The Best Smart Home Gadgets From CES 2021
Behold the top intelligent technology that CES had to offer.
3 min
Not even a pandemic could stop the world’s premier technology trade event, the Consumer Electronics Show, now officially known as CES, but this year, in accordance with social distancing and safety protocols, the event went all online.
Despite the novel format, CES was still packed with all the cutting-edge tech for which it’s become known. Below are some of the best devices you may be welcoming into your smart home soon.
LG Transparent OLED Smart Bed TV
Two years ago, all of CES was a clamour about LG’s OLED TV R, a 4K, organic LED smart screen that unfurled out of and re-rolled into a Dolby speaker base. This year, they’ve upped the innovation—by making it transparent and installable at the foot of your bed. The LG Transparent OLED Smart Bed TV, as debuted by LG Display, the company’s sci-fi-like screen division, is a 55-inch, 40% transparent screen which ascends and descends from a sleek and slender (and portable!) containment unit which is placed at the base of the bed. The screen, which users can see through when it is on or off, features speakers built into the display, and the container base provides an all-black secondary screen that can rise behind the transparent one for users to enjoy the full richness and colour of whatever they are watching. In addition to allowing users to consume televised entertainment, the Transparent OLED Smart Bed TV will allow them to mirror their devices on screen, and LG anticipates a suite of smart features for the device, from notifications and weather alerts to activity prompts and music streaming.
Like so many of CES’ most eye-grabbing gadgets, price and release date have not been named for the LG Transparent OLED Smart Bed TV.
NordicTrack Vault
Gym enthusiasts, acutely aware of what the pandemic has taken from them, will be overjoyed to learn of the NordicTrack Vault. Like the Mirror by Lululemon, the Vault is a full-length reflective surface/HD touchscreen that allows users to perfect their form as they take a wide variety of classes (yoga, lifting, high-intensity interval training and much more) from NordicTrack’s suite of iFit trainers. Unlike the Mirror, which is a freestanding or wall-hanging device, the Vault’s screen doubles as a door to a workout equipment storage system, complete with dumbbells, kettlebells, yoga, pilates, and strength-training accessories, giving Vault owners and even wider range of exercise options at their disposal.
Open to pre-order now, the Vault is available for around $3775 (exercise equipment included) or approx. $2500 (standalone), with each option including one year of iFit Family Membership.
Kohler Stillness Bath
Looking for a smart (and luxurious) soaking experience? Kohler, a leading name in high-tech bathroom fixtures, has heard your pleas. Modeled after a Japanese spa-style soaking tub, the $20,000 Kohler Stillness Bath is an infinity-edge bathtub that users can fill via voice command (even specifying precise temperature) and features a mood-lighting system ringing the entire basin. Users can even upgrade their Stillness Bath to include an “Experience Tower,” which will add aromatherapy and mist to their bathing experience—both also controllable by voice command.
The Kohler Stillness Bath will be available for $7800 to $20,000, depending on features, with the various models rolling out from May to October 2021.
MyQ Pet Portal
Here’s one for the dogs (and cats). The Pet Portal from MyQ looks to liberate indoor-outdoor pet owners from the constant need to give their four-legged friends entry to and exit from the home. Outfitted with a live-video streaming camera and two-way audio via the MyQ app, Pet Portal owners can open the pet door for their cats and dogs remotely from their phones or tablets—or they can cede the decision entirely to their furry companions. With an accompanying Bluetooth-enabled collar, pets can activate the Pet Portal via (very) close encounter, and once the device, which opens in two panels like elevator doors, grants entry or exit, it quickly closes and locks to prevent any other unwelcome visitors.
The Pet Portal, which requires professional installation and replaces an existing exterior door, is available for $2,999.
Samsung Bot Handy
The smart home owner who wants the full “Jetsons” experience will be eagerly anticipating the release of the Samsung Bot Handy. Intended to serve as an extra hand wherever you need it around the house, the Bot Handy is a slender, mobile pillar with a rolling base and digital face—complete with expressions—and a fully articulating arm with clamp hand, that can pour you a drink, pick up laundry or even place dishes in the dishwasher. A forward-facing camera and pretty clever A.I. allow the Bot Handy to determine the material components of what it is seeing and handle it accordingly.
There is no release date or price yet for the helpful robotic companion, which Samsung lists as “in development.”
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This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
2 min
Former Aussie Rules player Jeff Chapman’s dream beach house, which has had its praises sung by The Independent in the UK, is back on the market with a revised – and more competitive – price guide.
The contemporary pavilion-style residence Alinghi, created by celebrated architect James Grose, was voted one of the top five beach houses in the world by the British newspaper and has been operating as a luxury holiday rental earning up to $7000 a week.
The one-time Melbourne forward and founder of Bennelong Funds Management, and his wife Carena Shankar, listed the five-bedroom getaway back in mid 2024 with hopes of about $8 million. The prestige property is now back with new agent Pauline Karatau of Ray White New Farm and the amended guide now sits at $6.5 million.
As part of the private 5ha Rocky Point estate, at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef overlooking Honeymoon Bay, the glamorous holiday home shares not only a private beach with just four other neighbours, but also a 30m saltwater pool, a full-size tennis court, a beach cabana with barbecue facilities and a full-time live-in caretaker on site.
Alinghi seemingly floats against the cliffs of North Queensland’s Capricorn Coast consisting of two pavilions and shallow reflections pools for ultimate serenity. Residence number 5 is home to a two-storey main pavilion with large living spaces spilling onto semi-enclosed areas framing enviable ocean views. Upstairs there are four bedrooms, including two with ensuites. The second pavilion is a private retreat housing the main bedroom suite with an additional study or wellness space.
Crafted by Grose to leave minimal impact on its natural environment, the house features external materials sourced locally including rich cedar, plus glass and Travertine stone specifically chosen to blend and weather with the landscape over time.
The low maintenance property is also relatively self sufficient thanks to water tanks collecting the region’s abundant rainfall. Despite it’s northern Queensland address air-conditioning is an after-thought due to the clever cross-ventilation design principles and deliberate orientation capturing ocean breezes that flow through the large footprint.
Alinghi’s external lightning has also been carefully designed to be low voltage with minimum impact upon the local wildlife including wallabies, echidnas, goannas, turtles and even a diverse range of native birds. From the private terraces throughout winter, homeowners can also track the migratory whales.
Alinghi is a 90-minute drive away from Agnes Waters and its sister town of 1770 (also known as Seventeen Seventy). It is approximately 120kms from Bundaberg, which is home to a well-serviced domestic airport.
Alinghi is listed for sale with a price guide of $6.5 million via Ray White New Farm agent Pauline Karatau on 0418 733 773.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
