The Morning After: Anker gets into the home solar battery game

Anker, which made its name building device batteries and chargers, is now making gear for all of the devices you own. Or at least all of the devices in your home, since it just unveiled its , which can be bolted onto existing or new domestic solar setups. Like many other home battery companies out there, Solix is scalable, with the smallest unit sized at 5kWh – enough for a few hours backup power – all the way up to 180kWh. It won’t arrive until 2024 but, when it does, it’ll be paired with an EV charging system Anker is presently cooking up.

The company is no stranger to this world, since it already builds small solar and battery sets for off-road types. But it’s pleasing to see it also entering the home battery market which, Tesla aside, is full of companies that don’t have as big a presence in the consumer space. It’s also heartening to see Anker building gear for smaller setups, like apartments, where sometimes the only thing you can do to clean up your energy is hang a solar panel off your balcony.

– Dan Cooper

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

What happened to the once-loved gaming giant?

Our Summer Game Fest coverage turns its eye toward Ubisoft, home of several big franchises, including Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed. The last few years, however, have seen the company wobble, releasing half-baked, half-loved titles to middling results. A sharp left turn into freemium gaming and, sigh, NFTs, only helped to accelerate the erosion of its good name. Curious about what behind-the-scenes drama caused the slide? .

Wait, there are consequences for refusing to pay for things!?

A judge has after the building’s owner sued for three months’ back rent totalling $75,000. The location presently houses around 150 employees, who have until the end of July to pack up their things and move out. This won’t be the only time Twitter lawyers see the inside of a courtroom over their owner’s refusal to pay for things, either. It’s currently being sued by (deep breath) its cleaners, its San Francisco landlord and several of its former employees for sums which are reportedly owed to them.

Protect your hearing while you rock out.

Image of the packaging for Sennheiser's SoundProtex Plus taken on a table in a back yard.

Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget

If you’re a big live music fan, you’ve probably been warned about the harm all of those big PA systems can do to your hearing. It’s a problem the audio mavens at Sennheiser are looking to address with a pair of earplugs designed for live music events. Billy Steele has been by spending his time at noisy gigs to see if they help you enjoy the music without compromising your ability to do so in the future.

Some programming knowledge required.

Image of Google Home's new scripting setup.

Google

Google’s redesigned Home app is , enabling users to program their own smart home routines. This includes “if this” style directions, like dimming the living room lights and lowering the blinds when the living room TV is on after dark. It’s designed for folks who have some programming experience, but it should be easy enough that most committed amateurs should feel comfortable at least giving it a try.

Source