Ikea’s new low-cost line is a huge win for Matter and your smart home

You might have noticed a new face on the team lately — John Higgins recently debuted as our senior reviewer of TVs and audio! We're holding a special subscriber-exclusive AMA today at 2PM ET, so drop your AV questions in the comments section of this article any time and we'll see you this afternoon!

Your smart home questions, answered

I let Gemini watch my family for the weekend — it got weird

Today, the smart home died a little...

Got any burning questions about the #smarthome? I'll be joining @davidpierce.xyz on a special supersized smart home Vergecast hotline soon. Send in your questions! Call 866-VERGE11, email [email protected] (voice memos welcome!), or drop them here! @theverge.com

For episode 2 of Version History, @joannastern.bsky.social, @reckless.bsky.social and I went deep on BBM, the legendary messaging app that was right about everything and lost the battle anyway. Such a fun episode! www.theverge.com/podcast/7986...

Amazon’s giant ads have ruined the Echo Show

The problems with AI in the smart home and how Amazon and Google plan to fix them

I'm answering your questions live about this week's Amazon and Google's smart home announcements. Come join me! www.theverge.com/tech/790817/...

In five minutes, my colleague @jp2e.bsky.social will do a subscriber-only AMA on Amazon and Google's new smart home gadgets. Ask her anything! www.theverge.com/tech/790817/...

I'm hosting a smart home AMA today on all Amazon and Google's new smart home hardware at @theverge.com Come ask me anything about new Echo Shows, Nest cameras, Google Home smart speakers, Ring, Alexa Plus, Gemini, and more! #smarthome #alexaplus #googlehome www.theverge.com/tech/790817/...

I'm live-blogging Amazon's fall hardware event, join me ... www.theverge.com/tech/786685/...

We’re at Amazon’s fall 2025 hardware event in New York City, where the company is set to announce a bunch of new gadgets ahead of the holidays. Follow along with @jp2e.bsky.social and @toddhaselton.bsky.social for live updates:

Nest is dead, long live Google Home

Tour our smart home reviewer’s smart backyard

Tariffs kill the Starling Home Hub, Google Nest’s best bridge to Apple Home

Apple's new N1 networking chip is a smart home powerhouse, supporting Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. It will ship in the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone Air: www.theverge.com/news/774941/... #smarthome

The Jen-era of Hot Girl Vergecast Summer has begun! Be sure to listen/watch my first episode, where I dive into the story of how one of its customers brought smart home company @insteon.bsky.social back from the brink. #smarthome www.theverge.com/podcast/7576...

It's always a delight to talk with @jp2e.bsky.social, and it was extra special joining her on this latest episode of The Vergecast to answer questions about my favorite topic: Smart Lighting! www.theverge.com/podcast/7576...

I went camping in a heat dome, and these five gadgets saved my vacation

Buckle up folks, we’re in for a bumpy ride…

Ikea plans to relaunch its smart home line with 20+ new Matter-over-Thread devices, set to release in January 2026, and updates its Dirigera smart home hub (Jennifer Pattison Tuohy/The Verge) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

Ikea is replacing Sonos with Bluetooth with a new line of speakers for the home. My colleague Thomas Ricker has the deets ...

Bit of an exclusive here on Ikea's shift to Thread for its smart home devices as it fully embraces Matter. #smarthome

Got a long drive this weekend? Let the kick off to Hot Girl Vergecast Summer keep you company. Myself, @vicmsong.bsky.social @miasato.bsky.social and @allisonjo1.bsky.social join @davidpierce.xyz to pick the best movie tech we want in real life. www.theverge.com/the-vergecas...

Nuki’s Smart Lock is a better retrofit door lock

Hot girl Vergecast summer has begun. ☀️😎💅🏼 Here’s our kickoff with “fake tech draft” with your new Tuesday guest host roster: me, @miasato.bsky.social @allisonjo1.bsky.social and @jp2e.bsky.social www.theverge.com/the-vergecas...

I'll be taking over The Vergecast for a couple eps this summer, and you know what that means - a whole episode dedicated to smart lighting!

Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ could mean slower Wi-Fi for you

Wyze says its security cameras deserve your trust again

What do you think ... party speaker or no?

The Verge staff are ready to strike. VOX MEDIA YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT!

Smart home peeps, I'm working on a smart lighting segment and want to answer your burning lighting questions, from the simple and straightforward to deep and twisted! Drop 'em here, email me [email protected], or leave a msg on the Vergecast Hotline 866-VERGE11. @theverge.com #smarthome

Apple Home is expanding its energy management features

This smart pizza oven improved my pie-making skills

Amazon says over 1M people now have access to Alexa+, up from "hundreds of thousands" in May, and plans to "make it even more broadly available over the summer" (Jennifer Pattison Tuohy/The Verge) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

You can now set any AirPlay speaker to be the default for Apple TV, not just HomePods. And yes, that is the only exciting, tangentially related, Apple Home news from today’s WWDC keynote… 😢 www.theverge.com/news/681139/...

It's moving season! If you're packing up to head to greener pastures, what will you do with your smart home gear? Read my comprehensive guide on how to move your smart home for all the tips and tricks you need. (Hint: it's all about an email address): www.theverge.com/24184716/mov... #smarthome

We are HIRING for a sharp talented weekend editor, a gig that amounts to playing around with our giant website almost totally unsupervised job-boards.greenhouse.io/voxmedia/job...

Hold the line. youtu.be/07JQr5W3970?... #thefourthestate #freedomofthepress

I put four robot lawnmowers through a brutal backyard showdown — and only one person got injured

14 years ago I pitched what would become Polygon to a startup called Sports Blogs Inc on the unfurnished third floor of a DC townhome. I held a laptop on my knees and went through a deck. Today that same company -- now called Vox Media -- sold Polygon to Valnet.

I chatted with several smart home companies about how Trump’s tariffs will affect their business. It’s not good. www.theverge.com/smart-home/6... #SmartHome

Samsung is finally releasing Ballie - https://www.theverge.com/news/645853/samsung-is-finally-releasing-ballie

Smart home device manufacturers are bracing for chaos — again - https://www.theverge.com/smart-home/645927/smart-home-device-manufacturers-are-bracing-for-chaos-again

Aqara adds support for 50 new Matter device types - https://www.theverge.com/news/646199/aqara-matter-support-50-new-device-types

Ring’s founder is back at Amazon

Look @jp2e.bsky.social did a great job with this Z-Wave piece but I steadfastly maintain the only way for an organization called the Z-WAVE ALLIANCE to succeed is to commit all of its resources to building a massive Z-shaped headquarters from which to launch schemes www.theverge.com/tech/643328/...

Google discontinues Nest Protect smoke alarm and Nest x Yale door lock