Never worry about leaving the stove top on ever again

The first time someone says “smart stove knobs,” you instantly conclude that the technology world needs stopping. But while the Inirv React’s concept seems gently ridiculous, the product itself makes you wonder why nobody thought of this before. Essentially, it’s a series of powered dials that sit on your gas hob and will let you turn them off remotely with your smartphone. Even more impressive, however, is that a nearby sensor can do it automatically if it senses heat, gas or that you’ve left the house.

Each knob is mechanically powered and will physically turn itself to the off position, making it ideal for any existing hob top. A unit packs a battery that’s good for six months of life before you’ll need to recharge it, as well as the sensor that’s mounted close to your cooker like a smoke alarm. Inside, there’s a motion detector (to sense if you’re actually around) as well as a gas, smoke and heat sensor that will shut the hob off. Own this and you’ll never again have to worry about if you’ve left the gas on while out at the theater.

The company is currently crowdfunding the gadget on Kickstarter and early birds can snag the four units and a sensor for $239. If you wait until the campaign has ended, however, it’ll wind up costing you $299, although that’s probably cheaper than the cost of burning your house down. Each sensor can take up to eight knobs at once, should you be sufficiently baller to have that big a kitchen, and the products should begin shipping by the end of the year.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.

Source: Kickstarter

CES 2017: Yale to Add HomeKit to Select Smart Locks by Late March

Lock manufacturer Yale at CES 2017 this week announced that its lineup of Real Living Assure smart locks will be compatible with HomeKit by the end of March. By then, new Assure locks will be sold with a HomeKit module, which will also be available to purchase separately to add to existing Assure locks.

HomeKit support will enable users to lock and unlock their homes by using Apple’s new Home app on iOS 10 or the free Yale Assure companion app (U.S. and Canada only) for iPhone and iPad. Homeowners can also use Siri voice commands such as “Hey Siri, lock the front door” and “Hey Siri, is my front door locked?”

Users are also able to check a lock’s battery and current lock status, create up to 12 unique pin codes, customize lock and notification settings, name a lock, and add a new lock through the Yale Assure app. Users with a third-generation Apple TV or later can control HomeKit accessories in the Home app while away from home.

The deadbolt locks feature a backlit capacitive touchscreen keypad for keyless entry. If a smartphone is unavailable, users can enter a unique 4-8 digit pin code to enter the home. The Bluetooth-enabled lock is powered by four AA batteries included, or users can touch a 9V battery to the battery terminals at the bottom as a backup option.

Yale said the HomeKit module will also be compatible with its recently launched nexTouch Wireless smart lock targeted at small business owners. The new HomeKit-enabled smart locks and standalone HomeKit module are expected to be available for purchase on Yale’s website at some point in March. Pricing was not disclosed.

The non-HomeKit Real Living Assure locks retail for $199.99 on Yale’s website in polished brass, satin nickel, and dark gray colors. ZigBee and Z-Wave modules are also available for $50 each. Here’s an installation video.

Other HomeKit-enabled smart locks include the Schlage Sense and August Smart Lock.

Tags: HomeKit, CES 2017, Yale
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Elac Adante AS-61GB Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

The $2,500 Elac Adante could be all the high-end speaker you ever need.

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

At CES last year, out of the dozens of products I saw at the show, the one thing that blew me away was the Elac Uni-Fi UF5. It’s a crazy-good $500 bookshelf speaker that easily worries models three times its price. It’s my favorite speaker of 2016.

When I heard that Elac of America’s Andrew Jones had designed a new set of “cost no object” speakers as a follow-up I was intrigued. Given his alliance with Elac in Germany, would he be incorporating some of its designs? A super tweeter? Or a concentric driver with a ribbon tweeter?

The resulting Adante, which the inventor demonstrated here at CES 2017, wasn’t some sort of compromise between the two divisions, this was steadfastly an Andrew Jones speaker. And of course it borrowed from Jones’ extensive history in the audio trade.

Ty Pendlebury/CNET

The Adante range has three speakers: the $2,500 stand mount, the $2,000 AC-61GV center speaker, and a $5,000 AF-61GW floorstander. All will be shipping in the US in the second quarter of 2017.

Firstly, the finish of the speakers is like nothing we’ve seen from Elac America before. Aesthetically it brings to mind the work Jones did with TAD, specifically the Compact Evolution One. The unit Jones demonstrated here in Vegas had a brushed aluminum faceplate with aluminum drivers, and while the cabinet was finished in gloss black, the final version will also be available in gloss white or walnut.

One thing you notice when you look at the cabinet is there aren’t any ports, just a pair of binding posts on the back. In addition to the concentric/midrange tweeter setup the bass woofer is actually a pretty ingenious system of drivers (which Jones says he borrowed from Kef). He’s put a traditional 6-inch driver inside a ported box, and then tucked that inside the closed speaker cabinet. This system then drives an 8-inch passive driver on the outside. Translation? Smoother, more extended bass and better efficiency.

Also… rodents don’t get in there. It’s a thing, really! It happened to me.

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The demonstration units differ from the final design, which was also on display but not auditioned, as he said he had been tossing up between using titanium and aluminum for the drivers. The final design will be the contrasting titanium. Jones says the speaker he demonstrated is about 70 to 80 per cent of where it should be in terms of performance.

Listening to the Adante speakers reminded me of the Uni-Fis that had made me grin so uncontrollably the year before. The Adante has the same effortless imaging, voices are incredibly present and yet it has an even broader soundstage than before. And, the one thing Uni-Fi had missing: that bass!

I was a big fan of the Bowers and Wilkins 805 D3, and CNET’s Audiophiliac even more so. It is a crazily transparent speaker, and it breathes life into quality recordings. What it can’t do is bass. While the Adante didn’t seem as transparent — though I am dying to hear them against each other — it could do deep bass. The gentle synth “BOM” in the middle of “Yulunga” by Dead Can Dance shook the Elac listening room. I haven’t heard another stand mount speaker that sounds like this.

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Of the many tracks we listened to the one that impressed me most, however, was a cover of Tom Waits’ “Way Down In the Hole” by John Campbell. The track had an amazing sense of space with the vocal track commandeering the room while percussion percolated like sheets of shimmering water behind him. Meanwhile the underpinning bass track made my thighs vibrate, and I’ll admit that was a little bit of an odd sensation.

As with last year’s demonstration of the Uni-Fi UF5, the amplification Jones used this time cost many times the price of the speakers, plus he’d included a custom-built industrial power conditioner for good measure.

Will you need to go this crazy if you’re looking to buy a set of these? Jones said a good receiver from the major companies — think Yamaha Aventage, Sony ES or Integra — should be enough to power these speakers. But as with the Uni-Fi, the better the amp the better your results will be. My rule of thumb is usually to spend as much on the amp as you would on the two front speakers, but we’ll see how this holds when we test a pair for ourselves. The Adante is more efficient than the Uni-Fi due to its closed design and so should be a little easier to drive.

While the speaker needs some work — vocals could be a little too overbearing, for example — the speaker is nonetheless a worthy follow-up to the Uni-Fi UB5. If you’re looking to buy a high-end speaker in the next year or two, the Elac Adante is exactly the first place I would look. I’m so excited to test these!

Gourmia GCM4500 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Six new small appliances from Gourmia will be Wi-Fi-enabled and work with the company’s new app. The coffeemaker, tea brewer and sous vide immersion circulator will work with Amazon’s Alexa.

Chris Monroe/CNET

You can lounge in your bed and tell Amazon’s Alexa to start your coffee, tea or sous vide circulator thanks to a new Skill from small appliance manufacturer Gourmia.

Gourmia displayed a new line of six Wi-Fi-enabled appliances at CES 2017 in Las Vegas. The company hasn’t released prices for these countertop gadgets, and they anticipate a release in the second quarter of 2017. You’ll be able to control all the of appliances through Gourmia’s new app, but three of those appliances will work with Alexa, Amazon’s voice-activated digital assistant:

• A 10-cup automatic drip coffee maker with a built-in grinder
• A loose-leaf tea infuser
• A sous vide pod (it’s a device that will create a temperature-controlled water bath)

The controls will work thanks to a Skill (aka the capabilities that you enable Alexa to perform) called Mia. So if you want some tea in the morning, you’ll be able to say, “Alexa, tell Mia to start my tea.”

Integration with Alexa has been big at this year’s CES. And we’ve already seen small appliances like the Joule sous vide circulator work with Alexa.

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Griffin BreakSafe Hi-Power Magnetic USB-C Breakaway Cable Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

The BreakSafe cable for USB-C, plugged into a Macbook.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Tripping over cables, or dragging your device to the ground because you forgot a cable was connected, is one of the most irritating first-world problem that exists.

To prevent your life from turning into a bad infomercial, Griffin expanded its line of BreakSafe cables. These cables come in two parts: one part plugs into your device and stays put, while the other connects to the first part via magnets. The magnets allow the two sections to detach easily in the case of a forceful jerk, saving you (and your device) from a sudden fall to the ground.

The BreakSafe USB adapter (front) and the car charger (rear).

Lynn La/CNET

At CES 2017, the company released a 100-watt version of its 60-watt BreakSafe USB-C Power Cable, which can easily charge the 85 watt, 15-inch MacBook Pro. (Though, when we tried using the 60-watt cable to charge the Pro, it worked.) It can also charge non-Apple products too, like the Google Chromebook Pixel.

Griffin also expanded its cable series for USB Type-A, another USB port that is still used by many devices. This includes the BreakSafe Car Charger and Wall Charger. Perhaps most interesting, however, is the Magnet USB Breakaway Adapter. The adapter essentially turns any USB Type-A cable into a BreakSafe cable — rendering your days of tripping over your phone charger or pulling down your portable hardware drives, over.

Griffin’s products sell globally and the USB adapter will be available in Q1 of this year for $20 (about £16 and AU$28 converted). While the car charger, wall charger and 100-watt version of the USB-C cable will cost $40 (£32, AU$55 converted) and will come out in Q2.

Braven Flye Sport Go Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

The Flye Sport Glo ships in the second quarter of 2017 for $250.

David Carnoy/CNET

Incipio-owned Braven is getting into the totally wireless earphones game with a sports model that has a feature the company hopes will make the upcoming product stand out from the growing horde of cord-free earphones: an app-controlled hi-glow laser light integrated into the ear hook of each bud.

The Flye Sport Glo ($250) is due to ship in the second quarter of this year and includes a translucent charging case that delivers an additional 20 hours of play time, or five full charges, on top of the earphones’ rated battery life of 4 hours. Those numbers are in line with competing models.

I got a little hands-on time with Sport Glo here at CES 2017 and the red laser light is definitely an eye-catching feature. Using the Braven Sport Active app (for iOS and Android) you can set the light to be on all the time or flash intermittently. It’s a nifty safety feature for running, cycling or just walking at night.

You can also adjust the earphones’ sound via the app and activate its Audio Ambient Awareness feature to let sound in and hear the outside world better. You can make calls via the integrated microphone and there are physical controls on the earphones.

Braven is also releasing a less expensive Bluetooth in-ear sport headphone, the Flye Sport Power ($150) that has the sport earhooks with the app-controlled hi-glow laser lights, but it has a cord between its earbuds. Braven’s new Flye Sport line includes two other step-down models that are less interesting but cheaper. UK and Australian details weren’t available, but those prices convert to roughly £200 and £120 or AU$340 and AU$200.

Braven’s Flye Sport Power ($150) neckband-style Bluetooth sports headphone is also due out in Q2 2017.

Braven

Flye Sport Glo key features

• Totally wireless earphones
• IPX7 waterproof rated
• Hi-glow laser lights ear hooks to optimize external visibility
• 4 hours of playtime
• 1,400mAh charging case adds 20 more hours of playtime while doubling as a compact travel case
• Adjust EQ settings, bass boost and virtual listening environments via Braven Sport Active app
• Available in silver/electric and slate/crimson for $250 in Q2

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Bluemint Labs Bixi Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

We’re enamored with the possibilities of the voice-controlled smart home. The first version of Bixi went a different direction. The Bluetooth-enabled, puck-shaped device sensed motion to allow you control over your home with gestures.

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The second-generation Bixi, due out by the end of the year, keeps the same idea intact. Lift your hand over it to raise the volume of your speakers, or wave your hand across it to flip the page on your iPad. Bixi 2 will also accommodate those of us that love to use our voice with an Alexa integration.

Both Bixis respond to seven different gestures. They talk to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth, and Bixi 2 will connect directly to Wi-Fi. You can program Bixi to control any Bluetooth device, and via Wi-Fi hopefully Bixi will be able to talk to a lot more smart home devices — though a Bixi rep wouldn’t offer specifics.

I saw both Bixis on display at CES 2017. The first was released in France last year and will be coming to the US in March. The motion-sensing tech looks cool, especially if you’re in the kitchen and handling food. The small, portable Bixi is easy to take with you and its rechargeable battery lasts a month.

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You’ll need to be within 6 to 8 inches to get a response from Bixi. That limitation was intentional to help prevent accidental usage from your ordinary gestures. Still, the short range makes me wonder how useful it would be rather than just pulling out your phone. Alexa will help, though Amazon’s assistant won’t be always listening via Bixi as she is in the Amazon Echo. You’ll have to wake Bixi up with a wave, then you’ll be able to command Alexa normally.

If you’d like options for controlling your smart home, the motion-sensing, Alexa-enabled Bixi 2 will be out by the end of the year. A Bixi rep wouldn’t confirm a price, though the first Bixi will cost $100 when it comes out in the US in March. If Bixi 2 is much more than that, I’ll have a tough time seeing its value over the original $180 Amazon Echo.

SolarGaps Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Opening the blinds has never been so helpful. On display here at CES in Las Vegas, SolarGaps turns the actual slats of your window coverings into solar panels. SolarGaps blinds will be smart enough to shift their angle slightly throughout the day in order to maximize their power intake. The company also plans to integrate with the Google Home.

Smart home scoreboard at CES

• The scoreboard
• Google Home’s progress
• Alexa’s progress
• Siri’s progress

I’d love to control solar-powered blinds with my voice using Google’s always-listening assistant, but note that Google’s smart home language — Weave — doesn’t actually work with blinds yet. SolarGaps could be extra exciting if it’s an indication of a whole new smart home product category for Google Home. Or SolarGaps could be a small tech startup trying to make noise at CES by name-dropping Google. I’m hoping for the former.

Google Home aside, SolarGaps will have iOS and Android apps. The company also wants to integrate with Nest and SmartThings. If your Nest senses it’s too cold, it could send a signal to your blinds to let in more light and heat your place naturally.

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SolarGaps has a control box that responds to gestures, and the app has the functionality you’d expect — basic controls and scheduling. SolarGaps blinds should cost between $480 to $890 per square meter of window, and they don’t look the part of high-priced designer blinds. They look like big, black solar panels.

Still, if you prioritize energy and convenience over style, SolarGaps blinds will be worth keeping an eye on, especially if the company can pull off that Google Home integration. SolarGaps will start a crowdfunding campaign in February for a planned release in the middle of the year. (UK and Australian details weren’t available, but those prices convert to roughly £390 and £725 or AU$660 and AU£1,220.)

Cerevo Taclim VR Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

One of the more interesting products I got to test at CES was a pair of VR sneakers from Japanese gadget-maker Cerevo. The Taclim VR system consists of a pair of sneakers and gloves that are designed to give you a more immersive virtual experience.

The sneakers use haptic feedback to simulate different surfaces that you’re walking over. The demo I tried attempted to simulate walking on sand, wood and through water. The device was just a prototype, but it gave a glimpse at the future of VR. Perhaps one day we will all be wearing entire VR suits. Maybe.

Taclim also allowed me to kick and punch my way through a horde of virtual monsters, but the experience isn’t perfect. I had to awkwardly walk in place to travel through the world and was told not to kick too hard to prevent the shoes from falling off.

Some of the simulated surfaces worked quite well and others didn’t. There was a poison puddle that zapped my feet and another that actually felt like I had just stepped in a real puddle, but some of the surfaces just didn’t resonate with me. The wood and sand surfaces, for example, just sent random vibrations to my feet that was more annoying than immersive.

The Taclim VR system is open source and runs on the Unity plug-in, which allows developers to integrate them into their games. The company said the system will arrive later this year for between $1,000 and $1,500.

Dok Talk CR25 5-Device Charger Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

The Alexa-enabled Dok Talk CR25 5-Device Charger.

Ry Crist/CNET

“Alexa everywhere.” That’s been one of the top themes of CES 2017, with device makers large and small introducing new skills for Amazon’s smash-hit voice-activated assistant. And, with Amazon having made it relatively easy for device-makers to code the virtual helper directly into their products, we’re also seeing lots of new gadgets that come with Alexa built right in.

Enter Dok Talk, which makes a wide assortment of multi-device charging stations. Their newest, the Dok Talk CR25, features a little microphone button on top — give it a tap, and voila, there’s Alexa, ready to take your question or command.

The device itself has five USB inputs capable of charging both phones and tablets (complete with protection against over-charging), as well as a Bluetooth speaker in the base and a Qi wireless charging pad that’ll let you charge a sixth device. It looks capable enough as a basic bedside charging station (if not a bit generic), but the addition of Alexa makes it into something a lot more compelling, especially given Alexa’s ever-growing library of third-party skills.

You’ll need to press a button to wake Alexa up.

Ry Crist/CNET

It’s good evidence that Alexa is proving to be a rising tide for in-home tech. Even off-brand, otherwise unremarkable devices like this one can bring in Alexa where it makes sense; in doing so, they get to expand the functionality of what they’re selling to a near-exponential degree.

Of course, it also gives companies that make bargain-bin junk an excuse to jack up the price of what they’re hocking. I’m not saying that’s what Dok Talk’s up to here (and I can’t speak to the quality of the device until we test one out), but I’ll still be curious to see how the CR25’s yet-to-be-determined asking price compares to the company’s non-Alexa-enabled chargers when it arrives later this year.

For now, Dok Talk says the plan is to sell it for less than the Amazon Echo‘s current asking-price of $180 in the US and £149 in the UK (The Echo isn’t currently available in Australia, but its price converts roughly to AU$245). Hopefully, it’s a lot less given that those standard Dok Talk chargers run for about $80 in the US, and unlike the Echo the Dok Talk makes you press a button to wake Alexa up.

The CR25 is heading to market later this year, both on Dok Talk’s website and on Amazon. Dok Talk also plans to sell a less expensive version of the charger that keeps Alexa, but ditches the Qi charging pad. Both will ship worldwide.

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