It only takes a quick Google search to see the promise of the smart home. The way in which we can now control functions in our homes and how devices control aspects of our lives for us is nothing short of incredible. And to consumers who aren't technology-lovers, it's nothing short of overwhelming. Though the budding world of smart home technology is continuing to grow, the majority of early-adopters have adopted.
Staples is discontinuing Staples Connect, one of the earliest retailer-specific smart-home platforms, and is supplanting the Zonoff-based program with Z-Wave-compatible products.
App enthusiasts and/or home automation fans are likely already quite familiar with IFTTT. One of the bigger forces in the Android tinkering world, IFTTT stands for If This Then That, and it's actually a pretty accurate description of what the app does. Essentially, users can use triggers and recipes to make the app look for a condition to happen on a device or in an app. Once that happens, it will trigger a specified action, even if that action takes place elsewhere, so long as everything is rigged up right. IFTTT users can create a variety of mind-blowing functions, so it's no surprise that the app found its way onto the Amazon Echo and that was apparently, only the beginning.
