Your connected home just got smarter.

If you’re looking to get started in the connected home space (or you already have but aren’t quite sure where to go next), SmartThings should be one of your top options. There are a ton solutions for getting connected at home, but none as easy to work with as SmartThings. Unlike other closed systems, SmartThings has an open environment, meaning you can do all kinds of crazy things to make the system do what you need it to, and it works with an extensive list of third-party devices.

Many people who haven’t yet had the chance to try an Apple Watch are still wondering whether or not it will have a place in their lives and workflows.

Some don’t think it will, at least not any time soon. Those who’ve been using it for a while, including Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, say it’s already become invaluable to them — That it saves them from having to pull their iPhone from their pockets or purses, that it helps them live better healthier lives, and that it helps them hook into all the digital things around them. Matthew Panzarino does a great job distilling that value on TechCrunch:

One user told me that they nearly “stopped” using their phone during the day; they used to have it out and now they don’t, period. That’s insane when you think about how much the blue glow of smartphone screens has dominated our social interactions over the past decade.

You’re in a meeting, an alert comes in about the next meeting being rescheduled, you glance at it and then go right back to listening. A call comes in, you’re just finishing up at work, you answer right on your watch, exchange a few words, and then get back to getting out the door. You get home, drop your stuff, call out to Siri, and all your lights go into game mode. Then you feel a tap, and the watch tells you to get off your butt and get back into action. Then you feel a heartbeat on your wrist, and know you’re being thought of, and won’t be alone much longer. All without ever reaching for your iPhone.

I’ve argued convenience will be the Apple Watch’s killer feature, but the way Matthew is saying makes it sound even more compelling.

If you argue the Watch isn’t going to sell or do well, it’s worth pointing out that here are very, very, very few products that allow you to hand someone cash and be given back TIME.

Apple will apparently not offer a free tier for is oft-rumored subscription music service when it launches later this year. Company executives have reportedly been saying as much during negotiations with record labels.

For current Beats Music subscribers, this wouldn’t be any sort of change. Apple will reportedly still offer a trial period on the service, then charge after that. This is exactly how Beats Music works now. But Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue and Beats’ Jimmy Iovine have apparently been making aggressive arguments for this model in recent license negotiations for their upcoming streaming service, according to Re/code:

Apple executives, led by media head Eddy Cue and Beats Music founder Jimmy Iovine, have been arguing that the music business “needs to get behind a paywall,” say people who have talked to them. Apple bought Beats last year, partly to help it gain a foothold on streaming music just as iTunes sales of digital downloads had started to drop.

Apple’s free iTunes Radio service will reportedly remain intact after the launch of the new service, as it is apparently not considered a threat to music sales. It almost goes without saying that this would serve the same function as a free subscription tier.

Almost since the moment they purchased the company in summer 2014, Apple has been said to be integrating Beats into its musical offering. Apple is reportedly shooting for a price of $7.99 a month, and the service is said to be integrated into the iOS Music app. As previously reported Apple is apparently aiming for an unveiling, if not an outright launch, at or after this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

Source: Re/code