Olivia Lin

Olivia Lin

Vancouver

Tech journalist covering smart home, wearables, and consumer electronics. Former editor at TechCrunch.

Articles by Olivia Lin

Is the Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite a Smart Upgrade for Your Setup?
Guides

Is the Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite a Smart Upgrade for Your Setup?

The **Govee TV Backlight 3 Lite** sits in a very specific corner of home tech: the camera-based TV bias light. It is not a new television, not a streaming box, and not a surround-sound upgrade. It is an LED light strip system designed to mount behind your TV and change colour based on what is hap...

ENERGIZE LAB Eiliko Explained: Personality, AI, and Who It's Actually For
AI & Robotics

ENERGIZE LAB Eiliko Explained: Personality, AI, and Who It's Actually For

The **ENERGIZE LAB Eiliko** sits in a very specific little corner of the gadget world: the wearable AI companion that is less "smart assistant" and more "digital charm with a personality." It is not trying to be a smartwatch, and it is not pretending to run your home. The pitch is simpler than th...

AirThings View Plus: A Radon, CO2, and VOC Primer for Homes
AI & Robotics

AirThings View Plus: A Radon, CO2, and VOC Primer for Homes

The AirThings View Plus Air Quality Monitor sits in a more serious corner of the smart-home world than most people expect. This is not an air purifier, not a thermostat, and not a decorative little sensor you buy just to populate an app dashboard. It is a wall-mountable indoor air monitor aim...

Is the DAYBETTER LED Strip Lights 130ft a Weekend Win or a Drawer Filler?
AI & Robotics

Is the DAYBETTER LED Strip Lights 130ft a Weekend Win or a Drawer Filler?

The DAYBETTER LED Strip Lights 130ft sits in one of the busiest corners of the cheap-smart-home market: long, app-controlled RGB light strips aimed at bedrooms, gaming setups, dorm rooms, and quick décor upgrades. This is the kind of product people buy hoping for a fast transformation — one a...

The Bitvae Toothbrush Holder Infrared Sensing Cleaner: A Small Upgrade That Changes Your Counter
AI & Robotics

The Bitvae Toothbrush Holder Infrared Sensing Cleaner: A Small Upgrade That Changes Your Counter

The Bitvae Toothbrush Holder Infrared Sensing Cleaner sits in a very specific little corner of the bathroom-gadget market: not quite an electric toothbrush, not quite a UV sanitizer box, and not just a wall caddy either. It is basically a mounted toothbrush dock that tries to solve three anno...

Amazon Basics Smart Light Bulbs: The Small Upgrade That Unlocks Bigger Automations
Security

Amazon Basics Smart Light Bulbs: The Small Upgrade That Unlocks Bigger Automations

The Amazon Basics Smart Light Bulbs sit at the very low-friction end of the smart-home market: not a flashy gadget, not a statement piece, and not the kind of product people brag about owning. They are simply connected light bulbs meant to replace the plain bulbs already in lamps, ceiling fix...

The OlarHike Tire Inflator Portable Air Compressor: What It's Actually Built For
AI & Robotics

The OlarHike Tire Inflator Portable Air Compressor: What It's Actually Built For

Portable tire inflators have quietly become one of the more practical glovebox gadgets you can buy. A few years ago, most people still thought of them as bulky emergency compressors with a power cord and not much else. Now the category is full of smaller, battery-equipped units that promise to ha...

Best Robot Vacuum for Cat Hair in 2026: Because Your Cat Won't Clean Up After Itself
Smart Home

Best Robot Vacuum for Cat Hair in 2026: Because Your Cat Won't Clean Up After Itself

Cats are wonderful. They're independent, low-maintenance, and endlessly entertaining. They're also tiny fur factories that shed on every surface in your home—furniture, carpet, hardwood, and somehow inside drawers you never open. Add litter tracking to the mix, and you've got a cleaning challenge...

Best Robot Vacuum for Carpet in 2026: Deep Clean Without the Effort
Smart Home

Best Robot Vacuum for Carpet in 2026: Deep Clean Without the Effort

Carpet is the toughest surface for a robot vacuum. Dust, pet hair, and debris embed deep in the fibers, and weak suction just pushes them around. You need serious suction power and the right brush design to actually pull dirt out of carpet.

Best Robot Vacuum According to Consumer Reports in 2026: Data-Driven Picks
Smart Home

Best Robot Vacuum According to Consumer Reports in 2026: Data-Driven Picks

Choosing a robot vacuum based on marketing claims is a gamble. Every brand says theirs has "the most powerful suction" and "the smartest navigation." Consumer Reports cuts through the noise with standardized testing—every robot vacuum runs the same tests on the same surfaces under the same condit...

Best Smart Home Hub in 2026: The Brain Your Smart Home Actually Needs
Smart Home

Best Smart Home Hub in 2026: The Brain Your Smart Home Actually Needs

A smart home without a hub is like a team without a manager—everything works independently, but nothing works together. Smart bulbs, locks, thermostats, cameras, and sensors from different brands need a central hub to communicate, automate, and respond intelligently. The right hub ties everything...

Best Robot Vacuum and Mop for Pet Hair in 2026: Clean Floors Without Lifting a Finger
Smart Home

Best Robot Vacuum and Mop for Pet Hair in 2026: Clean Floors Without Lifting a Finger

Living with pets means living with hair. On the couch, on the carpet, tumbling across the hardwood like tiny furry tumbleweeds. If you have a dog that sheds or a cat that leaves fur on every surface, you already know that vacuuming once a week doesn't cut it. You need daily cleaning—and nobody ha...