Google’s Nest is taking its smart home tech to a whole new level. The company has been pretty quiet over the past few years, but this week they announced what they’ve been up to: Building a whole line of smart home security devices, from doorbells to AI cameras.
Andru Edwards, co-host of our Geared Up podcast, got to see everything first-hand at the launch event, and he breaks it all down on this episode of the show. If you put all the devices together, he said, you can basically build your own smart security system.
In other Google news, the company announced a an unusual deal with Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC this week. It’s not exactly an acquisition, but Google is taking over a big chunk of HTC’s workforce.
What does that mean for HTC? Well, while it helped Google build the fairly successful Pixel phone, its own phones have had a hard time breaking into the market. On the other hand, the HTC Vive is arguably the premier virtual reality headset of the moment. We debate where the company will go and what this spells for the smartphone market.
Plus, Amazon might be building augmented reality glasses with Alexa built in, and we take a look at the GE Sol, a light with Alexa built in. Todd says the Sol isn’t incredibly impressive, but is an exciting glimpse of where smart appliances are going.
And finally: Apple. The Apple Watch 3, iPhone 8 and new Apple TV models all go on sale Friday, and the company has seen some bumps along the way to release.
Listen to the episode above or download the MP3. Don’t forget to subscribe to our live behind-the-scenes videos on Facebook or YouTubeand subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Google Play or wherever you listen.
