Navigating Smart Home Complexity

It's a big week for the smart home. Jake, Vee, and Jen sit down to chat about all the new tech out of IFA, from robots that carry robot vacuums up stairs to upgrades that turn 10-year-old Hue bulbs into motion sensors. Then, Lauren joins the show to talk about the Google antitrust remedies ruling and what Google is going to have to do to allow more competition in the search market. Finally, the Thunder Round is back and better than ever. We're talking $2,000 smart watches, Amazon yanking a major Prime perk, the Pixel 10 Pro's 100x AI zoom, Instagram for iPad, and drama at the FTC.

Further reading:

• Eufy built a stairlift for its robovacs

• Inside Philips Hue’s plans to make all your lights motion sensors

• Philips Hue responds to cheaper competitors with major product overhaul

• SwitchBot has ambitions to be the AI that powers your smart home

• Samsung’s Galaxy S25 FE and Tab S11 are thinner, lighter, and otherwise about the same

• Google gets to keep Chrome, judge rules in search antitrust case

• Google critics think the search remedies ruling is a total whiff

• Here’s what Google and the DOJ had to say about the search remedies ruling

• The tech antitrust renaissance may already be over

• Garmin’s Fenix 8 Pro series finally lets you leave your phone at home — sort of

• Instagram is coming to iPad, 15 years later

• Amazon ends shared Prime free shipping outside your home

• Ousted Democratic FTC commissioner can return (again) for now

• Here’s how the Pixel’s AI zoom compares to a real 100x lens

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