Blink and you may have missed it, but Google gave us a peek at what sure looks like a new smart speaker during its Made by Google event on Wednesday. A "leaked" product is one that's been mistakenly revealed, whereas the speaker we saw during Google's Pixel event got a clear supporting role, with F1 driver Lando Norris cheerfully chatting with the device. Google meant for us to notice the new and unannounced smart speaker. So, what do we know about this little gray (or porcelain?) That may sound obvious, but so often with rumored or "leaked" new products, we're in the land of pure conjecture.

It's been more than a year since Ikea's smart hub got a Matter update, but up until now, the Dirigea hub could only act as a bridge between Ikea devices and existing Matter networks. That's about to change thanks to a just-released firmware update. Dirigea firmware update 2.805.6 gives the Dirigea hub Matter controller capabilities, meaning it can now discover and take charge of Matter devices, including those from third-party manufacturers. The firmware update was confirmed by an Ikea rep on Reddit. Previously, the Dirigera hub could only expose Ikea devices to other Matter controllers, such as the Apple HomePod mini, the Amazon Echo, and the Google Nest Hub.

Amazon is ringing in Presidents' Day with big sales on its Echo devices, including its fourth-generation Amazon Echo. The smart speaker is currently down to 55 from 100 -- a 45 percent discount. Though released in 2020, Amazon's 4th-gen Echo is still its latest iteration and has held its weight over the years. We even named it 2024's best smart speaker under 100. So, what makes the 4th-gen Amazon Echo so great?

Amazon's Echo speakers, and the Alexa assistant, are incredibly useful and pretty darn invasive. On the practical side, it can function as a security alarm with a device you already own. Here's how Alexa Guard works. I once found a voice recording of a conversation my Echo caught when I knew for sure I didn't ask Alexa to listen in. It just thought it heard the wake word.

Millions of people around the world own some kind of voice assistant to help them put together shopping lists, play music, set reminders and more. The most popular of these ever-listening devices is the Amazon Echo, often referred to as'Alexa', as this is how it prefers to be addressed. When you set up a smart device like this, the only real requirement is that it needs to be near a plug socket, so users rarely put more thought into its location than that. However, since the Alexa was first released in 2014, users have learnt that some popular places reduce its ability to hear your voice, or put it in danger of damage. MailOnline reveals the worst places to keep your Echo smart assistant, and where you should move it to instead.

The Alexa assistant is always ready to answer our questions, the need for fast and instant service, always staying online, connected and alert. In the age of smartphones, Amazon has designed a device without a screen, with which users can interact. The concept would seem unusual, but it has nevertheless been incredibly successful. Alexa's interactive skills involve the user in a unique way, a single platform where multiple brands can get in touch with the customer. The level of convenience and practicality in using the Alexa voice assistant suggests that in the future there may be improvements in performance and in the user experience.

SHOPPING: Products featured in this article are independently selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, MailOnline will earn an affiliate commission. If you need to do some last-minute Christmas shopping or want to level up your smart home, you're in luck. Amazon has dropped discounts on their bestselling Echos, Fire TVs, Kindle E-readers and more for up to 51% off. As part of Amazon's Last Minute Deals event, which ends at midnight tonight, shoppers can enjoy major markdowns on popular smart home devices like the newest Echo Dot, the 4K Fire TV Stick, and Blink Video Doorbell.

Microsoft Cortana, we barely knew ye. A combination of inflationary effects of money printing through the pandemic, Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, and even China's COVID-Zero lockdown policies -- are all contributing to a perfect economic storm hitting practically everyone. From gas prices to food costs, we're all tightening our belts, and for the world's biggest companies, that means accepting some harsh realities about some of their more experimental departments. Some of the biggest tech stories of this year revolved around Facebook's staggering fall from grace, with billions upon billions wiped off its market value owing to a smorgasbord of strategic and macroeconomic headwinds. The focus on its experimental metaverse saw the company rebrand to Meta and imagine a future where users sought to wear bulky VR computers on their faces to do basic tasks rather than the palm-sized pocket computers they already owned. Amazon, quite similarly, has come to terms with its own human-computer interfacing failure this year, although you probably wouldn't have realized it from how popular they are.

SHOPPING: Products featured in this article are independently selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, MailOnline will earn an affiliate commission. Amazon has dropped unmissable discounts on their bestselling Echo, Blink and Fire devices ahead of their Prime Early Access Sale. Amazon has announced it will run its first-ever Prime Early Access Sale ahead of Black Friday, spanning 48 hours from 11 October through 12 October. The Prime Early Access Sale will offer hundreds of thousands of deals, but bargain hunters can already enjoy impressive savings on Amazon Echo and Alexa devices - and you don't have to be a Prime member.

Smart home devices from companies such as Amazon and Google can be hacked and used to crash websites, steal data and snoop on users, an investigation reveals. Consumer group Which? has found poor security on eight smart devices, some of which are no longer supported with vital security updates due to their age. Examples include the first generation Amazon Echo smart speaker, released in 2014, and a Virgin Media internet router from 2017. All of the products had vulnerabilities that could leave users exposed to cybercriminals, Which? Domestic abuse survivors can also be tracked and controlled by ex-partners who exploit weak security on devices including Wi-Fi routers and security cameras.