Amazon’s Map View puts your smart home devices on a digital floor plan

During its fall hardware event on Wednesday, Amazon showed off a new way for folks to control all of their compatible smart home devices. It’s called Map View and it will first be available on select phones in the US later this year.

You’ll be able to create a digital floor plan of your home using your phone and Map View will display all the devices you add to it. Rather than using Alexa or another app to manage a device, you can see its location in your home and tap on it to (for instance) switch on a light, bump up the volume of an Echo speaker or change the temperature. It looks like a fairly straightforward and intuitive user interface.

Amazon says it’s an opt-in experience — you can decide which rooms to add to the floor plan and which devices to include. You can delete your floor plan at any time as well.

On a related note, Amazon is attempting to buy iRobot. Several Roomba devices are capable of mapping out your home to help with cleaning them. It’s not difficult to imagine how that might integrate into Map View.

Follow all of the news live from Amazon’s 2023 Devices event right here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-map-view-puts-your-smart-home-devices-on-a-digital-floor-plan-163058372.html?src=rss 

Amazon’s $180 Echo Hub is a smart home control panel for your wall

With Amazon pushing further and further into smart home integration, during a press event on Wednesday the company announced a new device designed to manage all the various devices in your house called the Echo Hub. 

Instead of being a traditional tablet or a portable smart display, the $180 Echo Hub is an eight-inch display meant to be mounted on a wall. Just like an Alexa-powered smart speaker, users can control connected devices using their voice while also being able to view live feeds from security cameras and toggle settings via a customizable dashboard. The Echo Hub was also designed to support Amazon’s upcoming Map View UI, which will be added to the device sometime in early 2024. 

The Echo Hub includes support for all the major smart home protocols including Matter and Thread. And while by default it relies on Wi-Fi, there will also be an optional USB-C adapter that allows it to connect to power-over-ethernet routers like those from Eero. 

This story is still developing…

Follow all of the news live from Amazon’s 2023 Devices event right here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-180-echo-hub-is-a-smart-home-control-panel-for-your-wall-163231567.html?src=rss 

Linda Evangelista Claims Ex Gerald Marie Physically Abused Her: ‘He Knew Not To Touch My Face’

In ‘The Super Models’ docuseries, Linda Evangelista alleges she was in an ‘abusive relationship’ with her ex-husband, Gérald Marie.

In ‘The Super Models’ docuseries, Linda Evangelista alleges she was in an ‘abusive relationship’ with her ex-husband, Gérald Marie. 

Apple’s new FineWoven iPhone 15 MagSafe cases are already discounted

Apple’s iPhone 15 lineup isn’t even out yet, but you can already save on the company’s cases and other accessories for the devices, as well as earlier models. While there aren’t enormous discounts in this sale on Amazon, you’ll be able to save a few bucks if you prefer to go the first-party route with iPhone cases (though there are cheaper third-party options). For instance, the Apple iPhone 15 Plus FineWoven Case with MagSafe has dropped by five percent to $56, which marks an early record low for the product.

FineWoven is a new material Apple is using in place of leather, which it is no longer employing in its accessories in order to make them more sustainable. FineWoven uses 68 percent post-consumer recycled content. The material looks fairly similar to leather in images that we’re seen so far. Here’s hoping it’s just as durable. Meanwhile, MagSafe compatibility gives you more options for charging the device.

If you’re going to pick up an iPhone 15 Pro, you might like to consider a clear case with MagSafe functionality. That will run you $47, which is six percent off the usual $50.

There’s now a FineWoven version of the iPhone wallet with MagSafe support. This attaches to the back of any iPhone with MagSafe (iPhone 12 or later) and you can store your cards and ID in it. It works when you have a MagSafe case installed too. The wallet has Find My compatibility, which should make it easier to find if it’s separated from your phone. The wallet costs $56, or five percent off the usual price.

Elsewhere, you might need a new adapter to charge your iPhone. Apple has ditched the Lightning port in favor of USB-C charging in the iPhone 15 lineup. However, it’s not including a USB-C adapter in the iPhone’s box. If you need one, you can opt for Apple’s 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter. You can use this to charge two devices at once (say, your iPhone and iPad or MacBook). The prongs can fold back into the body when you’re not using the adapter for easier storage. The accessory currently costs $45, or 25 percent off the usual price.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-new-finewoven-iphone-15-magsafe-cases-are-already-discounted-145008254.html?src=rss 

Meta’s paid verification for businesses will cost almost double what it does for individuals

Meta’s paid verification service is no longer just for individuals. The social network is expanding its subscription service to businesses on Facebook, Instagram and, eventually, WhatsApp, Mark Zuckerberg announced during the company’s “Conversations” event.

Meta Verified first launched for Facebook and Instagram earlier this year, but wasn’t available for those with business accounts. That’s now changing, though businesses will be paying extra for the service compared with everyone else. Verification for a single account (on either Facebook or Instagram) will cost $27.99/month for mobile sign-ups or $21.99 if the purchase is made via the web. Business owners signing up on the web can also bundle an Instagram and Facebook verification for $34.99/month. That’s significantly more than the $12- $15/month Meta Verified currently costs for individuals, but Meta is likely calculating that business owners will be more willing to shell out for the extra benefits.

Meta Verified bears some similarities to Elon Musk’s X Premium. It grants subscribers a checkmark and higher ranking in search results, as well as a fast-track to customer support channels and “proactive” protection against impersonation. The company also plans to feature “Meta Verified businesses” in its in-app recommendations on Facebook and Instagram.

Meta

When Meta Verified launches for WhatsApp, it will include a few additional benefits, like multi-device support for customer chats and the ability to create a business page that will appear in web-based search results. (Meta hasn’t said how much verified status will cost businesses on WhatsApp.)

Of course, unlike X Premium, Meta does require subscribers to verify their identities. For businesses, this means subscribers will need to provide proof of their association with the business, via a phone number or email domain. The company also requires subscribers to opt-in to two-factor authentication and meet a minimum level of activity. Meta says it will begin by making subscriptions available to business owners in “select test countries,” but declined to name the specific locations. Meta Verified for WhatsApp, on the other hand, will roll out sometime “in the future.”

In addition to the expansion of Meta Verified, the company also announced a few other updates for businesses that use its messaging tools. In-app payments on WhatsApp, which are currently available in Brazil and Singapore, will be expanding to merchants in India. The app will support credit and debit card payments, as well as other apps like Razorpay.

The company also introduced something called “WhatsApp flows” so that businesses can create customized features like appointment booking directly from in-app chats. The feature will be available to WhatsApp Business users “in the coming weeks.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metas-paid-verification-for-businesses-will-cost-almost-double-what-it-does-for-individuals-145733662.html?src=rss 

Amazon’s Echo Show 8 offers spatial audio and a dynamic, proximity-based UI

Amazon debuted an updated Echo Show 8 during its live event today, highlighting the device’s new display, camera, microphones and spatial-audio capabilities. Generative AI helps the Echo Show 8 respond dynamically to the user’s position in the physical world, offering different displays depending on how far away someone is from the screen. A new language model increases the device’s on-board Alexa response time by 40 percent over the previous edition.

The Echo Show 8 costs $149.99 and is available for pre-order today. The device will hit the market and start shipping in October.

Amazon showed off the new display’s dynamic UI abilities with a weather app, showcasing larger font size when the user was far away from the screen, and changing to a view with more detail as they came closer. This is similar to the proximity features Google has included in its Nest Hub devices.

Amazon

The Echo Show 8 also uses a new large language model that is designed to make interacting with the Alexa assistant feel more conversational. Users won’t have to use the wake word over and over again in order to ask the device questions, for instance.

Amazon unveiled the original, 7-inch Echo Show in 2017 and has rolled out various versions over the years, with the latest notable refreshes landing in 2021. That year, Amazon announced the third-gen Echo Show 10, the second-gen Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8, and the brand-new Echo Show 15, which is designed to be wall-mounted. Amazon did release an updated Echo Show 5 in 2023, offering minimal improvements in processing speed and audio quality, but otherwise leaving the device’s design unchanged.

Follow all of the news live from Amazon’s 2023 Devices event right here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-echo-show-8-offers-spatial-audio-and-a-dynamic-proximity-based-ui-151425369.html?src=rss 

Amazon Alexa is evolving into a chatbot for your home

Amazon’s Alexa is set to receive a major upgrade that will bring its conversational capabilities more in line with modern chatbots like Google Bard or OpenAI’s ChatGPT, David Limp SVP of Amazon Devices & Services, announced during the company’s 2023 Devices event on Wednesday. The long running digital assistant will soon be driven by a purpose-built large language model that will be available in nearly every new Echo device. 

Amazon is itself no stranger to genAI technology. The company recently released a generative model to help its e-commerce sellers write product listings as well as incorporated a slew of AI-based features into its Thursday Night Football broadcasts at the start of the NFL season. The online seller has also weathered criticism from the Writers Guild of America over the retailer’s allowance of AI-generated book listings which infringe heavily upon copyrighted works (and occasionally recommend eating suspect mushrooms). 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Follow all of the news live from Amazon’s 2023 Devices event right here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-alexa-is-evolving-into-a-chatbot-for-your-home-152654742.html?src=rss 

Travis Kelce’s Brother Jason Says Taylor Swift Dating Rumors Are ‘100 Percent True’

The Philadelphia Eagles player did admit that he was ‘blindsided’ when asked about his younger brother’s love life during another post-game interview.

The Philadelphia Eagles player did admit that he was ‘blindsided’ when asked about his younger brother’s love life during another post-game interview. 

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