Since moving to South Carolina’s Lowcountry, I’ve been spellbound by the myriad of beautiful birds that share the coast with us – ospreys raising their babies in towering nests beside the road to my daughter’s school, roseate spoonbills wading in the marsh on my morning walks, eagles circling over my son’s tennis matches, and a […]
Inviting a robot vacuum-mop into your life is a big decision. An autonomous floor-cleaning machine roaming your home is equal parts glorious and intrusive. But if it does its job well, you may forgive it for eating your rug tassel, running over your Apple Watch, smearing strawberry jam across your carpet, or chattering to you […]
I’m deeply conflicted about the Dyson Spot + Scrub Ai robot vacuum and mop. It’s the company’s best robotic floor cleaner to date, with excellent mopping performance, good navigation and obstacle detection, and a multifunction dock that takes much of the busywork off your hands. But Dyson’s first attempt at a vacuum-and-mop combo is a […]
Ikea’s popular Varmblixt lamp just got a smart home glow-up. The delightfully bulbous light now features color-changing, dimming, and smart home control. I tested the new smart lamp in my daughter’s room and found it made a great bedside lamp and added a fun touch of ambiance to her space. While she’s rarely a fan […]
Recently, Ring ran a Super Bowl ad for its Search Party feature showing how it uses AI to scan footage from Ring cameras and video doorbells to help find lost dogs. It sounds neighborly — until you consider that the same system could theoretically search footage for anything or anyone. Combined with longstanding concerns around […]
The Shark PowerDetect UV Reveal is SharkNinja’s latest robot vacuum and mop. A flagship model with a multifunctional dock that empties the dustbin and refills and washes its mop, the Reveal’s signature feature is a UV light designed to “find” stains on your floors. It costs $1,299.99 and is available now. Combined with an RGB […]
As The Verge’s resident robot vacuum reviewer, I don’t have a lot of time (or space) in my life for stick vacs, and frankly, the ones I have used have largely disappointed me. Top-heavy, bulky, always getting clogged or running out of battery – they’re so… manual. But then I met PencilVac Fluffycones, Dyson’s new […]
Robot vacuums that can both mop and sweep your floors have improved significantly in recent years. While they are still not as effective as good ol’ manual labor, if you run them regularly, they will help keep your floors cleaner with much less effort on your part. The difference is that newer “combo” robot vacuum-and-mop […]
Today’s robot vacuums are becoming a bit like cars: with all the features, upgrades, and fancy trimmings available these days, it’s easy to forget that they can just be simple machines that get us from point A to point B. Yes, some bots blow hot air on their bums (mop pads), deftly navigate dog poop, […]
A smart lock is an easy solution to some common problems. Locked yourself out? Need to let a friend in to water the plants? Your latchkey kid lost their key? Hands are full, and it’s raining cats and dogs? A smart lock solves all of these problems and more. One of the best smart home […]