Olivia Lin

Olivia Lin

Vancouver

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

Articles by Olivia Lin

Is the Rossetta Dual Lens Galaxy Projector 58 Effects a Weekend Win or a Drawer Filler?
AI & Robotics

Is the Rossetta Dual Lens Galaxy Projector 58 Effects a Weekend Win or a Drawer Filler?

The Rossetta Dual Lens Galaxy Projector 58 Effects sits in a crowded but still oddly confusing category: the bedroom ambience gadget that tries to be part night light, part sleep aid, part Bluetooth speaker, and part cheap home-theatre-for-your-ceiling. These products are everywhere now, espe...

Dreo Smart Ceiling Fan: Features That Matter vs. Features That Sound Nice
Comparisons

Dreo Smart Ceiling Fan: Features That Matter vs. Features That Sound Nice

The Dreo Smart Ceiling Fan sits in a more interesting category than it first appears. Ceiling fans used to be one of the dullest purchases in a home: pick a blade colour, hope the wobble is manageable, and forget about it for 10 years. Smart models change that a bit. They combine airflow, lig...

The Case For (and Against) the CIRCLE JOY Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder Set
AI & Robotics

The Case For (and Against) the CIRCLE JOY Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder Set

The CIRCLE JOY Gravity Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder Set sits in a very specific corner of the kitchen gadget world: not essential cookware, not chef gear, and not quite novelty either. It is a convenience-first seasoning set designed to make one small kitchen task easier with one hand. Th...

The Gritin 19 LED Rechargeable Book Light: What It's Actually Built For
AI & Robotics

The Gritin 19 LED Rechargeable Book Light: What It's Actually Built For

The Gritin 19 LED Rechargeable Book Light sits in a very practical corner of the gadget world: the personal task light that is meant to solve one narrow problem well. It is not a smart lamp, not a decor piece, and not really a general bedside light. It is a small clip-on reading light designe...

The Draft Top Pro Can Opener: Lifestyle Gadget or Genuinely Useful?
AI & Robotics

The Draft Top Pro Can Opener: Lifestyle Gadget or Genuinely Useful?

The Draft Top Pro Can Opener sits in a strange little niche that is more real than it first sounds: commercial drink presentation hardware. It is not a standard kitchen can opener, and it is not really a novelty bar toy either. It is a countertop electric machine built to remove the full top ...

Is the Tikom V500 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner 40000Pa Worth the Counter Space?
AI & Robotics

Is the Tikom V500 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner 40000Pa Worth the Counter Space?

The Tikom V500 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner 40000Pa sits in a crowded but very practical category: the budget-friendly cordless stick vacuum that wants to replace your old upright for everyday messes. On paper, it aims at the sweet spot many people actually shop for — more convenient than a corded...

Dreo Smart Humidifier 4L Top Fill Explained: What It Does and Where It Fits
Climate & Comfort

Dreo Smart Humidifier 4L Top Fill Explained: What It Does and Where It Fits

The Dreo Smart Humidifier 4L Top Fill sits in a very practical corner of the smart-home world: the humidifier that tries to be less annoying than the old ones. It is not trying to be décor, and it is not pretending humidity control is glamorous. What it offers, on paper, is a familiar applian...

Kohler Numi 2.0: What It Really Takes to Install a Smart Toilet
Smart Home

Kohler Numi 2.0: What It Really Takes to Install a Smart Toilet

The Kohler Numi 2.0 Smart Toilet sits at the far premium end of the bathroom-tech market: not just a bidet seat, not just an automatic flush toilet, but an integrated smart fixture that expects more from the room around it. If you are looking at one, the real question usually is not "what tri...

Matter, Zigbee, or Just Wi-Fi? Placing the Kasa Matter Smart Outdoor Plug
Smart Home

Matter, Zigbee, or Just Wi-Fi? Placing the Kasa Matter Smart Outdoor Plug

The Kasa Matter Smart Outdoor Plug sits in one of the most practical corners of the smart-home market: the outdoor smart plug that lets you automate dumb seasonal lights, patio lamps, fountains, and other backyard gear without replacing the devices themselves. This is not the glamorous side o...

The Saker Silicone Caulking Tools 3-in-1: What It's Actually Built For
AI & Robotics

The Saker Silicone Caulking Tools 3-in-1: What It's Actually Built For

The Saker Silicone Caulking Tools 3-in-1 lives in a very practical corner of home improvement: the small, cheap tool meant to make one of the most annoying DIY jobs less messy. It is not a power tool, not a fancy contractor system, and not something you buy for the thrill of owning it. It is ...

The ThirdReality Motion Sensors: Where It Fits in a Real Smart Home
Smart Home

The ThirdReality Motion Sensors: Where It Fits in a Real Smart Home

The ThirdReality Motion Sensors sit in a much less glamorous corner of the smart-home world than cameras, speakers, or robot vacuums. That usually means they matter more than people expect. A motion sensor is one of those small devices that quietly makes a home feel smarter: lights turn on wh...

Is the SwitchBot onero H1 Humanoid Robot a Glimpse of the Future or a Fun Experiment?
Smart Home

Is the SwitchBot onero H1 Humanoid Robot a Glimpse of the Future or a Fun Experiment?

The SwitchBot onero H1 Humanoid Robot sits in one of the strangest corners of consumer tech right now: the not-quite-practical, not-just-for-show home robot. It is not a robot vacuum, not a smart speaker, and not a toy in the usual sense. Instead, it is a 1.3m-tall wheeled humanoid robot ...