Get out, take your tech toys with you
How, why and what gadgets can supersize outdoor living this year
This May long weekend is celebrated as the unofficial start to summer in Ontario and warmer weather is drawing people back to outdoor living.
Staycations and backyard lounging are big again this season as the province’s stay-at-home order continues.
And while you may think enjoying fresh air and playing around with tech gadgets are mutually exclusive activities, the two go hand-in-hand.
From high-tech grills to waterproof ebook readers, weather-resistant TVs, rugged Bluetooth speakers and smart lighting, here’s a look at a few summerready considerations, ranging from $129 to $14,999.
Books, beats, and bulbs: There are three issues with trying to read ebooks in a hammock, by the pool or at the beach: tablets are virtually impossible to see because of the glarey, illuminated screen; battery life isn’t great to begin with, worse in the hot sun; and don’t even think about getting tablets wet.
Instead, ebook readers, like the Kobo Nia ($129.99), offer a glare-free e-ink screen, battery life that’s measured in weeks (not hours), and models like the Kobo Libra H20 ($199.99) and the feature-rich Kobo Forma ($299.99) are completely waterproof, in case you want to read on a floatie.
Along with storing thousands of books, the crisp text looks like real ink on paper, and you’ve got several font styles and sizes to choose from.
Another poolside companion is Sony’s XB33 extra bass portable wireless speaker ($249.99). This Bluetooth boom box is waterproof, dustproof and shockproof, and delivers up to 24 hours of audio between charges.
By day, enjoy tunes by the pool and if a call comes in, the speakerphone function offers a convenient way to talk hands-free. By night, the XB33 has a colorful lighting mode, which can also be customized and controlled by app, to turn your backyard into a dance party.
Speaking of lights, mood lighting has also moved outdoors. For example, the Philips Hue Amarant white and colour ambiance linear outdoor light ($199.99) is weatherproof LED lighting that can wash a large swath of your property with customizable lighting with up to 16 million hues. Part of the safe and easy-to-install LowVolt system, this Philips Hue
Amarant spotlight connects to a power supply unit, allowing you to connect multiple linear spotlights, if desired, for a daisy chain setup.
Like most other Philips Hue lights, this requires a Philips Hue bridge ($69.99) plugged into your router, which then lets you control your lights from your smartphone or tablet, with your voice through a smart speaker, or via the Philips Hue dimmer indoor switch. Or you can set schedules and timers, and change up the lighting to suit the season.
Tasty tech: Perhaps your next outdoor grill should be tech-infused? Budget permitting, the Traeger Ironwood 650 Wi-Fi connected wood pellet grill ($1,599.99) allows you to grill a steak and veggies, smoke a brisket or bake an apple pie — all in the same unit — using hardwood pellets as the fuel source.
When it comes to its smarts, Traeger’s WiFIRE technology lets you monitor or control the temperature through a companion app on a smartphone or tablet (which includes access to more than 1,600 recipes), an Apple Watch, or by using voice commands through a Google or Amazon smart speaker.
If a gas grill is more your thing, Weber’s Genesis grills (from $1,349.99) and Spirit grills (from $899.99) include its Weber Connect Wi-Fi technology.
After downloading the Weber Connect mobile app, simply insert the meat probes into your food and they’ll wirelessly show real-time info on the app, such as grill temperature and desired doneness of your meat, so you don’t have to lift the lid. “If you’re lookin’, it’s not cookin’,” a grill master once told me.
You’ll also receive notifications on the app that give instructions from grill set-up, to when to flip your food.
Weber Connect Smart grilling hub ($169.99) is also available as an accessory, to turn your existing grill into a smart grill.
Movies by moonlight: Just because you’re enjoying some beautiful evening weather doesn’t mean you can’t binge on your favourite TV or streamed shows. Extra-bright the Terrace outdoor televisions, from Samsung, feature allweather IP55-certified exteriors that protect internal components from rain, dirt, and even insects in temperatures from -31C to 50C.
With ultra-high brightness (2,000 nits) so the screen can be viewed clearly outside, these slender anti-glare Smart TVs feature 4K Ultra HD resolution, quick refresh rates to smooth out fast motion and the option to control the television with just your voice.
Samsung Terrace TVs are “quantum dot” (QLED) TVs, which deliver a wide, more true-to-life colour palette. Prices are $4,999.99 (55-inch), $6,999.99 (65-inch), and $8,999.99 (75-inch), along with a “Full Sun” model, new for 2021, for $14,999.99 (75-inches), which lets you watch even in direct sunlight.
Want an even bigger image? Projectors are also fun for the family, and socially-distanced neighbours, on summer nights.
Epson’s compact EpiqVision Mini EF12 smart streaming laser projector ($1,299) offers up to a 150-inch picture — the farther back you go, the bigger the splashed image gets — plus it features a long-life laser-phosphor light source (opposed to a lamp you need to replace), up to 4K resolution (with high dynamic range, or HDR), and an integrated Android TV platform that let you access popular streaming services right out of the box, or wirelessly sync your smartphone to play videos.
On the audio front, Epson has partnered with Yamaha on this EpiqVision which includes a custom 3D acoustic enclosure, two high-end Yamaha drivers, and Yamaha’s latest AudioEngine DSP (digital signal processing) technology. You’ll need an AC outlet and/or a weatherresistant extension cord to make it work.
A cut above: Finally, why cut your grass when you can have a robot do it as you watch from your Muskoka chair, cold one in hand?
The Husqvarna Automower family of robotic lawnmowers range in price from $1,999.99 for the Automower 315X model (for up to1,600 square metres of grass) all the way up to $5,599.99 for the Automower 435X AWD model (an all-wheel drive model for up to 3,500 square metres and handles slopes as steep as 70 degrees).
After the guidewire is installed around your property, this waterproof, electric mower can quietly cut grass then return on its own to the charging station, power up and continue mowing. It can navigate around obstacles, like rocks and garden gnomes, and trek down narrow walkways. And it comes with an anti-theft alarm.
Along with the app, those who own a smart speaker can use their voice to start and stop the Automower.
The future is here.