GoKawiil
Tech News
A tech guide outlines how homeowners can assemble their own smart security systems using motion sensors, door sensors, cameras and video doorbells that store footage locally instead of in the cloud. The approach avoids recurring subscription costs charged by brands like Abode and SimpliSafe, while still letting users customize and expand their setup over time.
Abode has released two new security sensors in 2026: a $35 garage door tilt sensor and a $50 outdoor contact sensor built for gates, sheds and barns. A CNET reviewer tested both alongside an Abode starter kit and found them accurate, fast to set up, and well integrated with Abode's hub and app.
Reolink debuted ReoNeura, an on-device AI engine that powers Custom AI Detection, letting users train their cameras to recognize specific objects or situations—like an open garage door or a missing bike—without relying on cloud processing. Unlike most smart security AI features that require subscriptions, Reolink suggests this capability may come at no additional cost. The company also showed new high-resolution dual-lens cameras with tracking at the same event.
A tech reviewer compiled a list of 10 connected gadgets designed to improve backyard spaces, covering categories like entertainment, lawn maintenance, lighting and security. The recommendations span both novel devices and smart add-ons that make existing outdoor equipment more automated.
AlfredCamera lets users repurpose an unused phone as a live security camera by pairing it with their main device through the same account login or a QR code scan. The free version offers live video, a siren alarm, night mode, two-way talk and remote camera controls, while paid tiers add more cameras, HD streaming, longer cloud storage and object detection.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is developing a privacy-focused home security camera and automation device paired with a new monitoring service, expected to launch next year. The camera would reportedly rely on AI analysis rather than raw video footage to track home activity, and it's positioned as part of a broader wave of device launches Apple has planned over the coming years.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is working on a privacy-focused home security camera and automation device that uses AI to analyze surroundings rather than recording video footage. This hardware will connect to a new subscription-based home security and monitoring service slated to arrive in 2027.
At IFA, Anker introduced MindBase, a local smart-home hub that doubles as a network storage device with a 64GB SSD and two bays for 2.5- or 3.5-inch drives. Paired with Eufy cameras and sensors like the Video Doorbell S4 and Fall Detection Sensor, its onboard AI can analyze events in real time and respond to threats through lighting changes, verbal warnings, or vague 'active deterrence' measures. Anker has not disclosed pricing or a release date.
Anker's Eufy division introduced MindBase, a home AI hub that processes data from its security, energy, cleaning and audio devices entirely on-device using a custom LLM and AI chip, avoiding cloud servers. The hub connects via Anker's EasyOmni Link platform and supports Matter, letting it work alongside Apple Home, Alexa and Google Home devices. Eufy also debuted new security hardware, including a radar-equipped Smart Security Shield sensor and a 3K doorbell with facial recognition that identifies familiar faces from up to 30 meters away.
A Blink video doorbell owner found that ringing the doorbell only alerted phones and played a sound outside the door, making it useless for a spouse who doesn't carry her phone. To route the alert to existing Google Home mini speakers without paying for subscriptions or exposing a home server to the internet, he built a chain linking the Blink doorbell to an Alexa routine, a Samsung SmartThings virtual light bulb, webhooks, and a small server on a VPS.
Blink's battery-powered outdoor security camera, which the company says can run for up to two years on a single charge, is currently being sold at a discounted price. The deal was highlighted by ZDNET as part of its ongoing coverage of notable tech discounts and product recommendations.