Using the best smart home devices means you don’t have to get up to adjust the lights, heat, or turn on a radio hooked into an outlet, all of which can make life easier. Instead, you can use your smartphone to automate your house and create the right ambiance in your household with only a few taps.
The greatest smart home gadgets can also help you save money on your utility bills. Even if you’re out of town, you can still control your home’s systems using your smartphone, even if you forget to turn off the lights before you leave or leave the heating on all night.
Smart home devices can also be configured to operate together so that you don’t have to open multiple apps to control your device. Instead, one command to one of the best smart screens or smart speakers will activate them all at once.
Is it any wonder you’re unclear which smart home gadgets to invest in with so many options available? It’s a good idea to start your smart home adventure with low-cost, easy-to-use gadgets like the best smart light bulbs and smart plugs and switches.
Best Smart Home Devices
The Amazon Echo Studio
Since we assumed a speaker could not be both intelligent and good-sounding at the same time, we gave smart speakers a pass on the audio front for years. All of that changed when we stumbled onto the Amazon Echo Studio.
Amazon has created its best-ever speaker with the Echo Studio. There are smart home and assistant features, but there are also smart audio considerations incorporated into one massive speaker. 3D audio effects bring fresh life to your favourite music, and that’s not even counting its ability to link to your Amazon Fire TV devices and provide even more immersive sound. ‘
As a ZigBee hub, the Echo Studio can connect to more than 1,000 smart home devices out of the box, making it ideal for a smart home.
Arlo Pro 4: Security Camera for Your Home
You can see why Arlo has become so popular with people concerned about their home security. While it lacks the 4K resolution of the more expensive Arlo Ultra and Arlo Ultra 2, the Arlo Pro 4’s quality is still rather outstanding at 2K, which is sufficient for the majority of users.
With this camera, you don’t need a base station, which lowers the total cost of ownership and makes it more accessible. For HomeKit support, you’ll need a base station that supports Alexa and Google Assistant.
The built-in flashlight and built-in alarm both assist prevent burglars, and during testing, it captured clear, comprehensive colour footage both during the day and at night. Automatic zooming and motion tracking are also included, so any activity may be tracked back to its origin.
In order to use several of its smart features to decrease annoying notifications, you’ll need a monthly subscription, which starts at $2.99/£2.79/AU$4.49, but you do receive a three-month trial period.
A Smart Plug from Eve Energy
As one of the most basic ways to automate your house, every smart home should have a smart plug. It is true that the Eve Energy smart plug allows you to control the gadgets you have plugged into it, but that is not all it does.
It’s also a great method to keep track of your energy consumption and get estimates on how much it will cost to run different appliances in your home. Saving money and conserving energy are two fantastic reasons to use this.
You can use Bluetooth to control the plug, but if you have a HomePod Mini or an Apple TV in your house, you can also use Thread, which is embedded into the plug.
Thread, which is more reliable than Wi-Fi, is an important tool in the fight against unresponsive smart home gadgets. Sadly, Alexa and Google Assistant will not operate with the smart plug because it only supports HomeKit.
On the test, it was responsive and had a number of useful features, such as the ability to set schedules, which made it our favourite smart plug.
Eufy Video Doorbell 2K – High Definition
Eufy’s Video Doorbell 2K is the best video doorbell on the market because it hits the correct combination between price, dependability, and performance.
Tests showed that the 4:3 aspect ratio allowed you to view practically the entire length of everyone who came to your door, day or night. What’s the most exciting part? Due to the included base station’s 16GB of memory, you don’t need to pay for a subscription to enjoy this feature. Eufy estimates that this is enough food for about two weeks.
You can use a battery-operated doorbell if you’re renting and don’t want to remove the existing doorbell that’s already in place. It connects wirelessly to your network and can be left on any outside surface for up to six months before needing to be recharged.
However, the doorbell’s battery can’t be replaced, so it won’t work when it needs recharging, and HomeKit integration isn’t available.
Ecobee3 Wi-Fi Thermostat
As a result, Nest has been acclaimed as one of the top smart thermostats on the market ever since. The greatest smart thermostat on the market right now, in our opinion.
The Nest Learning Thermostat is easy to operate, stylish, and, throughout our testing, it intelligently altered our heating schedule based on how long it took to heat and cool our home. This saved us significant amounts of both energy and money.
Aside from the lack of HomeKit connectivity and the lack of zonal control (the ability to control the temperature of individual rooms), the Neat Learning Thermostat is an excellent choice for most consumers.
August Smart Lock Pro is the best smart lock
There are few smart locks that can compete right now with the August Smart Lock Pro in terms of functionality and ease of installation.
Your old deadbolt will be able to be used with this smart lock while still allowing for the convenience of having your old key on hand when needed (by either you or your landlord). We were unable to get around it during our testing because it was both responsive and strong. The addition of support for Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit, only serves to reaffirm our decision to go with this particular product.
Bulky and pricey in comparison to most other smart home gadgets, it’s worth it for individuals wishing to increase their smart security.
Phillips Hue
To get your smart home off to a good start, look no further than the Philips Hue smart light bulbs. Hue bulbs can be installed by simply replacing your existing bulbs with smart Hue bulbs, or you can choose from a wide range of LED table and floor lamps, wall lights both indoors and outdoors, ceiling pendants, light strips, and even light bars.
In our tests, we discovered a variety of flexible scheduling choices, such as the ability to turn on exterior lights at sunset and turn them off at 2am instead of waiting for sunrise.
With the Philips Bridge, a hub for your lights that acts as a hub for your lights, you can manage them while you’re away from home, but you’ll need the Philips Bridge to do so. It also adds HomeKit functionality to Alexa and Google Assistant. Also the most costly smart bulb available, but we believe they’re worth every penny.
How we put smart home products to the test
In order to determine the finest smart home devices, we look at how easy they are to set up and use. Using our smartphones and voice assistants, we score how well they respond to our orders when we’re at home and away from our property.
For home automation, we also consider the devices’ compatibility with other smart home devices and the additional equipment needed to perform the smart functions we want. We also take a look at the style and see if it blends in with the rest of your home or stands out like a sore thumb.
Is it worthwhile to invest in smart homes?
A smart home requires a lot of work and patience, but the benefits it provides much surpass the time and money it takes to develop them.
In the event you are unsure whether or not a smart home is a good fit for your lifestyle, consider experimenting with low-cost, easy-to-install smart home equipment, such as smart plugs that connect to existing electrical outlets or smart light bulbs.
You can use your smartphone to operate this equipment – once you’ve turned the lights off without leaving the sofa, you’ll never go back to a dumb house again.
It’s time for a step up, so you can use your voice to manage and automate a few simple things in your home, such as turning on the lights.
Being able to turn off appliances you’ve unintentionally left on without returning home is convenient if you’re prone to forgetting things like coffee makers, hair straighteners, or even the light you accidently left on. This saves you both time and money.
