By The Home Depot’s Hubspace smart home platform is growing. | Image: The Home Depot
An old-school hardware store has been quietly building out one of the most complete lines of smart home products on the market. At CES this week, it’s adding a smart thermostat, smart hose timer, smart bathroom fan, smart freezer, and smart security system to its more than 150 connected products. You probably know the brand (and maybe even shopped there before): The Home Depot.
In late 2021, the US retail giant launched the Hubspace app, designed to control smart devices from its store brands in one app and with compatibility across Amazon Alexa and Google Home. Learning from competitors’ missteps in the space (cough, Lowe’s, Staples), The Home Depot opted not to go the hub route nor focus on just one brand (a la Best Buy and its smart…