One year after being announced during CES 2017, faucet brand Moen is back at CES this year with a new announcement for its "U by Moen" cloud-based, Wi-Fi enabled shower system (via CNET). The company this week revealed that the smart shower will add support for Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa AI assistants in the first half of 2018, letting you control water temperature and more with voice commands on connected smartphones and speakers.
For the HomeKit integration, you'll be able to speak to your iOS devices and begin your shower ahead of time, like saying, "Hey Siri, start my shower." If you have saved water temperature presets within the Moen app, the shower will then begin to reach your desired temperature and notify you when it's ready. Siri will only work with Moen's next-generation smart shower controllers, so anyone who purchased last year's device will have to buy the new system if they want Siri controls.
This is because the new U by Moen includes a specific MFi chip for HomeKit compatibility, despite Apple last summer updating its HomeKit specifications so that compatible smart products no longer have to include a hardware authentication chip. A Moen representative told CNET: "We are launching with the Apple Authentication Coprocessor (MFI chip) in the controller to meet the current Apple HomeKit protocol that still requires the chip."
Besides Siri voice control, U by Moen's new system is visually similar to the first and connects to an iPhone app so you can set up to 12 customized settings for a shower. The in-shower "digital valve" includes a five-inch LCD screen and various buttons for manual temperature control, and still requires professional installation.
There are two different versions of the next-generation U by Moen shower system, including a two-outlet model for $1,160 and a four-outlet model for $2,200.
Top Stories
Customers who require a replacement AirPod from Apple have in some cases been receiving an AirPod running 2D3 firmware, which is not a version of the AirPods firmware that's been publicly released.
As described on the MacRumors forum and Reddit (via iMore), customers who get an AirPod with the 2D3 firmware are unable to pair it with the existing unreplaced AirPod, leaving the AirPods unable...
Facebook has quietly released Tuned, a new messaging app designed to provide a "private space" for couples to connect, reports The Information.
Designed by NPE, an experimental group within the company that was established last year, the app encourages couples to share messages, notes, cards, voice memos, photos and Spotify songs with each other, thereby creating a "digital scrapbook" of...
Two images shared on social media this morning are currently stoking speculation about possible hardware redesigns coming to the iPhone 12 and the potential introduction of Home screen widgets in iOS 14.
Shared by Twitter user Fudge (choco_bit), the images depict a front and rear graphical representation of a smartphone with interface elements on the screen, suggesting it came out of a...
LG today announced pricing and availability for its 2020 NanoCell TVs with AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support in the United States.
The first 4K models are rolling out now, with pricing starting at $599 for a 55-inch model. The entire 4K lineup will be released by September, including up to an 86-inch model for $3,299. 8K models will also be rolling out in May and June, including 65-inch and...
Apple today released iOS and iPadOS 13.4.1, minor updates that come two weeks after the release of iOS and iPadOS 13.4, major updates that introduced iCloud Folder Sharing, a new Mail toolbar, trackpad support for the iPad, and more.
The iOS and iPadOS 13.4.1 updates are available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the updates, go to Settings > General...
Apple will announce a new 13-inch MacBook Pro in May with the codename J223, according to a rumor shared by YouTuber and leaker Jon Prosser. Note: it’s a refresh to the current 13” So the bigger 14” display upgrade is a big possibility— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) April 4, 2020 Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said Apple plans to release new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models with scissor keyboards ...
Rumors of Apple-branded over-ear headphones have been circulating for quite some time, while more recent rumors have mentioned an "AirPods Pro Lite" that could also be in the works, and Twitter leaker Jon Prosser's recent foray into Apple rumors provides a bit more detail on what we might able to expect for these products.
Current Beats Studio3 Wireless and BeatsX On the over-ear side,...
Last week, we laid out evidence suggesting that the just-released iPad Pro models do not contain a U1 Ultra Wideband chip, including the lack of any mention of the chip in tech specs or Apple's press materials, the absence of software support for U1 features, and more. Most tellingly, iFixit was unable to find the chip or related antennas in the device.
Daring Fireball's John Gruber has follo...
Following this weekend's news from Tim Cook that Apple is working with its supply chain to produce a million face shields per week for medical workers, the company has shared a support document outlining how to assemble and adjust the shields.
The document includes a series of images and animations showing how the simple three-piece product can be assembled for either a regular fit or with...
HBO today announced that its HBO GO and HBO NOW streaming services will no longer be available on second-generation and third-generation Apple TV models starting April 30, 2020.
In a support document on its website, HBO says this change is being made "in order to provide the best streaming experience":In order to provide the best streaming experience, we need to make some changes to our...
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Exactly, in a scarce water world where 1 billion people do not have access to running water, and even first world regions like California and North Dakota face droughts, having your shower pre-start (pre-start wasting resources that is), while you still lay in bed stuck replying a message, seems not just inmoral but an outright crime.
How is this any different than standing outside your shower waiting for the water temperature to come up? If anything, this is more efficient due to to having definitive temperatures to set.Or are you going to tell me that you step into your shower, jerk the hot and cold on and then deal with either burning or freezing yourself?
I see zero point putting transitory tech into any products. Especially when the product is a long term, low use item. A connected TV works great but how exactly can you interact with a shower that doesn’t require you to be next to it?
Exactly, in a scarce water world where 1 billion people do not have access to running water, and even first world regions like California and North Dakota face droughts, having your shower pre-start (pre-start wasting resources that is), while you still lay in bed stuck replying a message, seems not just inmoral but an outright crime.These are non starter ideas and I’m sure it must be April fools.
But, hey, maybe they could integrate a sensor and turn the shower off after reaching temp if no ones in it after 10 seconds, they could make a call for helping save water.
From what I read elsewhere it does exactly that. It runs the water until it reaches the temp you specified, and then it "pauses" the water flow until you get in. I assume the "pause" is like many other shower heads where it still lets a tiny bit of water flow so you remember that it is on.In my house this would be extremely helpful since the water heater is on the opposite side of the house, and the plumbing is run in an unfinished basement with the copper pipes exposed. It takes a good 4-5 minutes before we get hot water in my shower. I don't really worry about "wasting" water though because I live in the country with a well/septic system on an aquifer. My water is pretty much 100% recycled all the time, no such thing as "wasting" water. I suppose you could argue we "waste" a little bit of electricity running the well pump and water heater though.
Agreed. Adjusting the water temperature is nothing more than demonstrating this technology versus actual practicality. Adjusting the water temperature is always variable, this Product doesn't solve that.
The way I understand it, these fancy controllers continually adjust the valves to keep the water at your set temperature. So as long as you have enough hot water the temp will be where you set it, you don't sit there continually bumping up the temperature as the hot water starts to run low like you do on a manual valve, these do that for you.Set the temp to 90° and the shower turns on and runs until the temp gets up to 90° and then pauses the water flow. You get in and it turns back on and you have 90° water hitting you the entire time you are in the shower until you get out, no need to touch the controller/valves/anything. This is opposed to turning the shower on all the way to hot, keep checking it every couple minutes by hand until you feel it get warm enough, get in and start soaping up and realize it is starting to get too hot so you turn the temp down, keep showering for a while and then realize the hot water is starting to run low so now you've got to turn the heat back up, etc. etc.
Ok so in tech utopia world of Star Trek, you don’t think they can ask the computer to dial up an exact temperature shower?
I don't mind the general idea of this (although I wouldn't pay anywhere near that much for this kind of convenience), I just don't understand why it needs to be "cloud-based". It introduces unnecessary privacy and security hassles without bringing substantial benefits to the end user.I really don’t see the problem with it. haters gonna hate...
(Obligatory pun)Also, around here we already have cloud-based showers. They're called "rain".(/Obligatory pun)
These are non starter ideas and I’m sure it must be April fools.
On another aspect, people WILL end up wasting water if they start their shower even 30 seconds earlier than they normally start it. 100s and 1000s of gallons wasted.