If you are a regular reader at Smart Home Geeks you will remember we reviewed Lithe Audios ceiling speakers.

They have now released a new WiFi ceiling speaker, so we were eager to see how it compares to their impressive Bluetooth ceiling speaker.

What does the Lithe Audio WiFi Speaker do?

These speakers sit in your ceiling, hidden out of sight. You connect to them wirelessly with the Lithe Audio app, using 2.4 GHz WiFi.

Up to 30 speakers or zones can be connected giving an impressive multi-room experience.

LITHE AUDIO Wireless WiFi Multroom Audio Ceiling Speaker

The speakers pack a punch with 60W RMS and inbuilt Apple AirPlay – the only certified AirPlay Ceiling speaker on the market.

They don’t stop there also having in built dlna and UPnP for direct streaming from a media server.

How easy are they to setup?

Setup was simple, as you would expect from Lithe Audio.

First cut the hole, using the supplied template. Then work out how you plan on powering them. They can either be wired into a lighting circuit or can be plugged in, a plug is supplied.

Once powered up you need to install the free Lithe Audio app. Connecting the app is easy, press the reset button for 5 seconds and connect to the speaker via WiFi. The app is simple and intuitive to use.

You can then connect it to your home network and give the speaker a name. To setup AirPlay you use the apple setting and it automatically finds the speaker.

Next the fun part of connecting to a source and playing music!

How much do they cost?

£329.99 for a single speaker
£399 for a pair with a master and a slave

This is very comparable with market leader pricing although at the top end.

What’s it like living with it?

Wow! We are big Sonos fans at Smart Home Geeks, with one in every room. However we can happily say the sound quality and connectivity of Lithe audio surpasses Sonos.

AirPlay is great and ’just works’ – the app never dropped or had frustrating connectivity issues or lag.

Sound quality is superb, both treble and bass sound exceptional.

They however do not support Apple Music – for us no issue but for some it might be a deal breaker.

What are our final thoughts?

If we were looking for a whole home audio solution this is the one we would now choose. The speakers can be easily fitting in the ceiling , out of the way and effortlessly controlled and used.

Watch out Sonos – Lithe is here!!

One of the most frustrating and restrictive elements of security cameras are the required wires. Moobox is a first of its kind a totally wire free HD Camera!

It came to life via indiegogo where it raised $17,723 – 1,023% of its goal!

What does Moobox do?

Moobox is slightly different to other WiFi Cameras, it has been built around simplicity and just working without complications.

The manufacturer’s own another successful WiFi camera company and surveyed their users to see what they wanted most from a new product. Interestingly 65% stated they wanted a simple solution and 78% wanted a battery powered camera. They took this research and developed Moobox.

Moobox Pro Wire-Free 1080p Hd Home Security Camera System

Moobox is a completely wire free HD camera. It has its own hub that has internal memory of 16GB as well as 7 day free cloud backup storage. This means no extra subscription is required.

The camera connects to the Hub via its own 2.4GhZ network.

The camera is designed to run on its internal battery. The battery lasts 3-4 months depending on usage and temperatures.This is super impressive as it only takes 3 hours to fully charge!!

You can also use a power cable if preferred but then why would you buy a wire free camera?!

The camera comes with a magnetic ball mount again giving great freedom as to where you can position it.

The camera boasts all the features you would expect:

• PIR sensor – to capture events
• 120’ lens view
• Two way audio
• Live streaming and alert
• Night vision

The Camera is viewed via its app, it cannot be viewed on PC.

How easy is it to setup?

Setup was easy!

1. Plug the hub into the power as well as plugging into the router.

NOTE: The setup instructions only refer to plugging into the router however after checking on their website we discovered you can connect it to WiFi removing the need for it to be near your router, article here . Giving even more freedom where you can put it. As we mentioned Moobox communicates to its hub via its own 2GHz WiFi  so the camera needs to be in range, so not too far from the hub.

2. Press the large button on the hub for 2 seconds then the  button on the camera. Both lights flash blue and then turn green to show the sync was successful.

3. Once the two are synced you scan the QR code to add the hub to the app.

Installing the camera was easy, it comes with 3M pads as well as screws and raw plugs to attach the ball mount to any surface. However the camera does not lock into the mount, it’s only held magnetically, so anyone can pull it down. That said they would be recorded and saved on the hub and in the cloud.

Family sharing is done via one account – removing the need to remember multiple logins.

What’s the connectivity?

At present Moobox does not connect to any other smart home tech, like Alexa or IFTTT.
This again was decided by surveying their existing users, only 18% wanted this feature.

However they do plan on integrating it at some point but do not have any timescales yet. By their own admission they would rather focus on their app and hardware before looking at 3rd parties.

How much does Moobox cost?

£119.98 direct from Amazon

What’s it like living with Moobox?

It’s a great Camera, its very handy not having to worry about wires and power where you want to use it. The quality of the pictures is impressive – even in low light and night time it gives a clear picture.

The app is easy to use, it has two main views Cams and Events. You can also choose if you want to view from hub storage or cloud storage. Each event can also be exported and saved to your phone storage.

When the motion sensor is enabled you receive push notifications to let you know motion has been detected. This is then saved in the app.

Some features are missing from the app, but we understand this is by design and not everyone is as geeky as us and wants all the bells and whistles.

The app has also not been optimised for iPhone X resulting in a few options and buttons overlapping. However lots of household name apps still are not optimised so they are not the only one!

What are our final thoughts?

This is a good camera, it’s great not having wires!

If you are looking for a simple camera that just works and records motion locally as well as the cloud this could well be the one for you.

If you are looking for a security camera that does more and connects to your other smart home tech Moobox isn’t right for you.

As always we will update this review as and when new features are released.

What is Google Wifi?

Google wifi is essentially a mesh router, designed to spread fast wifi around the home without dead spots.They have commented for medium to large house or houses with thicker walls more than one might be required.

Taking a leaf from Apple the device is designed to be on display rather than hidden away, not looking like a standard router at all.

One innovative feature is the accompanying app that is built in parent controls allowing devices access to be paused. Brilliant for bedtime!

Prices start from £129 or a twin pack for £229.

Watch this space, we will get a review live as soon as we can get our hands on one!

The post Google Wifi coming to the U.K.  appeared first on Smart Home Geeks.