Summer, as the saying goes, is made for playing. But how can you have fun at home when all those household chores demand your attention? It’s possible to lighten our load with a few hand-picked accessories that will boost our productivity where it really counts: to maximize our free time!
Beats Pill
Beats by Dr. Dre has been revamping a good portion of its catalog this spring, and its Pill portable speaker is its latest update. It’s more than welcome: the device pairs with your phone or PC via Bluetooth, or for fans of lossless music, via USB-C. The device costs $200 and has enough sound power to liven up a patio without disturbing the neighbors. It’s IP67-certified, splash- and dust-resistant. Best of all, it has a microphone that lets you take hands-free calls. Perfect for working from home on the patio…
Sonos Roam 2
There are plenty of choices when it comes to portable wireless speakers, so let’s double down on the Roam 2 (starting at $230), a reworked version of Sonos’s small pocket speaker that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker and a standalone smart speaker. Its Wi-Fi connection lets you pair it directly with Sonos, which combines just about everything online music service out there, from Apple Music to Spotify to TuneIn to independent Internet radio stations. Most portable speakers of this type can be turned into stereo speakers when you combine two of them, and the Roam is no exception. In stereo mode, it produces a more powerful sound, perfect for livening up a large suburban backyard.
Sinopé, charge controller
Speaking of the suburbs, pool owners who would like to better control their energy consumption are encouraged to get a timer to turn off the pump at night. There are a host of models. A little more advanced, the Sinopé charge controller ($150) can do the same job, but its long-range Wi-Fi connection also allows it to be connected to the Neviweb web platform from the Montérégie manufacturer. It can be activated automatically according to a predetermined schedule, or manually using a phone, tablet or personal computer. A clever way to calculate (and reduce) the energy consumed by the largest electrical appliances in your home, especially since a pool pump can be turned off more than half the time without really affecting the quality of swimming…
Rachio 3, watering controller
Watering your plants in the summer is a headache that is not made any easier by the increasingly unpredictable weather. Rachio brand controllers are regularly rated as the best of their kind. The third-generation Rachio range includes controllers that can separately manage from four to sixteen (!) watering zones, all from a mobile application and a web interface that will make you a gardening champion. Especially since the connected device can check the weather and adapt the flow and frequency of watering according to the level of sunshine, the strength of the winds or showers. It will also adapt the watering according to the type of plant to be watered. At $200, the device costs a little more than a mechanical timer, but it will save you the chore of monitoring your garden or flowerbed at all times during your vacation…
Reolink Argus 4 Pro
The market for Wi-Fi home security cameras has been booming in recent years. It’s obviously tempting to install one or two to keep an eye on your home when you’re away. While it’s fairly easy to monitor the inside of your home, being able to do so outside poses more problems. The first is ensuring that the device has an adequate power supply. The Reolink brand may have solved this problem by offering, with its Argus 4 Pro outdoor camera, a solar sensor that recharges it all day long thanks to a waterproof USB-C connection. Half a day of sun is enough to keep its battery fully charged. The camera itself is also quite clever: its two sensors produce a high-resolution ultra-panoramic image, which allows you to capture an entire plot of land in one go, or, why not, the entire interior of a large loft. At $270, including the solar panel, it’s a small home surveillance system that’s relatively inexpensive and, above all, requires little maintenance once installed.
TP-Link Kasa, double outdoor socket
TP-Link’s Kasa power outlet comes in single or double versions, both waterproof and rugged. Their operation, while obviously very mundane, is the same: you plug in the electrical device of your choice, and you can then control its power via Wi-Fi. Is it worth the $20 to $50, depending on the model? It depends, but seeing the faces your guests will make when you ask Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant out loud to turn on the balcony lights, and they turn on immediately, is priceless…