I look around at my hallway console nowadays and see a Canary camera, a Google Home, and a SmartThings Hub v2. Not to mention the Synology server, router, and a few other miscellaneous tech items. The idea of having all three integrated in the same device, saving space and unnecessary wiring is quite appealing, and that's what Toshiba's new Symbio aims to do.

It's a 6-in-1 device: a 1080p wide-angle "low-light" camera with sound and motion alerts, a smart sound detector for babies and pets and even legacy alarms around the house, a Bluetooth and WiFi streaming speaker with ODMD driver, a voice control interface with Amazon Alexa built-in, a smart home hub with ZigBee and Z-Wave radios, and an intercom for communicating between Symbios and phones.

The idea seems super appealing, like an Echo Plus on steroids, and there are a few neat ideas in there, such as the physical camera privacy cover, the included siren, the temperature, humidy, and ambient light sensors, and the fact that all of it uses a single app instead of you having to deal with multiple apps for separate devices. But the spec details and execution leave me with my eyebrows raised. There's no mention of a proper PIR motion detector, just motion-based alerts, so we can't be sure if it's software or hardware doing the job. Also no mention of proper night vision, just "low-light camera." Again, it could be there, but the specs aren't clear. The speaker's specs aren't well detailed either, the Android app's Play Store listing shows all of 2 screenshots taken on iOS (ugh), and finally, the many smart devices supported are listed on this page but it's a really slim pick of ZigBee and Z-Wave sensors, with WiFi devices being relegated to control through Alexa. Add the fact that Amazon doesn't open up all Alexa capabilities to its partners, or it takes months for them to get features after the Echo devices, and the proposition loses its appeal.

So sure, the Symbio is interesting if you want a little bit of everything in one device, but if you want the best of everything, you're going to have to buy each device separately. In any case, if you're interested, the Toshiba Symbio is available now on Amazon and costs $249.99. You can grab it from the link below.