wave spatial sensing and Wi-Fi 7 updates . In satellite news, Qualcomm announced that its upcoming 5G modems would have satellite...
Mar 02, 2023•1 hr 9 min
The Connectivity Standards Alliance is back in the news this week with the launch of a new working group focused on data privacy, which we’re super pumped about. Also in privacy news, Tile has released a new anti-stalking feature that requires users to register their tags and fines them if they use it for bad behavior. Location tracking, especially at a few meters or centimeters, will be a big topic at the Mobile World Congress event next week, starting with news of a new Qualcomm Aware cloud pl...
Feb 23, 2023•1 hr
This week’s show starts off with news from the Connectivity Standards Alliance as Kevin and I talk about the new Health and Wellness Working Group. Then we discuss some of the challenges that people face trying to use Matter devices across multiple platforms. It’s not seamless or easy yet. Also on difficult things, we discuss the challenges of securing the industrial IoT thanks to a new report from Dragos . Then we offer a preview of a new wireless technology for so-called massive IoT that will ...
Feb 16, 2023•9 min
This week’s show kicks off with our hopes for privacy in the wake of President Biden calling out tech firms during his State of The Union address . Biden was focused more on targeted ads and protecting children , but children’s’ data gets swept up in smart home devices as well, so there’s a chance. We then explore why Josh.ai is combining its voice assistant with ChatGPT and note that smart home forums are banning ChatGPT . Then we talk about a win for Amazon’s Sidewalk Network and how insurers ...
Feb 09, 2023•1 hr 4 min
This week’s show starts with an overview of the reviews for the new second generation HomePod and a deep dive into the security mess that Anker has made with its Eufy smart home cameras. We then dig into some earnings from IoT chip providers NXP and Silicon Labs , before discussing some new ideas to use RFID to prevent retail theft . We then talk about how the demand for retail tech could be generating demand for better broadband in places where broadband isn’t really all that robust. Then we co...
Feb 02, 2023•1 hr 3 min
