Smart Home

It might be because the heat index is 110 degrees, but the new GE Profile Opal 2.0 Ultra has been a huge hit in my house.

I’ve been testing the smart nugget ice maker for a week, and its ability to make a full batch of ice in 10 minutes is impressive. But for $630, you have to really love chewable ice. I’ll have a review soon.

Now that both Samsung and Apple have promised support for robot vacuums through Matter (Samsung SmartThings will support them this summer and Apple Home later this year), I’ve rounded up a list of robo vacs with Matter support, along with info on how they’ll work in your platform of choice.

Get all the details in the FAQ section of my robot vacuum buying guide.

SwitchBot claims its new Water Leak Detector can not only alert you to leaks and drips but also monitor water levels, thanks to an optional immersion cable.

This sounds handy for warning you if your fish tank is draining, your bathtub is too full, or your sump pump levels are rising. It doesn't need a hub, works over Wi-Fi, and costs $17.99 ($19.99 with the cable).

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Leaked images indicate a new smart lamp is on its way, with its lampshade fixed at an interesting angle.

However, according to HueBlog.com, the lamp uses Hue’s “multi-source light” technology, which uniquely allows you to control the direction of the light in the app.

There’s no pricing yet, but it appears the wired lamp comes in black or white with a cork base.

I’ve been trying out the new widget, now available in Public Preview, which lets you put shortcuts to Google Home devices directly on your Home screen, and it’s very useful.

It can be resized to one tile, three tiles, six tiles, or a total of 9, and can control devices like lights directly, but cameras and thermostats launch the Home app.

Correction: The widget is still only available in Public Preview, not for everyone, and it has up to 9 tiles.

I watched the Nymble cooked a pasta dish at the Smart Kitchen Summit this week, and the result was surprisingly good.

A $1,500 robot-powered induction cooktop, it automatically adds all the ingredients at the correct time, uses a robot arm to stir them, and a camera to watch over the process. But you still have to do the washing up.

With 8 temperature sensors, the Combustion Predictive Thermometer works even if you don’t place it “just right.” Those sensors also track temperature on the food’s surface and in the oven to “predict” when your food will be ready within minutes of starting to cook.

Reviews say the Combustion is very good at its job and makes guessing when the turkey will be done or overcooking a steak a problem of the past.

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Most induction requires a 240V outlet, but this new cooktop from Impulse Labs has a battery inside that stores up juice for when you want to cook.

This means it will still work when the power is out, but the company plans to make more appliances with batteries to eventually form a “fractionalized home battery backup system.”

The Impulse Cooktop costs $6,000 and should ship later this year.

I have a lot of questions about the Chefee — a robotic kitchen insert that stores, preps, and cooks meals for you. And I’m not alone. At the Smart Kitchen Summit this week, there was plenty of chatter about the impressive-looking contraption. Helpfully, the company’s CEO put together this Instagram reel to address some of them. But I still want to know how anyone is supposed to afford this.