Ikea has updated its smart home app to bring dynamic lighting to its smart lights. | Image: Ikea Ikea updated its Home smart mobile app this week with a new dynamic lighting feature that will automatically adjust the color temperature and brightness of its smart lights throughout the day. It’s similar to the natural light scene that Philips Hue introduced in late 2022, and is designed to provide warmer illumination in the mornings and evenings, with cooler hues in the day time. The new feature is mentioned in the version history notes of a recent update to the iOS version of the Ikea Home smart app, and is described as a way to “keep your home in balance” that’s “great for mind, body, and soul.” The Android version of Ikea’s app was updated on the same day, according to Notebookcheck, but there’s no mention of the new adaptive lighting feature there, only bug fixes and minor improvements. Given the feature is specifically tied to Ikea’s Home smart app, it’s only compatible with lighting products that connect to Ikea’s Matter-ready Dirigera smart home hub that launched in the latter half of 2022. That includes products like its Sonos-compatible Symfonisk speaker lamp. However, it’s not known if the feature will work with third-party smart lights through Matter, and The Verge has reached out to Ikea to confirm if it’s compatible with the Adaptive Lighting feature in Apple’s Home app.

The Meross Matter Smart Thermostat is the company’s first thermostat compatible with North American heating and cooling systems. | Image: Meross Smart home company Meross announced its first Matter-certified smart thermostat and its first to work with North American whole-home heating and cooling systems. The Meross Matter Smart Thermostat costs $99.99, works over Wi-Fi, and features a white glass panel with a touch screen, smart scheduling, and can track system usage through the Meross app. The thermostat requires a C-Wire, and Meross says it’s compatible with 95 percent of heating and cooling systems. It also appears it will work with Meross’ smart temperature and humidity sensors, which are Matter-compatible. They cost $30 each, although you’ll need a Meross hub to use them. Matter compatibility means the thermostat can integrate with platforms such as Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings locally over your Wi-Fi network without requiring a cloud connection. You should also be able to set up and use the thermostat directly on those platforms without requiring the Meross app. Image: Meross The new smart thermostat from Meross can track the heating and cooling usage of your HVAC system. Surprisingly, despite the popularity of smart thermostats — which take a lot of the pain out of programming your heating and cooling system and can use their smarts to help save you energy — there are only two Matter-compatible smart thermostats for US HVAC systems. Those are the Nest Thermostat ($129.99) and the new Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen) ($279.99) — both from Google. Other popular brands in the space, such as Ecobee, Amazon, and Honeywell Home, have not added Matter support to their thermostats. This means that if you're interested in using a Matter device to control your HVAC, Meross’ new thermostat is now your least expensive option. While it doesn’t come with the Nest Thermostat’s smarts that will automatically adjust your schedule, it is the only thermostat with Matter-compatible room sensors. The Nest Learning Thermostat has room sensors, but they're not compatible with Matter. One reason for the lack of support for more thermostats in Matter could be the limited controls Matter allows for. Currently, you can only adjust the temperature and change the mode on compatible platforms. However, the most recent spec release for Matter (1.4) added support for scheduling and preset modes such as home / away and vacation settings. This addition means that once a platform supports 1.4, it will be easier to set up and use a Matter smart thermostat directly in your smart home platform of choice and not need to use the manufacturer’s app. The Meross Matter Smart Thermostat costs $99.99 and is available now, with a launch price of $69.99 from the Meross store.

Image: The Verge AI investment is massive even though AI profits are not. How are investors justifying this pricey gamble on the future? Read the full story at The Verge.

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images Waymo is making the moves on Magic City. Alphabet’s robotaxi service said it would launch in Miami in 2026. The company has been testing its autonomous vehicles in the Florida city on-and-off since 2019, and more recently has begun to lay the groundwork in earnest. Waymo plans to start “reacquainting” its autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles to Miami’s streets in 2025. And in 2026, it expects to start making its vehicles available to riders through its Waymo One ridehail app. Waymo plans to start “reacquainting” its autonomous Jaguar I-Pace vehicles to Miami’s streets in 2025 The vehicles will be maintained by a company called Moove, which provides fleet services, as well as a range of financial products for mobility companies. The African company (it has several offices in Nigeria) is backed by Uber and was recently valued at $750 million. Moove will start out by taking over Waymo’s fleet management operations in Phoenix. That includes cleaning the vehicles, charging them, and making sure that the sensors are calibrated and unobstructed. Waymo’s robotaxi business is slowly growing. It currently operates fleets of driverless cars in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, and Phoenix. It also plans to launch a robotaxi service in Atlanta in an exclusive partnership with Uber. Waymo said recently it crossed the threshold of providing 150,000 paid trips per week. Miami once played host to Ford-backed ArgoAI’s autonomous vehicle testing, but the company shut down when Ford pulled its funding.

Pac-Man. | Image: Amazon Ever since it was announced, there has been some confusion over just what Secret Level actually is. The video game-themed anthology streaming on Prime Video — helmed by Love, Death & Robots creator Tim Miller — is a collection of animated shorts, each based on a different gaming property. So there’s a Mega Man episode that explores the character’s origin and a Spelunky episode that attempts to create a metanarrative around the concept of a roguelike. It’s an interesting idea let down by a lack of interesting ideas. The 15 shorts are almost universally dull and manage to neither make their source material seem compelling nor provide new insights for existing fans. The real confusion is who this is actually for. The main problem is how homogenous Secret Level is. Working directly with game publishers, the show pulls from an oddball but also impressively global list, with titles like Chinese megahit Honor of Kings and Korean shooter Crossfire. But despite featuring a large variety of video games, its episodes all feel very samey. It’s kind of the opposite of Love, Death & Robots, which featured a number of different styles and tones as it explored horror and sci-fi. That’s how we... Read the full story at The Verge.

China has decided to impose sanctions on 13 U.S. military firms from Thursday, in response to the sale of U.S. arms to Taiwan, the foreign ministry said after the United States arranged for Taiwan's president to transit through its territory.

Amnesty International accused the state of Israel of committing genocide against terrorists in the Gaza war in a report published Thursday, an allegation Israel angrily denied.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday he had imposed sanctions on Georgian former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and some members of Georgia's government.

Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio was expected to testify Thursday at the trial of a retired Washington, D.C., police officer accused of leaking confidential information to the far-right group leader after Tarrio and other Proud Boys burned a stolen Black Lives Matter banner.

Fans’ hopes of rerunning Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman on CBS got dashed after the network announced they would be showing Dua Lipa and Josh Groban instead. The cancellation was not made in poor taste, as the network lost rights to the holiday classics after 60 years. This will mark a big loss for CBS as Rudolph and Frosty were sure to make them millions of dollars annually from the influx of holiday viewers. Disappointed fans have taken to social media to air their frustrations while looking for alternative ways to watch. Fans react as CBS replaces ‘Rudolph’ and ‘Frosty’ Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer/Everett CBS is getting backlash from their fans on X, with Dua Lipa and Josh Groban suffering slight pokes, too. “CBS lost relevance as family family-oriented outlet years ago…As for celebrities they are they think too highly of self,” a user complained, noting that they can watch from disk or digital. Another was relieved at the availability of alternative platforms to watch Rudolph and Frosty. “I’m glad that we’re able to watch the Classic Christmas shows on other networks, DVDs, or streaming services. I really like watching them with my family,” they said. Frosty the Snowman/Rankin/Bass Productions/CBS Why did CBS replace their holiday classics with celebrity performances? Dua Lipa is set to perform songs from her latest album, Radical Optimism, with an orchestra during the An Evening with Dua Lipa segment. Josh Groban’s Josh Groban & Friends Go Home for the Holidays will feature performances celebrating family and encouraging stable households to adopt. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer/Videocraft International/NC In response to the hot takes, another irritated fan called out the executive vice president of Creative Affairs of CBS, Amy Reichenbach. “She’ll probably tell you the schedule needed to be ‘refreshed,’ the same senseless reason she gave for canceling ‘Blue Bloods!’ Now Christmas classics! IMO, her job needs to be refreshed!” they charged. Next up: ‘Antiques Roadshow’ Guest Left Speechless After Learning The Value Of Her Baseball Cards The post CBS Angers Fans By Replacing ‘Rudolph’ And ‘Frosty’ With Dua Lipa And Josh Groban appeared first on DoYouRemember? - The Home of Nostalgia. Author, Peace A