Fluid One gives you point-and-click control of your smart home, from your smartphone

Ever wished you could use your smartphone to control your smart home, beyond just pulling up an app to turn something on or off? We’re now starting to see companies create actual functionality around the Matter initiative. Fluid, a relative newcomer to the smart home field, is building a service on top of Matter to allow you to control smart devices around your home simply by pointing your phone at the device. Fluid calls this new service Fluid One. You can point your phone at a device, and it will automatically and immediately show you options to control said device. The service also allows for location-based automation and gesture controls. For example, imagine walking around your home and having lights automatically turning on or off depending on how close you are to them. This new smart home system’s brains are contained within the Fluid Hub. The hub uses the same Apple ultra wideband chip available from Apple’s iPhone 11 onward to connect to all devices in your home. Once you set up the hub within your home and place four smart nodes on your walls to help with integration and automation, you’ll be able to control your devices with just a click, flick, or step. The Fluid One system will also build an AR rendering of your home floor plan to help with location-based automation. You can see this floor plan, a list, and a graphic of all your smart home devices in a dashboard view on your phone. The view will allow you to monitor and manipulate all of your devices in one area. With Fluid One, Fluid claims that you no longer have to deal with different menu systems, separate dedicated apps, and microphone usage. It seems that once in “Fluid” mode, your iPhone becomes a remote that can control whatever it’s pointed at. Not only will you be able to do basic on-off commands but you can also change colors, brightness, and volume levels. The Fluid One system will be compatible with over 20,000 devices from various companies, including Apple, Google, Amazon, and Philips Hue, among others, upon release. Additionally, the company is garnering money and interest for its product through Kickstarter. As such, we don’t have an exact date for when the Fluid One will be released. However, it could be a smart home game-changer if it works properly. SwitchBot has officially launched two new air purifiers — the SwitchBot Air Purifier and the SwitchBot Air Purifier Table. Both are equipped with a HEPA filter to tackle all sorts of air particulates and allergens, though the Air Purifier Table offers several additional features that make it a more versatile member of your smart home. Regardless of which air purifier you choose, you’ll get a capable device that can clean a 215-square-foot space in just over seven minutes. For a larger 1,800-square-foot space, that gets bumped up to an hour. Carrying a clean air delivery rate (CADR) of 236 cubic feet per minute and capable of operating at a quiet 20dB, it should be a solid choice for both standard bedrooms and larger living spaces. Along with a HEPA filter to remove bacteria, the SwitchBot Air Purifiers feature a carbon filter to extract pet odors from the air along with a pre-filtration layer to trap pet fur. After spending a bit of time in Public Preview, Google is rolling out its Google Home extension for the Gemini app to everyone. This will allow you to control smart home devices using Gemini, including tasks like turning on smart lights, checking your smart thermostat, or adjusting the volume on your speakers. The Google Home Extension will be rolling out over the next few weeks, and once you’ve made the update, any compatible devices synced to your Google account will be accessible via Gemini. If you try using commands in the Gemini app that aren’t supported, your smartphone will automatically launch the Google Home app to complete the command (such as accessing camera actions and smart lock features). Home gyms have come a long way over the past few years. Instead of a simple workout bench and some weights, you’ll now find smart home gyms that can provide custom workouts tailored to your needs. They can also track your stats, provide advice, showcase lessons, and even sync you with a larger community of users working with the same gear. However, many smart home gyms also require a subscription — which can range from $15 to $50, making them an expensive proposition. So, should you invest in a smart home gym or stick with a traditional gym membership? That’s not an easy question to answer, and the truth is that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Some folks might benefit from the ease of access offered by a smart home gym, while others might enjoy the motivation and socialization provided by a traditional gym.