Technologies

Philips Hue’s Latest Update Makes Your Lights and Doorbells Way Smarter

Your Philips Hue bulbs now double as motion sensors, and the new doorbell has upgraded to a 2K camera.

Philips Hue just made a big play in the smart home space at the IFA tech expo, confirming a wave of new products after leaks surfaced earlier this week. The lineup includes motion-sensing smart bulbs, a redesigned video doorbell with a sharper 2K fisheye camera and new light strips — all designed to expand Hue’s reach beyond traditional lighting.

One of the biggest changes comes with the launch of Hue’s new Essential bulb line. The standard A19/E26 bulbs are priced lower than the company’s usual offerings, starting at $25 each or $15 apiece in a four-pack. That’s as much as a 50% savings compared with earlier Hue bulbs, making it easier for more people to get started with smart lighting.

Philips Hue also launched new tech that adds motion detection to its bulbs — the Bridge Pro hub. You’ll need to change out your existing Bridge, but the upside is you won’t have to swap out any of your current Hue bulbs. Also, the Bridge Pro has triple the capacity of the Bridge, allowing it to pair with 150 lights and 50 switches and sensors, and also store up to 500 personalized light scenes.

Don’t miss any of CNET’s unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome.

The company says that with «just a few clicks,» you will be able to transfer the settings of all your Hue devices from the Bridge to the Bridge Pro. If you have more than one Bridge, you’ll be able to transfer those to a single Bridge Pro by year’s end.

«I like seeing Philips Hue introducing a budget smart light option in the Essential line, since their bulbs can get pricey,» says CNET home tech editor Tyler Lacoma. «It’s a bit disappointing that they still require a hub to enable Wi-Fi when so many other brands have ditched the requirement. On the plus side, those hubs now enable new features like that clever motion sensing technology — which I can’t wait to try out myself.»

New bulbs add Thread

The new Essential bulbs and the updated E27 bulbs now feature Thread, as well as Zigbee and Bluetooth. These bulbs can now be integrated into a Matter smart home protocol without having to use a Hue Bridge.

At IFA, Philips Hue also introduced five new light strips — providing more brightness and flexibility of use — and all of them will be available in the coming months:

Hue OmniGlow Lightstrip ($140, November)
Hue Flux Gradient Lightstrip ($70, March)
Hue Flux Ultra Bright Gradient Lightstrip ($100, October in EU)
Hue Flux Gradient Outdoor Lightstrip ($150, March)
Hue Neon Gradient Outdoor Lightstrip ($140, March)

Doorbell gets a big upgrade

The Hue Doorbell was announced earlier this year and will be available in October. The resolution will be upgraded to 2K with a fisheye lens, and there will be no extra charge to view the most recent 24 hours of video recording.

The doorbell will trigger the lights you choose and also send real-time notifications, while the Smart Chime sounds alerts. The Hue Secure cameras will be integrated into Apple Home.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, April 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 8.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Hint: It uses a lot of the letter Z for some reason. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: ___-Carlton (hotel chain)
Answer: RITZ

5A clue: Span of the alphabet
Answer: ATOZ

6A clue: Cable channel with an out-of-this-world name
Answer: STARZ

7A clue: Takes care of, as a squeaky wheel
Answer: OILS

8A clue: Toy on a string
Answer: YOYO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: When a post receives far more negative comments than likes, in social media slang
Answer: RATIO

2D clue: World’s leading wine producer
Answer: ITALY

3D clue: Middle of the human body
Answer: TORSO

4D clue: Sleeping sound
Answer: ZZZ

6D clue: Tofu base
Answer: SOY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 8, #562

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 8 No. 562.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Working out.

Green group hint: Cover your face.

Blue group hint: NFL players.

Purple group hint: Leap.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Exercises in singular form.

Green group: Sporting jobs that require masks.

Blue group: Hall of Fame defensive ends.

Purple group: ____ jump.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is exercises in singular form. The four answers are crunch, plank, situp and squat.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is sporting jobs that require masks. The four answers are catcher, fencer, football player and goaltender.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Hall of Fame defensive ends. The four answers are Dent, Peppers, Strahan and Youngblood.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ jump. The four answers are broad, high, long and triple.

Technologies

The $135M Google Data Settlement Site Is Live — See If You’re Eligible

Use the settlement website to select your preferred payment method, and you may end up $100 richer.

You can now file a claim in the $135 million Google data settlement. The case centers on claims that Android devices transmitted user data without consent. Specifically, the class action lawsuit Taylor v. Google LLC contends that Google’s Android devices passively transferred cellular data to Google without user permission, even when the devices were idle. While not admitting fault, Google reached a preliminary settlement in January, agreeing to pay $135 million to about 100 million US Android phone users.

The official settlement website for the lawsuit is now live. The final approval hearing won’t occur until June 23, when the court will consider whether Google’s settlement is fair and listen to objections. After that, the court will decide whether to approve the $135 million settlement.

In the meantime, if you qualify and want to be paid as part of the settlement, you can select your preferred payment method on the official website. There, you can find information on speaking at the June 23 court hearing and on how to exclude yourself or write to the court to object by May 29.

As part of the settlement, Google will update its Google Play terms of service to clarify that certain data transfers do occur passively even when you’re not using your Android device, and that cellular data may be relied upon when not connected to Wi-Fi. This can’t always be disabled, but users will be asked to consent to it when setting up their device.

Google will also fully stop collecting data when its «allow background data usage» option is toggled off.

Who can be part of the settlement?

In order to join the Taylor v. Google LLC settlement, you must meet four qualifications:

Be a living, individual human being in the US.
Have used an Android mobile device with a cellular data plan.
Have used the aforementioned device at any time from Nov. 12, 2017, to the date when the settlement receives final approval.
You’re not a class member in the Csupo v. Google LLC lawsuit, which is similar but specifically for California residents.

The final approval hearing is on June 23, so you can add your payment method until then. The hearing’s date and time may change, and any updates will be posted on the settlement website.

If you choose to do nothing, you will still be issued a settlement payment, but you may not receive it if you don’t select a payment method.

How much will I get paid?

It’s not currently known exactly how much each settlement class member will receive, but the cap is $100. Payments will be distributed after final court approval and after any appeals are resolved.

After all administrative, tax and attorney costs are paid, the settlement administrator will attempt to pay each member an equal amount. If any funds remain after payments are sent, and it’s economically feasible, they will be redistributed to members who were previously and successfully paid. If it’s not economically feasible, the funds will go to an organization approved by the court.