• Target's feeling smart
  • Dream, try and buy
  • The Forum
  • Time to shop
  • Smart ducky
  • Get info
  • Familiar gear
  • Cinder
  • Why not take a selfie?
  • The Dream Home
  • Explore an interconnected future
  • The living room
  • Themed living
  • Exploring connectivity
  • The bedroom
  • The Garage
  • Where startups shine
  • Products in development
  • Brilliant Control
  • One ring to rule your health
  • An app for a ring
  • Round 2 looks good
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Touring Target's Open House for smart home tech

Target's feeling smart

Welcome to Target's new Open House. Designed to showcase how smart home tech works together, the retail giant's newly opened space in San Francisco is a place to learn about both new and up-and-coming connected gadgets.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Dream, try and buy

The "Open House" is split into three main spaces:

-The Forum offers a space in which to peruse and buy more than 50 retail-ready products.

-The Dream Home showcases the tech in a futuristic setting so you can see how devices will apply to your life.

-The Garage is a space where startups can show off their up-and-coming products.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

The Forum

Here's the Forum -- where tried and tested products live.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Time to shop

In the Forum, you can browse various products, and buy any that appeal to you. If you're not ready to buy, you can "Like" a product so that Target knows you're interested.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Smart ducky

Each product is linked to a monitor that walks you through its features. This rubber ducky sits in the bathtub and lets you know how hot the water is.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Get info

For the bigger products on the walls, you tap the small circles (like the one on the right) to pull up the large circle of info.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Familiar gear

We saw lots of familiar gadgets in the Forum, including the Anova sous vide cooker.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Cinder

Here's the Cinder -- a cooker that promises the precision of sous vide without the water.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Why not take a selfie?

On your way out of the Forum, you can snap a quick selfie. Your picture then pulls up on the screen. So the phrase "It's all about..." ends up meaning you.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

The Dream Home

A more conceptual space than the Forum, the Dream Home showcases connected tech working together in a futuristic setup.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Explore an interconnected future

The Dream Home has three sections: the living room, the bedroom and the kitchen.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

The living room

Here's the living room. The Dream Home is made of acrylic and I must say, it's beautiful.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Themed living

The big screen in the living room changes to fit different themes.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Exploring connectivity

You can also see products like the Roomba robotic vacuum at work.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

The bedroom

Here's the Dream Home bedroom.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

The Garage

Finally, the Garage lets startups show their tech and get feedback directly from customers. You can head here to see gadgets still being developed -- a glimpse into the future.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Where startups shine

Right now, the Garage features 16 products.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Products in development

The Garage products aren't for sale yet. You can still "Like" the products with interactive displays and give feedback to Target's reps.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Brilliant Control

One of the products on display in the Garage, the Brilliant Control replaces a standard light switch. You can then use the touchscreen to control your smart home gear. It even works with Amazon's digital assistant Alexa.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

One ring to rule your health

Motiv titanium rings check your heart rate and monitor your sleep. They say that "steps" are a thing of the past.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

An app for a ring

Here's the Motiv app.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

Round 2 looks good

This is actually Target's second such installation. The first Target Open House was similarly themed, but both the Garage and the Dream Home are brand-new. Above this Open House is a Target retail branch, and surely Target would love nothing more than for a product to get positive feedback in the Garage, move to the Dream Home and the Forum, and finally earn its way onto the shelves of Target stores.

Photo by: Josh Miller/CNET

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