Can Aibo replace Fido? I fostered Sony’s robot dog for a week to find out
Can a robot dog replace a real dog? I set out to find the answer to that question by “fostering” Aibo, Sony’s robot dog. I came away from the experience with more questions than answers. While robot dogs are not for me, Sony sure did a great job of making just about the cutest artificially intelligent pup there is.
Where have you bean all my life? I finally found the perfect coffee maker
When her beloved coffee maker died, Digital Trends reviewer Joni Blecher found herself lost and caffeine-less. Blecher then embarked on a yearlong journey looking for the perfect new machine. Find out what she discovered in her quest, and get some tips on how you can pick the best model for your home.
The future of food could make kitchens and grocery stores obsolete
Will kitchens eventually be replaced with vending machines? Will we be 3D printing our food in 20 years? The 2018 Smart Kitchen Summit included a lot of wild predictions about the future of cooking, but the most likely scenario seems to be that people will cook and use technology in different ways.
The Google Home Hub doesn’t have a camera. Here’s why that’s a good thing
Surprisingly, Google's new Home Hub smart display doesn't have a camera, and that's a good thing. In an age of tech dominated by lots of bells and whistles, we're impressed that Google listened to people's concerns about privacy. How important is video calling on a smart display anyway?
We got naked with the Naked Labs 3D Body Scanner. Here’s how it went
Want to sculpt a specific part of your body? This 3D body scanner uses four million data points to create a 3D model of your body. It measures each part of your body, so you can hone in on your problem areas and measure the exact impact of your diet and workout routines.
Smart grills are dumb. Here’s why you’re better off keeping it simple
Once wooed by the allure of a smart grill, we have come to realize that smart grills aren't that smart an investment after all. At least, not yet. Like many smart devices, the parts that make a grill smart can often be the biggest pain point. Here's why your money is better spent on a quality dumb grill.
From sharks to Shaq: Ring CEO Jamie Siminoff’s unusual road to success
In 2013, CEO and founder of Ring security Jamie Siminoff walked away with nothing after pitching his video doorbell on the show Shark Tank. Now, after selling his DIY home security company to Amazon for more than $1 billion. he’s returning to Shark Tank as a guest judge. He tells us his story of how it all began in a garage building explosives.
5 lessons from Amazon’s head-spinning, head-splitting Alexa fiesta
What, no Alexa-enabled kitchen sink? Yesterday’s surprise Alexa announcement was a deluge of fast-paced devices and software announcements. Here are five takeaways I have on the event and the devices that were announced. (Hint: one of them predicts Amazon world domination).
Restaurants may soon have chefs who know all about you before you walk in the door
Chef Eric Rivera started serving multi-course meals to two people at a time inside his home. He recently expanded with Addo, a combination of restaurant and incubator for unestablished chefs and bakers. Using Instagram, a ticketing system, and questionnaires, Rivera thinks he has some ideas on how young chefs can attract new customers.
It’s Echo season. Our guesses on what Amazon could unveil
Over the past two years, Amazon has announced new Echo hardware in September. We have no idea if it's planning a similar announcement this year, but if so, here are our best guesses for what it will come up with. This list is a combination of evidence-based guesses and our wish list.
I ran into LG’s Cloi robot at the airport in South Korea. Here’s what happened
After running into LG’s Cloi the airport robot in South Korea, the experience was entrancing, yet unfulfilling. Does a rolling, talking computer screen with blinking eyes have a purpose other than to entertain?
I loaded my condo with tech — and discovered smart homes still need a lot of work
I’ve lived in the Digital Trends smart apartment for six months. I found things I loved about it -- and also things I loathed about it.
Temi is your personal robot butler, like an Amazon Echo Show on wheels
If you’ve been dreaming of a domestic robot or a smart speaker that can follow you around the house, then Temi could be just what you’re looking for. We went hands-on with the personal robot at IFA 2018 in Berlin to find out exactly what it’s capable of doing and how well it can get it done.
You won’t feel like a tool hanging out in these over-the-top sheds
Voting is open in the U.K.'s latest Shed of the Year contest, with this year's entries featuring some of the wackiest and most wonderful creations to date. Check out what must be one of the smallest pubs in the world, the circus-inspired "Big Top Den," and an extraordinary “floating shed.”
How LG built its Signature appliances to solve problems you didn’t know you had
Ever look at your appliance and marvel over how manufacturers thought of including a certain feature or look? We got a behind-the-scenes look at LG Appliances in South Korea, where we learned about how LG’s Signature line was created. The ideas didn’t come from engineers, but from people like you.
Smart mirrors prove to be more beauty than brains
Smart mirrors all have a variety of features and level of intelligence, whether they are connected via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. We tested out three: out the Viio Vezzo smart mirror, SimpleHuman Sensor Mirror Trio, and the HiMirror Plus+. Some are meant for makeup, while others try to keep you entertained during your morning routine.
Change your habits and win the snoring debate with the Nokia sleep sensing pad
Is a sleep pad that fits under a mattress any better at monitoring your sleep than one of the many apps you can download to your phone? You might be surprised to find out what we discovered when using the Nokia Sleep Sensing Pad, as well as how it affected the way we approached the day.
Why learn to use gadgets when they can just learn to help us? Exactly, says LG
The problem with so-called smart products is that they really aren’t. But LG believes AI is the key, and is investing in new research labs. Digital Trends sat down with LG Electronics’ president and CTO, I.P. Park, to discuss the company’s plans.
NYC startup Roomrs rents smart apartments to young professionals at very low rates
Smart apartments are still evolving, but Roomrs has figured out a way to offer reasonable rents and smart technology to its community of students and young professionals navigating their way into a life in the Big Apple.
HelloFresh delivers on delicious for fans of American fare
What's for dinner? It's a daily question that doesn't always have an answer. Meal kits, while not necessarily saving time or money in the kitchen, provide ingredients and guided instruction on what to cook. Here are our thoughts on HelloFresh.
Silverware handles up or down? Dishwasher experts settle it once and for all
Everyone has their own way of loading a dishwasher. But who’s doing it correctly, those on #TeamHandlesUp or #TeamHandlesDown? We asked some experts to get the question answered once and for all. Now you can stop passively-aggressively re-arranging the forks your partner wrongly put in the dishwasher.
The Brava Oven uses light – and seemingly magic – to cook. It changes everything.
Have you ever been knee-deep in holiday cooking and thought to yourself, ‘there’s got to be a better way?’ So did the creators of the Brava Oven, who wanted to find a better, more efficient tool for baking. Their invention, which cooks with light, will change everything we do in the kitchen from this point forward.
Repainting a room sucks, so I tried to see if tech could make it any easier
To figure out what color to paint our walls, we used a bunch of online tools, from paint company’s sites to Adobe Color Wheel, to get just the right look. Then we tried out a paint sprayer to see if it really was any easier than doing the job by hand. There are some parts of painting that tech hasn’t figured out how to help with yet, though.
Google’s smart home mastermind talks security, A.I., the future of control
Google product lead Mark Spates works on the company’s smart speakers, including Google Home. In an interview with Digital Trends, he talked about the role of voice in the smart home and where the future might lead, including gesture control, proximity sensors, and new smart speaker hardware.
The Foreo UFO can fit into your makeup bag and your busy lifestyle
The Foreo UFO is a smart mask treatment that's controlled by your smartphone. Even with the steep price tag, the easy setup and quick execution had us incorporating it into our skincare routine whenever our skin felt dull or needed hydration -- busy schedule or not.
How close are we to living in ‘The Jetsons’? Checking in on our smart-home future
From video calling to robot maids, The Jetsons made many bold predictions of what daily life could be like in the year 2062. We took a look at the technology featured in the cartoon to see how close (or how far off) the cartoon was in predicting the technology of the future.
Anthony Bourdain’s best cooking tips, seasoned with travel wisdom
Anthony Bourdain, chef, author, and host of Parts Unknown, died June 6 at age 61. The food-lover and world-traveler leaves a legacy of embracing the unfamiliar, eating what's put in front of you, and great travel advice.
A.I. will make smart homes autonomous, but don’t expect perfection or privacy
At the 2018 Connections Conference, artificial intelligence and how it can improve the smart home was one topic of conversation. But before it can run your home, it has to learn to crawl through basic connectivity issues.
The most bacteria-ridden places in your kitchen? Check your appliances
How clean is your kitchen? You may be surprised to find out the types of bacteria that can hide in a kitchen that looks clean on the surface. Time to break out the disinfectant and check those spots on your appliances that you wouldn't normally think to clean.
How Amazon’s robot warehouses swing into action the moment you press ‘buy’
If you’re like us, you probably spend a little too much time on Amazon buying stuff you may or may not need. But what happens after you click the “buy” button? How does Amazon get you your stuff so quickly? We toured a fulfillment center to find out.
Walmart’s grocery pickup is free, but how is the service?
Walmart offers delivery, pickup, or both delivery and pickup options in many markets across the country. We decided to try out Walmart's Grocery Pickup service to see if we could get the same quality food and determine whether it was in fact a timesaver.
Clorox won’t cut it. Volcanologists explain what it takes to clean up after Kilauea
Cleaning up after a volcano is a monumental task. Lava can completely destroy homes, but ash and mudflows can also cause serious damage. If residents are going to rebuild, they have a lot to worry about when it comes to debris and ash removal.
Seeking a paleo, gluten-free, or diabetes-friendly meal kit? Sun Basket delivers
Like Blue Apron, Plated, and HelloFresh, Sun Basket is a meal-kit delivery service. The difference, the company says, is that its ingredients are organic, with “grass-fed, antibiotic-free pastured meats and sustainable seafood.” Sun Basket also caters to specific diets with diabetes-friendly and other meal plans.
How Savant makes a complex smart home run like a Swiss watch
Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri may be able to talk to a bunch of different devices, but so far they aren't proven to be as good at making multiple devices work together in concert. In order to fully automate a home, it helps to enlist home automation services from a company like Savant.