Skip to main content

Max One will wake you when your smoke alarm doesn't

MAX One Safety and Nightlight Features
Sleeping through all five of your wake-up alarms may not be ideal for that early morning meeting, but sleeping through a smoke detector alarm could have much more dire consequences. And if you have a habit of not waking up when you’re supposed to, you may be able to use a little help from a smart home device. Meet the Max One, from smart home device maker Max — it’s a new kind of safety alarm that wants to be sure that you’re awake when the alternative could be deadly.
Recommended Videos

The Max One plugs into any wall outlet and is capable of detecting the high-frequency sound emitted by many smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. While these tones may be unmissable (and indeed, infuriating), when we’re conscious, the same might not be true when we’re deep in our repose. In fact, Max says, 21 percent of young people are not actually roused by the traditional high-frequency smoke alarm sound. And if they’ve been drinking, an alarming 38.5 percent can sleep right through these sounds.

However, it would appear that lower-frequency sounds are actually more effective at getting people out of bed, and indeed, Max says, they’ve yet to encounter an individual in their own studies who has been able to ignore the alarm that the company’s smart device emits. Moreover, because the Max One also comes with a light that flashes alongside the aural component, there are multiple components working to ensure that you wake up.

Once you’re out of bed, the Max One can be removed from its wall outlet and used as a flashlight, thanks to the internal rechargeable battery that will keep the device emergency ready. Currently, the Max One can be purchased online at MaxSmartHome.com or from Home Depot for $39.95. A small price to pay for a device that has the potential to save you from sleeping … well, forever.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
This gizmo tracks your TP usage and automatically orders more when you get low
homeplenish-splindle toilet paper holder

Smart home appliances have a tendency to border on solutions-for-nonexistent-problems territory, and no place is that more apparent than the CES show floor. This year is no different. Case in point: A smart toilet paper holder from a company called Homeplenish that keeps a tab on your usage and then  automatically orders more from your Amazon account when you’re about to run out.

Homeplenish says its device will prevent people from hoarding rolls as its algorithm can automatically predict when you’ll need more and order it on your behalf beforehand, unlike some alternatives that tend to buy replacements on a set schedule. Since the smart holder integrates with Amazon’s “Smart Reorder” platform, it also takes into account delivery times and calculates the ideal reorder time frame to ensure “there is never too much or too little towel and tissue on hand.”

Read more
7 things you didn’t know your smart thermostat could do
Ecobee smart thermostat installed on wall next to woman walking down stairs.

At their core, smart thermostats can learn about when you're coming and going and adjust the temperature automatically. Over time, however, smart thermostats have leveraged their intelligence to do some interesting things well beyond that basic mission. Let's dig into some of the more obscure features we're seeing in the latest smart thermostats. Who knows? Maybe you'll learn something you didn't know your own smart thermostat could do.
Adjust for sun exposure
If your thermostat is exposed to sunlight, it can skew the ambient temperature reading. The little spot the thermostat inhabits could be a fair bit warmer than the rest of the home. This means either heating could be prevented from turning on automatically, cooling will be prematurely activated, or the overall data on your home's heating and cooling status will be inaccurate.

Some manufacturers, like Nest, have built in a feature that counteracts this artificial spike in temperature reading. Since many smart thermostats have light sensors to automatically adjust the display brightness, they can also be used to see if there's an overlap between when brightness increases and when an abnormal spike in temperature is read. Once it figures out how much the temperature increases in that span of time, it can automatically reduce the reading to get something more accurate for the rest of the house.
Talk to voice assistants

Read more
This South Korean smart home hack is one more reason you should secure your home
Alexa listening indicator.

While most Americans were trying to take advantage of Black Friday sales last weekend, hackers in South Korea pulled off what is perhaps the most damaging hack in smart home history. The as-yet-unidentified hackers recorded photo and video from more than 700 different apartment complexes and held it ransom or sold it outright for Bitcoin.

The entire incident is the stuff of nightmares -- the realization of fears about the smart home industry and what it means to allow cameras and other recording devices into the home without sufficient safeguards in place.

Read more