Some gadgets are exciting because they are new and clever. Others are the ones you buy almost as an afterthought, only to wonder a few weeks later how you ever managed without them.<\/p>\n
They are the unsung heroes of home technology \u2013 small things that make life a little easier without demanding much attention.<\/p>\n
A smart leak detector might not sound like the most thrilling addition to the house, but place one near the washing machine, dishwasher or under the kitchen sink and it can alert you if it detects water where it shouldn\u2019t be. <\/p>\n
Hopefully it will never have to do its job, but if it catches a leak early, you\u2019ll be glad it\u2019s there. Then there are gadgets that can make everyday routines run more smoothly. A Google Home speaker, for example, can be used as an alarm, play music, set timers and reminders, check the weather, control compatible lights and answer questions without requiring you to reach for your phone.<\/p>\n
Richard Beaini, General Manager Mobile and Computers, Technology and Retail Operations at Harvey Norman, says the best lifestyle technology should make the home easier to live in rather than add more noise or screen time. <\/p>\n
\u201cA Google Home speaker is a great example because it can act like the centre of a better morning or evening routine,\u201d Mr Beaini says.<\/p>\n
Paired with compatible smart lighting, a speaker can also help create a sunrise-style routine, gradually bringing lights on in the bedroom or living space to make mornings feel less abrupt.<\/p>\n
An item tracker can be another small investment with a big pay-off. Attach one to your keys, pop one in a handbag or school bag, or use a suitable tracker with your pet, and your phone can help locate it if it goes missing.<\/p>\n
Around the house, sensor lights are another simple upgrade. Put one in a hallway, wardrobe or pantry and the light comes on when you need it, then switches off again. <\/p>\n
Harvey Norman General Manager Appliances Carly Scott says Australians are becoming more excited about the future in tech.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobot vacuums remain a high-growth category in Australia, with ownership now likely in the millions of households and rising as consumers increasingly adopt smart-home technologies and upgrade to premium vacuum-and-mop systems,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some gadgets are exciting because they are new and clever. Others are the ones you buy almost as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":904705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[472917,472926,381157,472918,413840,472923,472915,472922,472914,379096,472906,472929,472925,413395,472938,472912,472909,64,63,9461,128103,472928,472931,9958,30164,326022,203436,472913,472932,213,439551,90676,472934,472916,42930,472910,472896,472921,21715,472897,8280,22549,472904,74763,439578,472902,136,37166,472903,59906,46651,472936,472930,472898,472907,1996,105,472901,472937,472933,378744,131558,472900,20557,242592,441835,403122,408665,472919,383486,472908,472927,379972,472911,120346,472924,11814,472920,472935,472899,378052,472905],"class_list":["post-904704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-a-better-morning-or-evening-routine","tag-a-big-pay-off","tag-a-few-weeks","tag-a-google-home-speaker","tag-a-great-example","tag-a-hallway","tag-a-handbag-or-school-bag","tag-a-high-growth-category","tag-a-leak","tag-a-little","tag-a-speaker","tag-a-suitable-tracker","tag-a-sunrise-style-routine","tag-an-afterthought","tag-an-alarm","tag-another-simple-upgrade","tag-another-small-investment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australians","tag-clutter","tag-compatible-lights","tag-compatible-smart-lighting","tag-computers","tag-consumers","tag-daily-life","tag-dishwasher","tag-everyday-household-problems","tag-everyday-routines","tag-gadgets","tag-general-manager-mobile","tag-harvey-norman","tag-harvey-norman-general-manager-appliances-carly-scott","tag-home-technology-small-things","tag-households","tag-item-trackers","tag-its-job","tag-leak-detectors","tag-leaks","tag-less-abrupt-an-item-tracker","tag-life","tag-lights","tag-more-noise-or-screen-time","tag-mornings","tag-mr-beaini","tag-much-attention-a-smart-leak-detector","tag-music","tag-ownership","tag-premium-vacuum-and-mop-systems","tag-questions","tag-robot-vacuums","tag-sensor-lights","tag-small-smart-tech-upgrades","tag-smart-home-technologies","tag-some-gadgets","tag-tech","tag-technology","tag-technology-and-retail-operations","tag-the-bedroom-or-living-space","tag-the-best-lifestyle-technology","tag-the-centre","tag-the-future","tag-the-gadgets","tag-the-home","tag-the-house","tag-the-kitchen-sink","tag-the-light","tag-the-millions","tag-the-most-thrilling-addition","tag-the-ones","tag-the-unsung-heroes","tag-the-washing-machine","tag-the-weather","tag-timers-and-reminders","tag-tiny","tag-wardrobe-or-pantry","tag-water","tag-your-daily-life","tag-your-keys","tag-your-pet","tag-your-phone","tag-your-phone-richard-beaini"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=904704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/904704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/904705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=904704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=904704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=904704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}