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Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Senior Reviewer, Smart Home

Senior Reviewer, Smart Home

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy (aka Jen) writes about all things smart home, home automation, and connected tech for The Verge. A journalist for three decades, she has covered the smart home since 2013, writing for The New York Times: Wirecutter, Dwell, Wired, The Ambient, BBC Science Focus, and US News & World Report, among others. She joined The Verge in 2021, and now tests everything from robot vacuums, video doorbells, and smart locks to connected chicken coops and smart ovens. She’s an expert on the Matter smart home standard and is passionate about the connected kitchen and home energy management. She started her career on London’s Fleet Street with The Daily Telegraph newspaper before moving to Sun Valley, Idaho, where she worked in local news for ten years. She now lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, two children, a dog, two cats, a rabbit, and several chickens.

More From Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Today’s Vergecast: Should you let a robot mow your lawn?

Is it time to fire the neighbor kid and hire a robot lawnmower instead? Last year I wrote that “in all but a few scenarios, robot lawnmowers still aren’t worth your money,” but there’s a new class of Roombas with razor blades ready to tackle bumpy terrain and dodge crazy chickens. Realtor and smart home reviewer Brandon Doyle joins me to talk about our reviews of the newest robotic mowers and to let you know if they’re finally worth all that money. Read my review for more and check out Brandon’s video review.

I finally found a robot lawnmower I’d trust with my yard

I pitted five automowers against each other to find the best cutter for my challenging garden.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Ninja’s new water filter is speedier than a Brita.

But also pricier. The HydraSense is a new countertop water filter that dispenses water with a button press, filling your cup or bottle in seconds.

The $199 gadget launches today, and is more elegant than a big water jug in your fridge, while costing less than cold/hot filtration devices. I just got one to test, and think it’s useful if you don’t have a built-in fridge filtration system and find waiting on your Brita a pain. Here’s a first look.

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<em>The HydraSense is a sleek-looking device that plugs into an outlet to power a touchscreen control panel and filtration system.</em>
<em>It comes with one <a href="https://www.sharkninja.com/ninja-hydrasense-filter-replacement-1-pack/XSKWATFILSUS.html?dwvar_XSKWATFILSUS_size=1">$40 filter</a> rated for 6 months/120 gallons. Ninja claims it removes “up to 99% and 80+ contaminants including microplastics, PFAS, carcinogens, pharmaceuticals.“ You can buy a <a href="https://www.sharkninja.com/ninja-hydrasense-filter-replacement-2-pack/XSKWATFIL2PK.html?dwvar_XSKWATFIL2PK_size=2">two-pack for $70.</a></em>
<em>There’s no built-in cooling; to get cold water, Ninja says you can store the 96oz tank in the fridge or fill it with ice and hit a recirculate button to cool the water quickly. Its side handle isn’t that easy to grab, though; a handle on top would be more intuitive.</em>
<em>To dispense water, you touch and hold the droplet button, and the water shoots out very quickly. The button had a tiny lag, which took a bit of getting used to</em>.
<em>There’s also the option of preset amounts, useful for recipes or filling water bottles hands-free (just make sure you know the exact size of your water bottle!).</em>
<em>You can set custom dispense amounts, which could be helpful for baby bottles and coffee makers. There’s also a slow pour mode for things like ice trays</em>.
<em>The device tracks filter life and promises to measure your water intake after 4 weeks.</em>
<em>The HydraSense comes in pink, blue, black, and white and is available now for $199.99.</em>
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The HydraSense is a sleek-looking device that plugs into an outlet to power a touchscreen control panel and filtration system.
Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
“Hey Sonos, open the shades.”

Your Sonos speakers can now control your Lutron Caséta lights, plugs, and shades alongside your music with Sonos Voice Control. This is the second lighting integration for the speaker’s built-in assistant, which added the ability to control your Hue lights last year.

Sonos Voice Control can now control your Lutron Caséta devices alongside your music.
Sonos Voice Control can now control your Lutron Caséta devices alongside your music.
Image: Lutron
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Today’s Vergecast: The next big thing in movies is 60-year-old IMAX tech.

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is the first feature film ever shot entirely with IMAX 70mm film cameras, which is apparently a very big deal, and why it’s been harder than usual to get a ticket to see Matt Damon on the biggest screen. Now that Spider-Man is moving onto IMAX screens, it may be even harder.

So, why is this 60-year-old tech suddenly the hottest thing in movies? The Verge’s Charles Pulliam-Moore joins The Vergecast to compare the standard and IMAX versions of The Odyssey and talk us through the difference between IMAX, LieMAX, and Infinity Vision.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
GE Appliances doubles down on US-made chips.

The Chinese-owned appliance manufacturer announced it will use US-manufactured Texas Instruments semiconductors in its new laundry machines made at its Louisville, Kentucky, headquarters. Along with its Wi-Fi and BLE connectivity solutions, GE Appliances says it’s exploring using TI’s intelligent microcontroller platform to bring advanced AI to its washers and dryers.

Image: GE Appliances
The ban on robot vacuums won’t make them safer, only worse

You’ll have fewer robot floor cleaners to choose from and higher prices.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Philips Hue’s latest camera might be for your TV.

According to Hueblog.com, the smart lighting company is readying a new solution for its popular entertainment sync feature. “Screen Sync” is a TV-mounted camera that matches Hue lights to on-screen content. Unlike Hue’s HDMI Sync box and TV Sync apps, a camera-based system — popularized by rivals Govee and Nanoleaf — should be able to sync with any content on the screen.

Philips Hue may soon launch a camera-based solution for its entertainment sync system.
Philips Hue may soon launch a camera-based solution for its entertainment sync system.
Image: HueBlog.com
Surprise! Facial recognition smart locks are actually good

I tested four locks that unlock with a look, and while hands-free with UWB is better, if you want a sci-fi experience for your front door, facial recognition is worth considering.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy