What does it mean that one of my favorite demos at CES 2019 — the world’s foremost technology show — was a block of wood? Maybe that I’ve been spending too much time in my garage with a table saw. Maybe that we’re collectively suffering from a bad case of screen fatigue. Maybe both. But if the crowd surrounding Mui is any indication, I’m not the only one smitten with the Kyoto-based company’s head-smackingly simple approach to technology.
Mui launched on Kickstarter back in October, but this is the first time we’ve seen it in person — and it makes all the difference. Mui looks like something you’d buy at a lumberyard, not Best Buy. When it’s turned off, you might understandably wonder what it’s doing at CES, but ask it a question and an array of hidden LEDs light up to display anything from the weather to the current state of your front door.
That makes it, by any conventional measure, a smart display. You can turn up your thermostat, play music, or any of the same functions you could do with Google Home. But the real innovation here is the way it conveys that information.
Since the LEDs are hidden under a thin veneer of wood, they remain completely invisible until they light up. When they do, each letter and number has soft, hazy edges, a bit like the display in the Nest E Thermostat. The effect is so subtle, it almost looks projected upon the wood. It’s touch-sensitive too, so you can tap on the wood and interact with the display hiding underneath.
Mui calls it “calm design,” and while it’s easy to dismiss this kind of Kickstarter-friendly jargon with an eye roll, it’s solving a real problem. As smart home gadgets have proliferated, screens have trotted right along for the ride, popping up in everything from fridges and ovens to robot vacuums. My Brilliant light switch even has one, shining angrily from my hallway every time I ask Alexa to dim the living room lights. Frankly, they’ve gone from futuristic-looking to distracting, ugly, and obnoxious.
Do I need a smart plank on my wall? Probably not, and for a princely $499 on Kickstarter, neither do you. But Mui representatives told us that the company envisions eventually building its display into other form factors, like car dashes and appliances. And while Tesla owners would probably disagree, that’s a good thing. We could all probably do with one less black mirror in our lives.
Amazon has been a major player in the smart home market for years, but fresh competition from Apple may have lit a fire under it. The company has just unveiled a new lineup of Alexa devices, including Echo speakers, a smart alarm clock, a photo frame, and the Echo Show 16. On the software side, Amazon also introduced Alexa Home Map, which puts your connected devices on an interactive 3D model of your house, letting you monitor and control them from one place.
Your entire smart home on a 3D map
Our phones have made it easy to capture our lives in beautiful photos. But that also means we shoot hundreds of photos every year and don't look at them, as they keep collecting the proverbial dust in our phone's gallery. Amazon’s new Alexa Photo Frame wants to put those forgotten shots on your shelf instead.
Amazon revealed the frame alongside several new Alexa devices, including a new smart alarm clock and a 16-inch Echo Show. It pulls pictures from Amazon Photos, which Prime members can fill up without paying extra for storage.
Amazon has unveiled a new Alexa lineup featuring the Echo Show 16, Echo Time smart clock, and Alexa Photo Frame. Two speakers join them: an upgraded Echo Dot with a built-in smart home hub and the Echo Studio with Home Camera, which lets Alexa+ see its surroundings. Both are available now for $99.99 and $249.99, respectively.
The Echo Dot does more than play music