STACK #188 June 2020

H T TECH of 2020 INSIDE THE HOME

FEATURE LIFE TECH

STAYING CONNECTED

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s the important role that technology plays in keeping us in touch with family and friends, and work colleagues for the legions of Australians working from home. Whether it’s a phone call, messaging or communicating via video software using a phone, tablet, computer or smart display, staying connected has never been easier. These are some of our hottest tech picks of the year.

What we love The forward facing speaker. It performs exceptionally well for its size and its positioning means whatever you’re listening to smacks you right in the chops!

THE COMPACT SMART DISPLAY

O nce you buy one smart display, be warned – you’ll soon want them all over the house. The Lenovo Smart Display 7 is the Swiss army knife of devices. A camera – that can be blocked for those with security concerns – enables essential video chat opportunities and the seven-inch Full HD touchscreen can double as an interchangeable photo gallery or to display a handy cooking guide video for some kitchen action. Your smart home ecosystem can be controlled through Google Assistant and to round it off, a speaker located under the screen means you can stream your favourite music or get the local weather report when you open your eyes in the morning.

Did You Know? The first speech recognition tech centred on understanding numbers and not words and dates back to the 1950s.

Keep in touch Staying connected with families and friends couldn’t be easier. Google Duo allows users to make video calls hands- free by simply calling out the name of who you want to chat with. Now that’s neat!

I f your eyes aren’t what they used to be or you’re simply a fan of larger screens, the Nest Hub Max boasts a 10-inch touchscreen that is on par with your average tablet. It comes with integrated YouTube for those essential kitchen recipes or some music to help you cook, with a speaker fitted with two tweeters and a woofer for some extra oomph. A camera allows video calls but also turns the Max into a surveillance camera with built-in noise and motion detection for when you’re away from the house. And check this out – onboard face recognition technology can be customised to display relevant information like meeting times or music selections for individual members of the house.

HEY, GOOGLE?

Keep in touch The Nest Hub Max also supports voice-commanded video calls and if you can’t reach your family and friends, you can leave a video message instead!

What we love Integrated Chromecast means users can stream content directly to the large screen, creating a handy home entertainment portal.

Did You Know? Google Assistant works with over 1000 home automation brands.

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