These Smart Home Upgrades Cost Money

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Someone has to be first in line for every iPhone or the latest portable technology, and that job usually falls on the shoulders of the early adopters—those of us overly enthusiastic people who are willing to take a chance on the technology before anyone else. Sometimes it pays off; sometimes you have an expensive pair of Google Glass in a box in a drawer somewhere.

But when you buy new technology before everyone else, it also means that you may not notice that the technology has improved significantly over time. As you watch your friends purchase technology you’ve had for a long time, you may not notice new features or benefits, and thus you’re likely missing out.

If you prefer the Sonos Play speakers, you’re missing out on the Sonos Era and Arcs.

I was stubborn and tried not to pay the high price for the Sonos Playbar and speakers. I was sure there was another solution for Wi-Fi connected speakers, but almost 10 years ago Sonos was the only game in town, so I finally agreed. While I’m happy with my system, I recently replaced the Playbar and two Play 3 speakers with Arcs and two Era 300 speakers for my TV’s surround sound. The difference is noticeable immediately. Not to mention, all the new speakers are voice responsive, which is a huge upgrade. The Era 300’s bass produces a richer sound, and this may be due to the fact that there is more equipment installed inside and you get better spatial sound.

While I thought all along that the Playbar delivered amazing sound, especially through my TV’s speakers, I spent a few days in awe of how much clearer dialogue was with the Arc soundbar. This may be due to the fact that the Arc supports Dolby Atmos and eArc. Even before I installed the Eras as a surround back, the Arc alone, with its curved design, provided almost surround sound. When I turn on music, even without a subwoofer, I hear every note more clearly. (I spent three days listening to The Mountain Goats ad nauseum – they sounded so good on that kit). The update brings the ability to use Trueplay, a customization app not previously available on Android.

Eras and Arcs are no doubt expensive, but I can’t overstate how much better they make television dialogue, action and music. While Sonos is no longer the only Wi-Fi speaker game in town (Samsung has a line, too), it’s hard to imagine better sound than what the Era/Arc surround sound combo offers.

Three new Sonos speakers worth checking out:

It Might Be Time to Upgrade Your Doorbell

Over the past few months, I’ve tested doorbells from Aqara, Google Nest, Blink, and Wyze, and one thing is for sure: overall, doorbells have gotten a lot better over the last 10 years. The difference in resolution alone is worth the upgrade. If you, like me, have ever felt that the video quality on your camera won’t make much of a difference in the event of a home or car break-in, the latest high-definition capabilities may change your mind. Particularly at night, new cameras usually have much better night vision and typically don’t even come in versions below 1080p, with much higher resolution capabilities as well. With the Eufy, you get two lenses to capture real detail.

Video doorbells have also become much cheaper, with models starting for less than $50. Of course, there are still expensive doorbells – for example, Ring has a brand new offering that I have yet to test. While these inexpensive doorbells don’t have Ring’s design details, they get the job done and in some cases don’t require a subscription fee—a huge bonus. In addition, new cameras may offer artificial intelligence features such as packet detection and, in limited cases, face detection.

High definition video intercoms:

Your robot vacuum was cool, but these robot vacuums are even cooler

I’ve tested five floor robots over the past few months, and each of them put my Roomba to shame so handily that I was able, without a second glance, to give away the robot, which I named and jokingly referred to as my autonomous child. I thought my Roomba was fun. I didn’t understand how he walked on the floor, and it irritated me how often I had to untangle something from his brushes or replace them altogether. It would often get stuck under the couch and I would leave it for a few days until I wanted to deal with it.

It’s been replaced by a series of robots that vacuum and mop, but not quite like the Braava, Roomba’s Swiffer-like buddy. New floor robots never dump dirty water on the floor; they constantly clean the mop and store the dirty water until they are ready to empty it into the dock. The floor robot empties the trash can so you almost never have to deal with it, but also fills the mop with clean water and dumps dirty water into a separate station that you only change once a week or so. The station then cleans the mop pad and dries it.

This is not the only improvement. The floors become cleaner, and the new machines move closer to the wall while cleaning. Newer cars have better object navigation, so they don’t get distracted when you leave a dog toy (or your dog) in the living room. Almost no vehicles use the hit-and-go guidance system anymore; they all use lidar, creating a map of an entire room in seconds. The new cars come with a joystick so you can get your bot out of a jam. Some even have built-in video so you can watch what your floor robot is cleaning.

Most importantly, bots require less maintenance. They tend to be less likely to get lost and less likely to get stuck. While I was adamant that my original Roomba wasn’t worth the work, the new floor robots absolutely lighten the workload in my home.

Two floor robots that impressed me:

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