Throughout the arc of human history, man has known a few immutable truths.
Death is inevitable.
Happiness is fleeting.
Water and electronics don’t mix.
Smart home technology, however, has ushered in a brave, new world where these once-universal axioms are regularly upended. And in this glorious future even aqua and electronic devices can find common ground.
More:What the Future Holds for Smart Homes in 2017
Below we outline how to outfit your pool, indoor or outdoor, with the intelligence befitting a smart home.
Maintenance
Another truth? Cleanliness is next to godliness.
Put more simply: No one will want to swim in your pool if it is a swampy mess.
But how do you maintain perfect PH balance and chlorine count without hiring a potentially home-wrecking pool boy?
Enter pHin
The elegant and unobtrusive Wi-Fi-enabled device is dropped directly into your pool, where it will monitor the water quality. When the bath isn’t the best it can be, pHin will alert owners via an accompanying app as to how many of pHin’s proprietary cleaning pods they should add to their pool. The pods contain pre-measured doses of cleansing chemicals, keeping you from creating a cesspool of skin-scorching chlorine, and pHin will automatically order more when it realizes you are running low.
More:Building a High-Tech Library at Home
For the cleanest pool experience—especially if you have an outdoor pool subject to the myriad debris of nature—you’ll want to add a human-like touch.
The Aquabot Icon XI is a submersible and not fully sentient servant that will suck, sweep and filter your swimming pool of the filth that accumulates on its floor and walls, ultimately cutting down on the amount of chemicals you will need for cleaning. It can be controlled, and scheduled to perform, from the iOS or Android device of your choice.
All that and it adds an extra layer to Marco Polo.
pHin: Available for pre-order now; $349/year (seasonal) or $499/year (year-round)Aquabot Icon Xi: Call dealer for pricing
Atmosphere
Creating a welcoming pool environment isn’t only about crystal clean water (although that certainly helps), but should also include atmospheric touches like lighting and audio.
For the former, Philips Hue lightbulbs are the best choice—at least for any external, pool-adjacent lighting. Hue bulbs offer 16 million color options and can be configured into pre-set or custom color "loops." Better yet, Hue bulbs function with nearly every smart home hub on the market (including the one in your pocket) and can be controlled by voice activation, allowing you to switch from a crimson to cyan swimming experience simply by speaking.
For in-pool, underwater lighting, things get a little trickier. While having Hue bulbs in your pool would make for a unique underwater experience, it would require a level of one-off customization that makes it an unpalatable solution. More importantly, there is no guarantee it would work. The amount of earth, and most likely, concrete surrounding an underwater, in-pool light would have a deeply dampening effect on Hue’s Wi-Fi capabilities, leaving you yelling for a switch to yellow to no avail.
Better to go with a complete system that plans for such contingencies—like the iAquaLink 2.0 and WaterColors LED Lights, both products of the Jandy Pro Series.
While not offering the expansive range of Hue, the WaterColors LED Lights does feature a wide variety of primary and blended water colors, and comes with a number of preset color shows.
And controlling the underwater colors comes easily with the iAqualink 2.0, a hardware/software solution from Jandy that lets you control all manner of pool features and functions, from lights and waterfalls to jets and temperature, from your preferred smart device.
As for adding audio to your aquatic experience, if you’re dealing with an indoor pool, just go with Sonos Play:1 speakers. They are simple to set up and pair, and can be controlled by nearly every smart device and hub. Just make sure they are out of the splash zone, as they are not a weather-rated sound solution.
For outdoor pool owners, you’re not likely to do better than CES Innovations Award-winner AR Hatteras Stereo Speaker.
The indoor/outdoor speaker is a two-foot tall tower that offers home-theater quality, is weather resistant and easily pairs with your preferred music player via bluetooth technology.
If you’re looking for an even more intimate, in-water audio experience, invest in the Monster Blaster Battleship—when it becomes available in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Despite its terrible name, the wireless speaker, which debuted at CES this year, presents some intriguing technology—a floating, waterproof speaker that offers nearly omnidirectional sound and can be controlled, much like a remote control boat, via your smart phone.
Again, adding yet another layer to Marco Polo.
Philips Hue: Starter Kit for $199WaterColors LED Lights: Contact dealer for pricing iAquaLink 2.0: Contact dealer for pricing Sonos Play:1: $199 Hatteras speaker: $219 Blaster Battleship: $599
Entertainment
In this modern era of multitasking, if you’re just using your pool for swimming, you are denying yourself peak pool efficiency.
How about binge-watching while working on your backstroke?
That dream is a reality with the Outdoor Theater System from Frontgate.
Pairing a 16-foot--wide inflatable outdoor screen with a 720p digital resolution projector, two 200-watt speakers and a Playstation 4, the Outdoor Theater System brings theater-quality entertainment poolside.
And because you won’t want to leave the water while watching the latest "Star Wars" with friends, you should also invest in Frontgate’s Electric Amphibious Vehicle, a land-to-water remote control car that can carry up to four beverages (adult or otherwise), ensuring you remain refreshed while relaxing in the hot tub.
The vehicle is also equipped with a remote control water cannon, further contributing to the world’s most convoluted game of Marco Polo.
Outdoor Theater System: $4,999Electric Amphibious Vehicle: $99