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The best smart home tech at CES 2024
The new Deebot X2 Combo showcased at CES 2024 is a robot vacuum and mop combined with a handheld vacuum.
A new year means new resolutions and goals, as well as new tech at CES. The world's largest consumer technology trade show serves as a platform for tech companies of all sizes to showcase their finished products, prototypes, and ideas.
Also: CES 2024: What's Next in Tech
But though these futuristic flying cars and talking robots are intriguing, most smart home users' needs are much simpler: smart home sensors that work reliably, interoperability improvements, and even a robot vacuum that doesn't get hair tangles.
Cutting through all the CES noise isn't easy, but that's what ZDNET is here for.
GE Lighting, a Savant company, launched new Cync Undercabinet smart light fixtures at CES 2024 that are available as puck and bar fixtures to suit your space's needs. Cync gives customers the choice of hard-wiring, plug-in, or battery installation, and the ability to connect up to ten of these Matter smart lights together. They'll be available later in 2024.
Honorable mentions
Out of the many other smart lights showcased at CES 2024, an honorable mention goes to Nanoleaf's new Smart Outdoor String Lights, which look like beautiful string lights you'd see on a patio but pack the company's smarts inside, complete with Matter support.
CES always delivers fantastic achievements in robotics, including robot vacuums and mops. One that caught ZDNET's resident robot vacuum expert's eye is the Dreame X30 robot vacuum and mop. This robot vacuum features an anti-tangle feature that cuts any hair that may be tangled in the brush rollers.
"The cutting heads are carefully positioned to do this, carefully tucking away the heads to ensure that your floors and carpets aren't scratched as the robot moves along," according to ZDNET's Beth Mauder.
Aside from this feature, the Dreame X30 features 8000Pa of suction power, dual oscillating mop heads, and automatic carpet detection to lift its mop pads up to 10.5mm. It's available for preorder at the early bird special of $1,240, down from its $1,700 retail price.
Honorable mentions
Other brands like Roborock and Ecovacs also launched new products at CES 2024. Roborock launched a new S8 Max series of robot vacuums and mops available in April 2024, including S8 MaxV Ultra and S8 Max Ultra, both of which will feature an alternative refill and drainage system that connects to a home's water supply.
Ecovacs also announced a new variant of the Deebot X2 Omni, the Deebot X2 Combo, available at the end of March for $1,599. This variant makes the Omni station, where the robot vacuum docks to empty its dustbin and wash its mop pads, also function as a charging dock for a new Ecovacs handheld stick vacuum.
EcoFlow stole the home energy spotlight at CES 2024 with the launch of its largest portable battery to date, the Delta Pro Ultra. Combined with an EcoFlow Smart Home Panel 2, the DPU inverter and battery combination can also serve as a home backup system that can be charged with AC, solar, or gas generators.
The introductory price of $4,999 buys the Delta Pro Ultra with 6kWh capacity, and users can stack up to five batteries under each inverter, combining up to three inverters with one Smart Home Panel for a total of 90kWh.
Honorable mentions
Impressive features aside, EcoFlow isn't the only company showcasing energy solutions at CES. Savant demoed a new Power Storage System, a smart panel and backup solution that works with the Savant professional app to help users save money on energy costs by switching from grid to backup easily.
Anker also officially launched the Solix F3800 for sale after a successful Kickstarter campaign, as well as a smaller portable battery, the Anker Solix C800 Plus.
Imagine coming home with arms full of grocery bags and being able to unlock your door by simply facing it, as if it knows exactly who you are, because it does. Lockly launched a new residential smart lock that supports facial recognition technology, the Lockly Visage.
This is even more convenient than using a fingerprint reader or Apple Home Key to unlock your door -- but don't worry, the Lockly Visage also supports both of those options for unlocking. And if you're still feeling old school, you can also unlock it with a keypad or physical key.
This Matter-enabled smart lock will be available this summer for $349.
Honorable mentions
Smart home brand Abode also launched a new Wi-Fi HaLow camera with an ultra-long transmission range of over 1.5 miles. The battery-powered Abode Edge Camera could be placed anywhere on your property and never lose internet connection, as long as it's within 1.5 miles of your router. The Abode Edge Camera will launch later in Q1 for $200.
Philips also launched a new 5000 Series smart lock with palm recognition technology that lets users unlock their doors without touching them. This lock also has a doorbell button on the front and comes with a chime in the box that remains plugged in inside the home.
CES 2024's AI theme collided with the smart home, as Panasonic announced a new collaboration with Fresco, a smart kitchen platform leader, to introduce an advanced cooking AI assistant for Panasonic kitchen appliances. This will begin with the new Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1 multi-oven.
The AI assistant will be able to customize recipes based on dietary preferences and restrictions, ingredient substitutions based on what's available in your pantry, and adjustments of serving sizes and cooking settings.
Honorable mentions
Revolution Cooking's new Macrowave Oven is the perfect replacement for a microwave, air fryer, countertop oven, and broiler in one. This device is smart enough to do it all: it seamlessly switches between microwaving leftovers and air-frying wings with the touch of an LCD screen. It comes with a sturdy price tag of $1,800 however.
Both Samsung and LG took to CES to showcase their new all-in-one washer and dryer combos, complete with AI integrations to optimize laundry cycles and reduce energy use.
Several companies also showcased new tech for the furriest family members at home, including the Sevvy Smart cooker, Hisense Smart Built-in Dishwasher with Autodose and AutoDry, an RCA automatic pet feeder and a Smart Bird Feeder, Tineco Floor ONE S7 combo floor cleaner, among many others.
The best smart home robots
Samsung revamped Ballie, its home robot companion, which failed to take off after being showcased at CES 2020. Ballie is a round smart home hub that can patrol your home using its built-in camera, and its built-in projector can project images on walls, floors, and ceilings.
Also: Samsung adds new SmartThings features, including Map View
Ecovacs launched a new model of its window cleaning model that can reach new places. The Winbot W2 Omni comes with a portable station that carries a battery so you can use it to clean windows inside and out.
Beabot is launching a new AquaSense Pro robot pool cleaner that can clean not only floors and walls but also the water surface and clarify water. It's available for pre-order at $1,699.
Also: The best robot vacuums, mops, and mowers from CES 2024
As far as robot lawnmowers go, virtual boundaries were a definite trend. Some honorable mentions include the Aiper Horizon U1, Segway's Navimow i Series, the Ecovavs Goat GX-600, and the Dreame Roboticmower A1.