The AI-powered gadget alerts you to doorbells, alarms, crying babies, and more

Earzz: One Minute Review

Smart Home Week

This review is part of TechRadar’s Smart Home Week 2024 series, where we bring you the latest news, tips and tricks to help you create the smart home of your dreams.

The Earzz sensor uses a microphone, smartphone app, and AI to alert you to specific sounds, from a baby crying or a dog barking to a doorbell, an appliance beeping, or broken glass. The result of a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, Earzz is designed both for the smart home (with IFTTT integration) and to help caregivers respond to their dependents and their needs in a reliable but anonymous way.

It offers about eight hours of battery life, so in most cases it’s best to leave it plugged in via the included USB-C cable. You can set the Earzz to listen for up to six of the 20 or so available sounds. Phone notifications come through quickly, often within seconds, and the app records every time the device is turned on.

Imagination is the key to getting the most out of Earzz. It can sound an alarm on your phone when someone is at the door, or notify a nursing home employee when a resident may have fallen. Add IFTTT integration and Earzz can flash its smart light when the washing machine is ready.

The hardware is quite basic, but feels well-made. It’s simple to set up and use, and there are plenty of features to discover. However, it doesn’t always work as well as I expected, and you can’t always rely on it to deliver accurate and timely alerts. It’s a work in progress for now, but the AI ​​will surely improve with training.

Earzz: Price and availability

• How much is it? £79.99 (around $100) plus subscription

• When will it be available? Now available

• Where is it available? In the UK, with the option to ship to the USA

At £79.99, or about $100, Earzz isn’t cheap, especially when you factor in the subscription; the company advertises this as £7.99 per month, but its annual fee is £95.88 (about $120). The high cost means this may not be a gadget you’ll buy on a whim to experiment with in your smart home.

Instead, it’s aimed at people who may have hearing problems and need a way to get notifications about things like a knock on the door or a smoke detector. Of course, there’s a lot of value in a product like this, but the hefty price tag means that casual smart home enthusiasts might think twice.

Earzz: Specs

Should I buy Earzz?

Buy if…

Don’t buy if…

How I Tested Earzz

• I lived with Earzz for a few weeks

• I have tried almost all of the 20 different sound alerts

• I connected Earzz to my IFTTT account

I created an Earzz account and connected the device to my Wi-Fi network. I then began testing Earzz using a variety of real and recorded sounds. This included my intercom buzzer and a washing machine; unfortunately, Earzz didn’t recognize either of them. To make things easier, I sent a recording of my buzzer to the Earzz team, who added it to their sound catalog. It now works perfectly, but I appreciate that this is not the kind of service a regular customer might expect.

The better news: It responded quickly to two different fire alarms and a carbon monoxide monitor. It also worked well with IFTTT, and it was easy to create a routine where my Hue lights would turn on when the doorbell rang.

The app allows users to submit feedback on every sound Earzz hears. I dutifully did so, telling the app what it did right and, more importantly, when it did wrong and what the sound should be. This should help the AI ​​improve over time.

I also played various sounds of a doorbell and a dog barking on the computer. They were mostly recognized, but sometimes notifications were slow to arrive. I was told that Wi-Fi signal strength was a factor here, but since the app claimed that Earzz’s signal strength never exceeded 65%, even when it was right next to a router or network extender, I couldn’t correct it.

Smart Home Week

This article is part of TechRadar’s Smart Home Week 2024, where we bring you the latest news, tips and tricks to help you create the smart home of your dreams.