Kata Friends and LilMilo are now available

That headline might make you think this is a review of a new music album, but no, it’s the latest releases of robot pets. Both SwitchBot’s Kata Friends and ECOVACS LilMilo (pronounced lil mylo) are now shipping. I have a video on Kata Friends coming out about the same time this newsletter sends, and I’d love to cover LilMilo if my review schedule permits. AI is enabling these robotic companions to sense more and react to their environment in ways we haven’t seen before, but hugging it like a Furby is still calming, too, and might be what they're best at. Regardless, my young kids love this new part of our smart home.

And another musical connection: DJ Furby is always a more affordable, albeit less smart, robot pet option.

I Am Not a Robot - Joanna Stern

If you or someone you know has been feeling confused by all the different scenarios in which "AI" is used and what it all means, this book is for you. I’ve been reading and listening to the book this week, and it’s phenomenal. Former WSJ tech reviewer Joanna Stern uses her raw, witty research to explore the good and bad sides of where AI is taking our society, including in the home and household chores. With CES in the rearview mirror, I had forgotten how difficult a problem folding laundry is for robots. I also found the medical AI coverage very informative, since that's an area I'm less familiar with.

If you’re curious, Joanna also has a YouTube trailer for the book to help you understand the concept better.

iOS 27 Rumors and Preview

Last week, Mark Gurman published an article diving into all the new updates coming in the 2027 releases Apple will likely preview at their WWDC conference in June. Most of it centers on new ways to interact with the new Siri, like a conversational chatbot and updates to the iPhone’s camera and AI image processing. I think the most interesting part is that Apple will potentially give you a lot of flexibility to select your preferred AI providers to use in different parts of the system. This makes sense as the leading or preferred models for different tasks can change quickly, and everyone has their reasons to pick specific models.

Personally, I use Claude for most things, but certain things like image generation, Deep Research, or CarPlay still have me going back to ChatGPT.

No smart home updates mentioned, though I wouldn’t be surprised if there are new details on supported device types or integrations that Mark Gurman’s sources don’t know about. At least this smarter Siri is supposed to pave the way for new Apple smart home devices.

The Schedule

Last week I had another live stream on Friday afternoon, and I published a short on my new favorite keyboard from Nuphy.

I hope you have a great rest of your Sunday,

Eric