#Ambient Assisted Living and Smart Home 2021

[onlineandyou]

Samsung Announces Never Before Offers on its Stunning Lifestyle TV The Frame

Samsung has announced never before offers on Amazon & Flipkart for its revolutionary lifestyle TV, The Frame, which is a TV when it's on and Art when it's off, to allow consumers to take the aesthetic quotient of their home a notch higher this festive season with exciting offers.  Unbelievably stunning, The Frame has been tastefully designed to make your luxury living space more distinctive and allow you to make your own style statement with stunning and customizable bezel options that come in different colours to complement your surroundings. With the latest edition of The Frame, you can curate your personal art collection from growing library of over 1,400 pieces of art.  By notifying for the offer, consumers will get priority buying option and special updates on The Frame, once festive sale goes live on Amazon & Flipkart. To avail this offer, consumer have to click on 'Notify Me' and register for updates from 27 September – 02 October 2021. During festive offers on Amazon & Flipkart that start from 03 October 2021, consumers can avail a special discount of up to INR 8,000 while buying The Frame 2021. Additionally, they will also get recently launched Bezels up to INR 9,900 complimentary with select models, cashback up to INR 3,000 and no cost EMIs (24 month) with leading banks. Consumers also stand a chance to win discount coupons worth up to INR 1,000 by participating in a quiz in the run up to the festive sale. These offers are applicable on The Frame models starting from 43-inch size and going all the way up to 65-inch.  The Frame isn't just beautiful, it offers superior picture quality with QLED technology that enables life like colours, enhanced contrast and impeccable details with 100% colour volume for an exceptional picture quality. The Frame 2021 also comes with Samsung's Quantum Dot technology, powerful Quantum Processor 4K, 4K AI up scaling capabilities, and SpaceFit Sound that auto-optimises sound settings after analysing the environment of your room.  Warranty The Frame 2021 comes with a 1-year comprehensive warranty and 1-year additional warranty on the panel.  Price & Availability The Frame will be available on Amazon and Flipkart at special price (it includes INR 8,000 special discount) during the festive sale. The 43-inch model will be available for INR 59,990, 50-inch model is available for INR 74,990, the 55-inch model is available for INR 89,990 and lastly, the 65-inch will be available for INR 121,990 during the offer period.

Detailed Features of Samsung The Frame

Style Your Own TV: Change the ambience of your living space to suit your personal style. The latest version of The Frame allows you to customize it as you want. You can 'make your own TV' with easy-to-replace magnetic bezels that come in three different colors (White, Teak and Beige). The modern bezel design can go well with any home interior design and can make your place unique and classy. Art Mode: The Frame gives meaning to TV even when it's switched off. When you are not watching TV, instead of it being a black screen, you can use it as a picture frame that displays artwork and photos just like they would be on paper, film or canvas. Art Store: Through the Art Store, you can transform your TV into a picture frame that shows 1,400 artworks from around the world. Users can get access to a growing library of artwork from world renowned institutions by selecting an individual piece of art for INR 1,199 or subscribe to the full Art Store collection for INR 299 per month. My collection: The Frame lets you easily upload and display your own photographs via your smartphone using the SmartThings app or a USB flash drive. You can also customize your family or travel pictures with 5 different mat layout options and a palette of 16 different colours to make it more realistic. Slim Fit Wall Mount and One Invisible Connection: With Slim Fit Wall-Mount, The Frame hangs like a real frame on your wall and looks gorgeous from all sides and fits perfectly in your space. With one invisible connection, get rid of messy wires once and for all. The single, translucent cable seamlessly connects devices to your TV. You can finally find a more discreet place for your TV peripherals with the help of the One Connect Box. See the world in QLED: The Frame delivers on the promise with 100% colour volume that shows realistic colours no matter how bright or dark the scene gets. The Frame is powered by Samsung's own Quantum Processor 4K, an artificial intelligence engine and the result of over 30 years of world-leading semiconductor expertise. AI capabilities in both picture and sound allow it to learn, adapt and enhance to create a next-level viewing experience. With an additional set of warm tone LEDs, The Frame's Dual LED backlight expresses more sophisticated colour tone combinations in your visuals, bringing every scene to life in full colour realism, enhanced contrast and improved viewing angles.  Intelligent sensors: The Frame comes with motion and brightness sensors. When you're nearby, the motion sensor detects your presence and turns the TV display into artwork, so you can enjoy your favorite art while you're there. When you leave, it turns off to save energy. By detecting ambient light, the brightness sensor automatically balances the screen's brightness and colour tone for a natural illumination. So whether it's day or night, you can see your art how it was meant to be seen. SpaceFit Sound: Using data generated from The Frame's built-in mic, SpaceFit Sound analyzes both the room's acoustics and its installation environment (Stand or Wall-mounted) and automatically applies the best audio settings. Put The Frame where you want and let SpaceFit Sound take care of the rest. Q-Symphony: Feel the sound in harmony surrounding you orchestrated from TV and soundbar. Q-Symphony uniquely allows TV and soundbar speakers to operate simultaneously for better surround effect without muting TV speakers and providing you exclusive audio features. Voice Assistants: You can talk to The Frame. The Frame works with Bixby and Alexa to make your life easier. Change channels, adjust the volume, control playback and more with just your voice. Multi View: The Frame lets you watch 2 screens at the same time, so you can work out while streaming your favorite show or movie. Connect your smartphone and make sure you are doing the exercises accurately. Customize video size and audio options and take full control of what and how you watch. Tap View: Don't feel like listening to music through headphones or phone speaker? Give The Frame a light tap with your smartphone and watch Music Wall visualizations add ambience to your room while your music is played through the TV speakers for an enhanced visual listening experience. Smart Home: The Frame can connect wirelessly with a wide range of smart devices and make them work together with the SmartThings App and One Remote Control. With AirPlay 2 also built in, you can stream or share content from Apple devices to The Frame effortlessly. Solar-cell Remote & Eco-Packaging: Under the Samsung sustainability initiative, The Frame comes with a self-charging remote battery — the solar cell technology allows it to be charged by your indoor lights. The Frame automatically detects your external devices so they are ready to use the moment you connect them. Use One Remote for easy control of all your connected devices. Eco-packaging lets you recreate product packaging into useful items like cat house or bookshelf by simply cutting out the package as instructed and assemble it to create an amazing upcycled item. Samsung TV Plus: The new line-up comes with recently launched Samsung TV Plus, which helps you enjoy free live streaming TV content with our virtual channels. Now you have a variety of channels to choose from and can find content for all interests that are currently in trend. No need to ask your friend which content is hot these days. Just tune in to Samsung TV Plus and find out. Read the full article

[jaisiskeyara]

Air Purification Systems market Demand Driven by by Segment; Market to Reach USD 29.62 Billion by 2028

VynZ Research provides market overview of the current environment as well as the industry's future growth in the Air Purification Systems market. It uses data from annual reports, product literature, industry developments, and other sources to conduct a quantitative market study. The future growth prospects of the industry are based on a rapid quantitative and qualitative assessment of data from various sources.

The Air Purification Systems market is projected to reach USD 29.62 billion by 2027, witnessing a CAGR of 10.38% during the forecast period 2021-2027.

To assist companies in developing their business plans, the research examines the major factors influencing the growth of the Air Purification Systems market, also including Drivers, Constraints, Governmental Policies, Opportunities, Challenges, a Constructive Approach, and Market Economic Expansion Strategies.

Get a free sample copy of this market research @ https://www.vynzresearch.com/consumer-goods/air-purification-systems-market/request-sample

The influence of recent market disruptions such as the Russia-Ukraine war and Covid-19 on the market will be examined in this research report.

Segments Defined:

The research report divides the market into segments based on geography, by Product, by Technology and by Industry During the forecast period of 2021 to 2027, each category gives data on production and consumption. Understanding the segments aids in determining the importance of various market growth variables.

Market segmentation:

Insight by Product

Based on product, the air purification systems market is categorized into dust collectors, fume and smoke collectors, vehicle exhaust, mist eliminators, fire/emergency exhaust, others (include air cleaners, industrial UV systems, and commercial kitchen ventilation systems). Of all product categories, dust collectors are expected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period. Dust collectors are used to removing dust impurities and other allergic particles from the environment. Increasing awareness towards the air quality among the consumers leads to an increase in the demand for dust collectors as it helps in making the indoor environment dust-free from impurities.

Insight by Technology

Based on the technology, the air purification systems market is segmented into HEPA, electrostatic precipitator, activated carbon, ionic filters, others (ultraviolet light air filters and ozone generators). In this market, the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifier is predicted to be the most widely accepted segment followed by activated carbon and electrostatic precipitator globally. HEPA is anticipated to be the fastest-growing segment as they are highly efficient in removing airborne particles including pollen, dust, smoke, and bio-contaminants. The increasing prominence of smart homes and the rising demand for a proper ambient-based living are the major reasons for the growth of HEPA technology.

Activated carbon filters the carbon surface area and makes it porous, resulting in its ability to trap airborne particles and make them effective. Electrostatic precipitator technology is anticipated to be the fastest-growing segment as they handle a large volume of gas, heavy dust loads, and corrosive materials. They are mainly found in public places.

Insight by Industry

Based on industry, the air purification systems market is segmented into Automotive, Construction, Healthcare & Medical, Energy & Utilities, Manufacturing, Others (residential, education, aviation, and hospitality sectors). The automotive sector dominates the market in 2020 and is anticipated to be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period owing to the increasing demand for automobiles globally and rising concern for indoor air quality of automobiles. The construction and healthcare & medical sector is anticipated to have a high CAGR during the forecast period owing to widespread use of air purifiers in hospitals, laboratories, retail stores, supermarkets, etc. where a lot of people gather and the chances of respiratory infections are more.

Region and Country Specific Defined:

Thorough research of certain regions and their related countries is conducted to guarantee that the comprehensive detailing of the Air Purification Systems market's footprint and sales demographics are captured with accuracy, allowing users to make the most of this data.

Competitive Scenario:

In order to obtain essential and critical industry data, the records of major market participants are analyzed. It provides vital information and status on industry players, as well as serves a useful source of advice for businesses and organizations. Porter's Five Forces analysis, SWOT analysis, PEST analysis, competitor landscape, development trends, and strategy analysis, are all covered in depth in the "Air Purification Systems market " research. Major breakthroughs, developments, mergers and acquisitions, and agreements with other important organizations have all been investigated.

Top players are:

Honeywell International Inc., 3M Company, Sharp Corporation, Daikin Industries, Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Clean Teq Holdings Limited, Panasonic Corporation, Alfa Laval AB, SPX Corporation, Mann+Hummel GmbH, LG Electronics Inc., Whirlpool Corporation, Eureka Forbes, Fumex Inc., Philips Electronics N.V. and Clarcor Inc.

FAQ

What are the trends and market dynamics along with market size and growth rate of the Air Purification Systems market during the forecast period?

What is the future impact of the Air Purification Systems market and limits on the market?

What regions currently contribute the maximum share to the global market?

How the changed competitive dynamics can influence the Air Purification Systems market?

Who are the industry players in the Air Purification Systems market and what strategies are adopted by them to sustain in the market?

About Us:

VynZ Research is a global market research firm offering research, analytics, and consulting services on business strategies. VynZ Research has a recognized trajectory record and our research database is used by many renowned companies and institutions in the world to strategize and revolutionize business opportunities. The company focuses on providing valuable insights on various technology verticals such as Chemicals, Automotive, Transportation, Energy, Consumer Durables, Healthcare, ICT and other emerging technologies.

[technuter]

Mi India launches Mi TV 5X series in India

Mi India upgraded its smart TV portfolio with the introduction of the Mi TV 5X series, the successor to the popular Mi TV 4X series. With a fresh look and premium metal bezel-less design, Mi TV 5X Series comes in 3 sizes 43", 50", and 55" tailored to provide a personalised cinematic experience as per your surroundings. Mi TV 5X Series comes loaded with premium features that are designed to offer perfect aesthetics, stunning picture quality, immersive audio experience and smart content streaming. With upto 96.6% screen to body ratio, metallic body and finish, powerful 40W speakers with Dolby Atmos and DTS-HD and the new and upgraded Patchwall 4.0 integrated with IMDb, Mi TV 5X Series is here to take the home entertainment experience a notch higher. It also offers support for all the popular codecs such as Dolby Vision, HDR 10+ and Xiaomi's own Vivid Picture Engine 2 with adaptive brightness.

Design Elevating the aesthetics of living rooms, Mi TV 5X Series features a premium and sturdy metallic bezel-less finish. With 96.6% screen-to-body ratio, it comes with aluminium alloy frames all around the TV, giving it an elegant look from all angles. The back of the TV features layers of carbon fibre to round off the premium design. Accommodating the needs of consumers across all levels, the new range of Mi Smart TVs comes in 3 different sizes 43'', 50'', and 55''. The minimalist and metallic industrial design combined with higher screen to body ratio provides a wholesome viewing experience. 4K Vision Mi TV 5X Series comes with a host of new features and technology that provides an overall incredible experience. The new Mi TV 5X series comes with an enhanced Vivid Picture Engine 2 (Proprietary display technology) with Adaptive Brightness. Using the Photo-electric sensor, it smartly adapts to the ambient lighting conditions, thereby providing users a comfortable viewing experience. The latest version has been programmed to provide an exceptional color accuracy and vibrancy for stunning visuals in all conditions. Ensuring that each and every intricate detail on the screen comes to life, the TV boasts a "Billion Colour View", covering 94% of the DCI-P3 standard. The consistency of the colours will keep users hooked on the screen while they binge watch their favourite shows or content. In addition, Mi TV 5X series comes equipped with a 4K display panel that boasts 3840 x 2160p resolution and offers support for all popular codecs including Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR 10+, Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG). It also comes embedded with Xiaomi's proprietary 'Reality Flow Engine' that interpolates frames when needed to ensure blur-free and smooth viewing while watching sports or playing games. Software Focused on offering solutions that are more immersive, collaborative and interactive than ever before, the Mi TV 5X series comes with the latest version of Patchwall - Patchwall 4. The PatchWall 4 update unveils features such as: New Design: Built on a more interactive experience, Patchwall 4 brings improvements to the interface, making it lighter, faster and more responsive while also looking much better. The new UI has been thoroughly optimized to provide faster search results, quick transitions between apps and lag-free content discovery. The User Centre and App Inputs have been moved to the first fold for easy access. User Centre acts as a personal hub for users where they can save their favourite content, watch new trailers, check their subscription plans and much more PatchWall x IMDb: In its first ever collaboration with any smart TV brand in India, IMDb, the world's most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows and celebrities, is partnering with Mi India to provide ratings and other metadata to be integrated native-ly into Patchwall. Fans all over the world rate movies and shows on IMDb's 1-to-10 scale, and these customer ratings will appear on movie and show pages on more than 30 streaming services available on PatchWall 4. Also, collections of top IMDb fan-rated titles themed around genres, actors, filmmakers and more will be featured on the PatchWall homepage An all new Details Page: PatchWall 4 features an all-new details page for each title, providing ample information to consumers about any show or movie on more than 30 streaming services available on PatchWall 4. With just one click from the movie or show page on PatchWall, users can access information from the IMDb database of hundreds of millions of searchable items, including episode listings, images, detailed descriptions, year of release, genre and more New Content partners: With a content first approach of Patchwall, the company's aim is to offer deep integration across different content platforms. Extending partnership with all the major OTT players, the interface brings together 30 content partners in 15 different languages. Some of the latest partnerships include Chaupal and Lionsgate Play. In a pursuit of making cord-cutting a reality, the new PatchWall 4 also comes with 75+ free live channels which can be directly accessed through Mi TV. Marking its entry in India with Mi TVs, Chaupal's content will be deeply integrated with PatchWall enabling easy and early access to entertaining content and offer best in class experience to the users Mi Home: PatchWall also brings together the smarter connected home experience with the Mi Home app now integrated in Mi TVs. It allows users to control all AIoT devices right from the living room providing an unmatched comfort to users Mi TV 5X runs on Android 10 version out of the box that packs performance enhancements and brings access to over 5,000 apps and games from Google Play along with built-in Chromecast and Google Assistant support. It also features the Mi QuickMute feature that allows users to mute the TV by simply double tapping the volume down key. Sound Mi TV 5X provides a high quality output of 40W with clear three-dimensional audio and rich bass. Featuring as the first for Mi TVs in India, Mi TV 5X series comes with support for Dolby Atmos and provides an ultimate in-home entertainment experience with a fulfilling theater-like rich sound. Further, allowing users to smartly access and operate the TV with a simple voice command, Mi TV 5X series packs built-in far field mics. Users can simply use their voice to search and access entertainment, get answers, control the TV and also operate their smart home devices. Mi TV 5X series comes with 2GB of RAM along with 16GB of storage, coupled with all the latest connectivity features that makes these TVs future-proof. The series bring support for eARC, ALLM via the three HDMI 2.1 ports that also enables next gen gaming with the latest consoles. Along with it, the back panel also features two USB ports, a LAN port, one optical port, 3.5 mm jack and an Ethernet port for all additional connectivity. It also brings support for both 2.4GHz/5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity for uninterrupted streaming and browsing. Price and Availability Mi TV 5X Series will be available across Mi.com, Flipkart.com, Mi Home, Mi Studio and Croma, starting 7th September, 2021 12PM at INR 31,999 for 43", INR 41,999 for 50" and INR 47,999 for 55". Launch offers: Get upto ₹3000 Instant Discount* with HDFC Bank Credit Cards & EasyEMI Get upto 9 month No Cost EMI offers from leading Banks and NBFCs Read the full article

[adalidda]

Illustration Photo: Measurements of wind fluctuations, heat, water vapour and carbon dioxide at 25 m height allow us to study how the forest canopy attacked by the Mountain Pine Beetle affects the atmosphere, and the emission of greenhouse gases. (credits: Andreas Christen, UBC / Flickr Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0))

Scaleup4Europe - DeepTech Innovations in Geodata-services, Housing, Building, Energy and Environment

The general goal of Scaleup4Europe is to establish sustainable support structures that connect four partnering startup ecosystems and their deep-tech member communities in an innovative way that creates a lasting and larger regional scaleup support system. To increase the efficiency of the scaling support, the project’s Scaleup Labs focus on four specific industry verticals that benefit significantly from deep tech innovations: Smart Region, Health Sciences, Agile Manufacturing and AgTech.

The 2nd Open Call dedicated to Smart Region solutions is open and Scaleup4Europe is looking for Scale-ups in the following focus areas:

Geodata Services

(Regional or local) geo-data platforms, data catalogues and data analytics services, which serve as a source of knowledge and information for various stakeholders and use cases.

Housing

Providing age-appropriate living conditions through intelligent, flexibly designed living space, e.g. through special building technology ("Smart Home") and age-appropriate assistance systems (Ambient Assisted Living AAL), possibility of care in one's own rooms.

Building

Systematic networking of those involved in planning and construction via suitable management systems (BIM). Creation of digital twins of buildings and neighbourhoods. Using building simulations to optimise new construction or refurbishment measures.

Energy

Intelligent systems for collecting and processing generation, distribution and consumption data. Optimisation of energy management through smart technologies in neighbourhoods and regions. Intelligent coordination between energy production and consumption across sectors (sector coupling). Development and implementation of smart energy solutions in residential, commercial or public buildings.

Environment

Digital solutions e.g. for air and noise measurement as well as water quality by using smart sensor technology. Optimisation of regional flows of recyclable materials, intelligent waste disposal in the region and recycling measures.

Technologies

Innovations in deep tech such as IoT, Machine Learning, Data Analysis and Blockchain help to meet challenges in the fields of geodata-services, housing, building, energy and environmental issues that don't stop at a city border.

The Scaleup4Europe program is free of charge, we also take no equity.

Application Deadline: August 22, 2021

Check more https://adalidda.com/posts/YqcS6KsXqkBi9APPz/scaleup4europe-deeptech-innovations-in-geodata-services

[daniloqp]

Amazon Prime Day 2021: 48 Best Kitchen, Home, Kids Deals (Day 2)

Amazon Prime Day 2021: 48 Best Kitchen, Home, Kids Deals (Day 2)

https://theministerofcapitalism.com/blog/amazon-prime-day-2021-48-best-kitchen-home-kids-deals-day-2/

This year finds us in a much different place than last. Instead of hunkering down for a chilly, lonely winter, we’re flinging aside our face masks and getting ready to return to the outside world. However, if you’re having friends over for the first time in more than a year, you might still need help vacuuming the living room carpet. Or maybe you’re styling your hair to appear in public for the first time in a loooong time and have forgotten how to do it! If that’s the case, we can help! We perused all of Amazon’s Prime Day deals for the second day to find the best ones for you, your kids, and your dusty corners and kitchen counters.

Note: We regularly update articles and strike through items that sell out or rise in price as of publishing, and mark discounts based on recent product pricing or average price, not MSRP. Be sure to check discounts for yourself. Our picks come from research and our extensive experience reviewing products. You’ll need an Amazon Prime subscription to get most of these deals.

Updated Tuesday: We’ve checked links and updated pricing throughout. We’ve also added the Primula Burke coffee maker, Nest Audio, SimpliSafe’s security system, Nooie’s smart bulb and security camera, and Nanoleaf’s ambient lights.

WIRED’s Prime Day Stories

If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more.

Smart Home Deals

Eero Pro Mesh Router

Photograph: Eero

Since Amazon bought Eero, it has dropped the price on it during deals holidays, along with Kindles and other Amazon devices. However, that means this is still a good time to pick up a Wi-Fi extender if you recently moved to a bigger property, and Amazon promises the devices won’t spy on you. If you need more coverage, you can buy three Eero Pro routers for $349 (150 off).

This is our favorite air purifier for small rooms, rated up to 361 square feet. It’s attractive, slim, and won’t take up much space in the corner of a room. It’ll automatically kick on when it detects pollutants in the air, though it’s not the quietest.  

Smart bulbs can add up in price, so even if this deal is small, it may be worthwhile if you need to swap out multiple bulbs. This is our favorite smart bulb. You get multiple hues to switch to, the ability to schedule the lights to turn on or off, and you can control it via Google Assistant or Alexa. Another one of our favorites, the Yeelight, is also on sale for $24 ($6 off).

If you want to spruce up the lighting in your home, we like these panels from Nanoleaf. You stick them to your wall and connect them together in any particular shape or design you want (you can buy expansion packs to add more panels). The companion app has tons of colors and effects to choose from. The triangle kit is also on sale.

If the floors of your house get serious wear and tear from multiple pets or kids, this all-in-one vacuum and steam cleaner is an affordable way to clean carpet, rug, and hardwood quickly and easily. I (Adrienne) own the larger version of this steam-vac and use it when my preschoolers have gotten the carpet mysteriously funky.

Photograph: Amazon

We’ve loved the basic Kindle for years, and now that it comes with a backlight, it’s the model we recommend in our Best Kindles guide. This is the best price we’ve seen in 2021. Plus, it comes with three months of Kindle Unlimited, which lets you read a huge number of ebooks for free. It’s $10 a month after the trial.

If you can spend a little more, and you’re a bathtub or beach reader, the Kindle Paperwhite is worth the extra cash. It features an IPX8 rating, which means you can chuck it in 2 meters of water (not that you should try that). Otherwise, it’s very similar to the standard Kindle. Read the differences here. This price is for the 8-gigabyte option; if you listen to a lot of audiobooks (which take up more space), you might want to spring for the 32-gig model for $105.

Roborock S6 MaxV

Photograph: Roborock

This is the lowest price ever for this robot vacuum. It’s in our Best Robot Vacuums guide, and you can read more about it in our review. If you have a pet, it’s great. It has powerful suction and has cameras that can identify and avoid obstacles (even pet poop). Our top pick, the Roborock S4 Max, is also on sale for $310 ($120 off).

I (Adrienne) test a new robot vacuum every month, and I am continually shocked at how iRobot Roombas remain among the best-performing models for the money. I’ve tested several Roombas in the 690 series, and this is the best price you’ll find for one outside of Black Friday or other holiday sales.

This is the lowest we’ve seen this robot vac drop in several months. It’s much more expensive than the Roomba above, but it comes with the added luxury of emptying itself for up to 60 days before you have to think about it.

We reviewed SimpliSafe’s security system and really like it. It’s simple to set up, and subscribing gets you 24/7 professional monitoring, as well as dispatches to police, fire, and medical teams in case of emergencies ($15 per month). Included in this kit is the base station, which has a built-in siren, a keypad to disarm the system, an entry sensor, a motion sensor, and a keyfob to disarm or arm it. The keyfob also works as a secret panic button. 

The August smart locks fluctuate in price a lot and drop to this price during big sales, but this is the lowest price that we usually see. These Yves Béhar-designed locks install in minutes, use your deadbolt, and work with Siri and HomeKit.

Ecobee Smart Thermostat

Photograph: Ecobee

The full discount appears at checkout. Ecobee’s smart thermostat is still my favorite smart thermostat. Extra sensors pick up the temperature in different parts of your house and adjust your HVAC system accordingly so that you never lunge out of bed, sweating, in the middle of the night or find your fingers turning to icicles in your office. 

The price on the Ecobee camera is about $10 less than previously seen deals on the net, though this camera has been on sale for $80 a few times this year. This is a useful camera to choose if you like Ecobee’s smart thermostat or whole-home system.

This is one of our favorite security cameras. It’s attractive, offers 1,080p video quality, and has pretty great motion detection. Even better, there’s two-factor authentication for the app for extra security. You can supply your own MicroSD card to store clips, or subscribe to a cloud storage plan. It can’t swivel a complete 360 degrees and lacks pet detection.

Google’s new Nest Audio (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has officially replaced the original Google Home from 2016. The design looks completely different, like a soft pillow, but you get much-improved audio, and you can pair two for stereo sound. 

A smart display one-ups a smart speaker by offering visual information instead of just audio. Google’s latest version of its 7-inch Nest Hub (7/10, WIRED Recommends) does this really well and is perfect for bedrooms because it doesn’t have a camera. It can even track your sleep, though this feature will require a subscription next year. 

Many people, including us, find Wi-Fi-enabled security cameras to be immensely useful. On the other hand, it’s hard to find a brand that we trust that hasn’t had a security breach or doesn’t share info with law enforcement. In our testing, we’ve found Arlo cameras to be reliable and the picture crisp. An outdoor floodlight adds an extra layer of a deterrent to would-be yard invaders.

Even with the advent of Apple’s AirTag, Tile is still one of our favorite trackers to find all your stuff. This two-pack comes with both a Pro and a Slim tile. The Pro attaches to your keys, and the Slim slides in your wallet, making it a perfect one-two combo for your three-point check before you walk out the door.

Kitchen Deals

Photograph: Amazon

If you’re trying to reduce your plastic waste, we’ve recommended these reusable bags for years. I particularly like that they don’t need an extra attachment to seal the bag, so you can throw them in the dishwasher and put them away without looking for another part. 

If you’re a fan of sparkling water, you can also reduce the number of single-use bottles that you use with this slim countertop carbonator. Just add your own flavorings and push the button on top to add the appropriate amount of fizz.

Photograph: Primula

This is the best cold brew coffee maker for most people. It’s dirt cheap, especially with this deal, and super simple to operate if you don’t mind making your coffee 24 hours before you drink it. We’ve rounded up deals on more coffee gear here.

A gleaming array of All-Clad pans is a worthy wedding registry addition. But for most of us, solid nonstick cookware can be had for a much cheaper price. I (Adrienne) own several pots and pans from this set, and they’re sturdy, don’t stick, and heat evenly. What more can you ask of a pan?

Lodge Enameled Dutch Oven

Photograph: Amazon

A Le Creuset is also a worthy purchase, but my cast-iron Lodge pans have lasted just as long and required equally little maintenance. Six quarts is big enough to make stew for a family dinner, and it comes in a wide range of colors.

This is the lowest price ever for this wine preservation system. We’ve written about Coravin before and the gadgets have a bit of a cult following. It essentially lets you pour wine out of a bottle without removing the cork, preventing it from oxidizing and thereby making the bottle last longer.

Keurigs aren’t the most sophisticated coffee makers that we’ve tried, but they’re extremely convenient, compact, and reliable. You can also use refillable pods if the waste bothers you. A similar but more stylish version is also on sale for $60 ($40 off), but it has a smaller water tank capacity.  

Zojirushi’s rice cookers have a microcomputer (or “micom,” to use the Japanese portmanteau) that makes minute adjustments to avoid burned spots and soggy bits, whether you’re making white rice, brown rice, oatmeal, or steaming vegetables. This is probably the deal that I (Adrienne) will end up buying.

This is perennially one of our favorite travel mugs. It’s attractive, durable, compact, comes in a variety of colors, and keeps coffee hot for hours. (I have to let my coffee cool a little before sealing it.)

Is it even Prime Day without an Instant Pot deal? Lots of Instant gadgetry is on sale, including its first-ever air purifier, but this is the Instant Pot that I (Adrienne) use almost every week, years after purchase. You can also turn it into an air fryer with a lid attachment.

Kids and Parenting Deals

Nixplay Digital Picture Frame

Photograph: Nixplay

If you have long-distance, tech-phobic family, a digital picture frame is the best way to feel connected—much less complicated than telling your grandmother how to operate a tablet. Our favorite frame, the Aura Carver, is also on sale for $169 ($30 off), but it’s been that price on and off for a while. We have several more picks in our roundup of the Best Digital Picture Frames.

This is also a very exciting deal, as this enormous Magna-Tiles set has never been this cheap. I (Adrienne) never quite understood the appeal of Magna-Tiles until I had preschoolers and saw them making everything from multilevel castles to ice cream cones and drum sets.

The price is $78 until checkout, which is a good discount, but if you click the 5-percent-off coupon button, it drops a bit further. Even our most cynical Gear Team parents love the Osmo sets for taking activities off the screen and into the physical world. There are a bunch of Osmo sets on sale, but this is a good one to try if you haven’t used them yet. (You’ll also need an iPad that runs a minimum of iOS 10.)

If your kids are starting to venture into the wild, this is a great price for a starter explorer kit. It comes with binoculars, a magnifying glass, and a butterfly net for catching any creepy-crawlies around your house. The $2 discount here is pretty sad, but the kit should still make kids very happy.

We generally prefer RF baby monitors over Wi-Fi-enabled ones, but there’s no denying that being able to check in on your kid from anywhere, and being able to pan and tilt the camera, is immensely useful. This is a much cheaper Wi-Fi-enabled alternative to our top pan-and-tilt pick, the Eufy Spaceview.

This K’Nex set comes with battery-powered motors suitable for putting together Ferris wheels, cars, and maybe even a drone if you or your child has the nerve. It comes in a convenient suitcase box and is probably best suited for older kids.

Amazon Echo Dot Kid Edition

Photograph: Amazon

The kid version of the Echo Dot includes a year of Amazon Kids+, which remains my favorite content platform for younger kids. It also sounds great and has a two-year, worry-free guarantee, in addition to a variety of cute spherical faces. I use one to set alarms for my kids in the morning, to check the weather as we’re getting dressed, and to tell stories during quiet time.

Cubcoats makes some of our favorite face masks for kids. These are big on smaller kids, but my daughter is now 6 and they fit reasonably well.

FridaBaby has made waves for making cute, cheeky baby and postpartum recovery kits that are indispensable for new parents. This is the lowest price we’ve seen on this postpartum kit for new moms, which includes everything you need for the first critical few weeks after birth.

The NoseFrida is part of the Baby Basics Kit, and it works

Photograph: Fridababy

Because my children are now preschoolers, I (Adrienne) already own everything in this kit. However, I may order it again for replacements. The Snotsucker is a necessary tool for de-snotting toddlers with a cold, and you can never have too many tiny nail clippers.

My family has gone through so much Play-Doh during the Covid-19 pandemic. This set comes with 12 colors and 47 (47!) types of modeling tools.

Parenting includes dogs, right? BarkBox’s monthly subscription box is half-off until June 22, and it comes with two dog toys, two bags of dog treats, and a chew (you can choose a box based on your dog’s size). Just remember that it will auto-renew at $35 per month, so set a reminder to cancel it if you don’t want to continue subscribing.  

Amazon is having a pretty big Lego sale for Prime Day. This intricate set with over 1000 pieces will be a great display piece when it’s done.

A lot of Legos are on sale, so it was hard to pick just one. We like the A-Wing because, as we all know, it’s extremely fast and maneuverable though difficult to pilot and too small to fit an astromech droid behind the cockpit. (We watch a little too much Star Wars here.) This set is $5 cheaper than the lowest price it’s ever been and will appeal to kids and adults alike.

These sets usually go on sale only once or twice a year. My (Adrienne’s) children own a smaller version. If I never hear “Marble ruuuuun!” ever again, I would be happy, but they would be extremely sad. It’s endlessly entertaining and teaches them about gravity, in that marbles go down but also run all over the floor and under my feet.

Bathroom and Personal Care Deals

Withings Body Cardio

Photograph: Withings

The price on this smart scale drops frequently but never quite this low. Of the smart scales that we’ve tried, this one can be a bit finicky since it doesn’t have exposed electrodes. But we like that you can recharge it via Mini USB, and Withings’ app and its suite of health care tools are very simple.

Click the coupon on the page to get some of this discount; the rest is taken out at checkout. This is our favorite electric toothbrush. It’s more affordable than any other smart brush we’ve tried when it’s not on sale, and this is the lowest we’ve seen it. It’s slim and light, with accurate tracking via an app that shows you exactly where you’re missing. Better yet, you don’t have to have the app open every single time you use it. You can still collect points (which translates to a few dollars off replacement brush heads) by connecting the brush to your phone every 10 days.

I (Adrienne) wouldn’t say that I liked the Halo, and you may not either, but it is also the only fitness tracker I’ve ever used that purports to track emotions. As I discovered, it can be a useful tool if you’ve found yourself squabbling with your partner after a stressful year.

The price of 23andMe’s genetic test kits drops numerous times each year, but at 50 percent off, we still think this is a great deal. Just do your best to make sure you have as few skeletons in the closet as possible before you send in your test.

The prices on Fitbit’s more affordable trackers also drop pretty regularly, but not predictably. If you’ve been looking for an affordable fitness tracker to jump-start a new exercise habit, I (Adrienne) like the Inspire’s small size a lot, and Fitbit still has the best user interface for beginners. The Sense is on sale as well.

Photograph: Hot Tools

Most people have heard of the cult-favorite Revlon One-Step for drying and styling your hair, but Hot Tools makes a version with a detachable top that can work with a variety of attachments. I like the round brush here, but you can also buy the volumizer or paddle brush separately.

This is a great little massager that adds a heating element to the handle—being able to soothe sore muscles with both heat and pressure is a huge upgrade for a relatively cheap percussive device. Plus it’s compact and light, so you can bring it with you wherever you need, like the gym or for a midday massage during work.

$150 seems like a lot for a toothbrush, until you get used to using one and your teeth feel vaguely grotty without it. This brush is attractive and effective, even if the app and its smart features leave something to be desired. This is also the lowest price we’ve seen on the DiamondClean for years.

If you’d like to check more deals yourself, here are some links to sales going on this week.

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Voiceitt, Amazon Announce Collaboration Between Alexa And ‘Superpower’ Speech Technology

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Voiceitt, Amazon Announce Collaboration Between Alexa And ‘Superpower’ Speech Technology

Nat Grupp and his dad.

In a blog post published Thursday, Amazon and speech startup Voiceitt announced a collaboration that aims to make Alexa more accessible to people with atypical speech. Voiceitt is an app that uses machine-learning and speech recognition technologies to help those with speech impairments communicate and be more easily understood.

In a press release, Voiceitt acknowledged the popularity of smart speakers and digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa—despite their massive popularity, however, they can prove inaccessible to those with various types of speech delays. This can make the communicatively impaired feel as though they are excluded from using voice-first devices. Teaching a machine fluent speech is hard enough; teaching a machine to learn atypical speech is exponentially more challenging. Thus, Voiceitt “recognized the opportunity to expand its technology offering to facilitate not only in-person communication but also interaction with voice activated and controlled devices.”

“We’re excited to work with Amazon to bring the benefits of voice technologies to a broad segment of customers who, until now, may not have been able to enjoy these products,” said Voiceitt co-founder and CEO Danny Weissberg in the press release. “Voice technologies are increasingly mainstream, and this Alexa integration is testament to the growing awareness among major technology players of the importance of ensuring these technologies address the diverse needs and preferences of their customers, including people whose voices deviate from standard speech. Integration of Voiceitt’s speech recognition with a powerful service like Alexa further demonstrates Voiceitt’s value proposition in a rapidly expanding industry, and of our vision—to make speech recognition accessible to everyone.”

Voiceitt, headquartered in Tel Aviv, was born in 2012. The Alexa integration came about through mentorship via Amazon’s Alexa Fund initiative. Launched in 2015, the Fund’s mission is to, according to Amazon, “[invest] in companies that are innovating in AI, voice technology, frontier tech, robotics, and more.” Participants receive up to $200 million in venture-capital funding for product development. The inspiration for the Fund comes from Amazon’s belief that technological experiences driven by the human voice will “fundamentally improve” how people interact with technology.

In an interview with me, Weissberg explained the impetus behind Voiceitt is about empowering independence. The advent of voice-first computing has myriad benefits to people with disabilities, particularly in a smart home context. One of the chief advantages of a disabled person asking a virtual assistant for help is it lessens the reliance on others for help. These experiences go a long way in instilling greater senses of dignity and self-esteem—feelings elicited from heightened levels of autonomy.

The major downside is voice-driven interfaces aren’t usually kind to users whose speech patterns deviate from the norm. That’s what Voiceitt aims to solve.

“Before the Alexa-Voiceitt integration, many individuals with speech and motor disabilities whom we worked with were accustomed to seeking assistance, whether from family members or caregivers, for simple tasks such as turning on the TV or a light,” Weissberg said. “The ability to utilize an Alexa-enabled device independently for the first time using the Voiceitt app will significantly impact the day-to-day lives of these individuals.” He added Voiceitt represents a “life-changing milestone” for many.

How Voiceitt is trained isn’t dissimilar to how one trains a voice-driven UI like Siri, for example. It starts with a simple phrase, followed by repetition of words and phrases several times over. This helps Voiceitt learn the tone and cadence, among other qualities, of a person’s voice. The app then uses artificial intelligence to create a speech model with which it can process a user’s specific commands.

As for Amazon’s role, Weissberg said the company has been consistently supportive. Members of the Alexa team volunteered as mentors during the Amazon Accelerator program, and were excited by Voiceitt’s premise from its earliest days and committed to see the idea come to fruition. “[We] were inspired by Amazon’s commitment to ensuring that the benefits of cutting-edge voice technologies, which they were pioneering, would become universally accessible,” he said.

Peter Korn, who oversees accessibility at Amazon’s Lab126, is equally effusive of Voiceitt’s potential as an assistive technology. “We share [Voiceitt’s] vision to help people with speech impairments live more independently through voice,” he said in Voiceitt’s press release. “We were delighted to support them through an Alexa Fund investment and now through an Alexa integration via their mobile app.”

Weissberg told me early feedback from beta-testers was “overwhelmingly positive and quite moving.” He said testers have grown significantly more independent because of Voiceitt’s technology, accomplishing more on their own than ever before. A recurring bit of feedback was using the app has been a “life-changing experience,” he said. He added Voiceitt and Alexa has enabled people in ways they never imagined.

“Many [testers] report that for the first time, they’re able to join the millions of people around the world who are already using Alexa to control their smart home devices, listen to music and get information using their very own voices—something they never thought would happen,” Weissberg said.

One such tester is Nat Grupp, who’s been part of the Voiceitt pilot program since last year. Grupp, who’s in his thirties and lives in Philadelphia, has cerebral palsy. He has a passion for his hometown sports teams—the Phillies, Eagles, 76ers, and Flyers—and likes to keep tabs on them through the news and by watching games on TV. His condition has made it difficult to move and communicate; his father has long had to help him turn on the television. While Alexa initially was hard to use because the assistant had trouble understanding him, Voiceitt’s technology was a breakthrough. Grupp now can control his home’s lights, Drop-In on loved ones, and keep up with the Philly sports scene—all made possible by Voiceitt and Alexa’s software.

“It feels like a new superpower,” Grupp said in the blog post.

Voiceitt’s work in this realm is game-changing, insofar as it’s heartening to see people recognize speech delays are disabilities too and require accommodation. The mainstream tech press too often has myopic focus when it comes to assessing smart speakers and digital assistants: all they care about are their smarts. Barely any attention is paid to accessibility of any sort, particularly speech-related. Journalists and YouTubers pit Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri against each other all the time to show how intelligent they are, which is valid in and of itself. At the same time, how well they literally understand you is taken for granted; these robots are built assuming normal speech patterns. The thing is, Alexa’s capabilities mean nothing if she cannot reliably parse your speech and do what you ask. Not everyone has the privilege of being able to effortlessly shout into the ether and have their thermostat adjusted. Some people have real problems with these tasks, as Weissberg mentioned. That he and Amazon recognized the need to wholeheartedly address these concerns is a mammoth development for the disability community—one that should be celebrated by the broader technology media. Intelligence is not everything for Alexa and her ilk.

For its part, Apple—as with silicon, the nigh-undisputed industry leader in accessibility—has tried to combat speech recognition issues with Siri in a couple ways. It released Type to Siri to iOS a few years ago, whereby a user can type commands and queries in an iMessage-style interface. While a good solution for certain populations, such as the Deaf and hard-of-hearing, the speech aspect of ambient computing is moot because typing doesn’t actually solve anything, it sidesteps it. As for tackling the actual problem of speech and digital assistants—it’s my understanding, according to sources, Apple has hired speech pathologists for its Siri team in the past to better understand the physiology of speech, and make Siri more graceful with atypical speech.

By contrast, Voiceitt and Amazon are actually taking a page from Apple’s playbook nowadays and applying a truckload of neural engine-y, machine-learning tricks to try to better the user experience in this regard. Maybe Voiceitt inspires Apple’s work.

Weissberg is excited for Voiceitt’s future, telling me “we never imagined just how much we would be able to achieve.” His team eagerly welcomes feedback from users and their families, as making speech-impaired individuals an “integral part” of voice-first computing is a priority. “Bringing accessible technology to people with speech disabilities, together with Alexa, is our main focus for the near future,” he said.

The Voiceitt app with Alexa integration will launch in Q1 2021 on iOS. It is available for pre-order on the Voiceitt website.

From Diversity & Inclusion in Perfectirishgifts