Smart home gadgets – the best smart home devices you can buy

Google Home Hub Max review 13

Smart homes are still a bit of a niche, but they are growing in popularity. Pricing continues to drop on smart home gadgets. Furthermore, smart home gadgets are becoming easier to use and more reliable. Today’s smart home devices can be controlled by a phone, tablet, or even your voice. They can turn our lights on and off, give us music, news, and weather by just speaking to a gadget, and much more.

The biggest downside to tumbling down the smart home rabbit hole is figuring out what equipment you need. In this quick guide, we take a look at some of the best smart home gadgets you can currently buy so you can turn your analog house into a smart home.

Best smart home gadgets:


1. Best Smart Home Hub: Samsung SmartThings Hub

Samsung SmartThings Hub third generation device.Amazon

Many smart home gadgets require a hub device to work. Samsung’s SmartThings Hub is perhaps the best of these kinds of products, and the company recently released the third generation model of the SmartThings Hub. The hub grants control over a large number of smart home devices, including smart bulbs, cameras, and locks.

Samsung also sells a number of SmartThings add-on products to help extend your smart home experiences, including motions sensors for lights and cameras, smart plugs for lights and more. While this new version of the hub lacks a battery backup, it’s the best current product for people who want to link their smart home gadgets seamlessly.

See also: Best smart home hubs you can buy


2. Best Smart Speaker: Amazon Echo 3rd Gen

Amazon Echo 2019 front profile shot

There are lots of smart speakers on the market that work with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. For our money, the best smart speaker you can buy is the current third-generation version of the Amazon Echo. This Alexa-based circular speaker has a 3-inch woofer and a 0.8-inch tweeter that offers solid audio performance; it’s not the best speaker in the world in terms of sound, but it will get the job done.

It also has multiple microphones designed to pick up voice commands, even from 30 feet away or in a noisy room. Alexa supports tons of smart home gadgets, and the Amazon Echo can connect to all of them to help turn your house into a smarter home. Of course, you can just use it on your own to ask it to play music, give you the news and sports scores, organize your calendar or even play games and trivia.

Keep in mind that the Echo is best for those who are already pretty engaged in Amazon’s ecosystem or simply want the platform that has support for the most smart home devices. If you prefer Google’s take on smart speakers, you’ll want to check out the Google Home.

In many ways, the Google Home is better at voice-controlled functions thanks to the power of Google Search. It just doesn’t support shopping nearly as well. It also isn’t quite as strong when it comes to smart home gadget support, but this is quickly changing.

See also: Best smart speakers you can buy


3. Best Smart Display: Google Home Hub

Google Home Hub showing feature menu

The Google Home Hub is just about the perfect smart display you can get, with one major feature left out – a camera (although you arguably won’t miss it). Its 7-inch 1,024 x 600 resolution display is perfect for the bedroom or kitchen, which are the best two places in your home to have this product.

You can ask Google Assistant to check the weather and it will show it on the screen with graphics and video. It will do the same for news requests as well. You can manage your day with this display, access YouTube to show you how-to videos and recipes, and much more. The one flaw is that it doesn’t have a camera, so there’s no video calling, but on the plus side, it means this display only costs $149.

See also: The best smart displays you can buy


4. Best Smart Blub: LIFX Smart LED Light Bulb

LIFX 2

Smart bulbs in your home can be quite convenient. Controlling lights while you’re away is a good way to make people think you’re home. Remotely turning on lights when you’re on your way home is a great way to avoid walking into a dark house. LIFX bulbs are some of the nicest smart home gadgets to own because they do not require any kind of hub or controller to work.

These smart bulbs can also connect to other smart home gadgets that you might not be aware of. For example, if have the Nest Protect smoke and CO alarm sensors installed and they detect a fire, LIFX bulbs will pulse red and then turn themselves on to full brightness, illuminating your way to get out of the house. Yes, this smart home gadget can help save your life.

See also: Best smart light bulbs compatible with Google Home and Amazon Echo


TP Link Kasa Smart WiFi Plug MiniAmazon

The beauty of a smart plug like this TP-Link one, is that it works with any appliance or light. You won’t need an extra hub like the Samsung SmartThings device for this smart plug to work either. Whatever is plugged into it can be turned on/off using the included app or a smart speaker assistant like the Google Home or Amazon Echo.

The included TP-Link app allows you to schedule a time for devices that are plugged into the smart plug. You can also set an away mode which turns lights or appliances on at random for some extra security. The compact design is so small it doesn’t block adjacent outlets.

See also: Best smart plugs


6. Best Smart Garage Opener: Chamberlain Smart Garage Hub

Chamberlain MyQ G0301 Smart Garage Door Opener.Amazon

Garage doors seem like a perfect fit for smart home gadgets. The Chamberlain Smart Garage Hub is designed to connect to your current garage door opener. In addition to raising or lowering your garage door with your smartphone, this device can send you alerts when it opens and closes for some better security. It’s definitely one of the best smart home gadgets you can buy if you own a car and a garage.


7. Best smart door lock: August Smart Lock Pro

Amazon

One of the best uses for smart home gadgets is better security, and there’s nothing safer than being inside a locked house. The August Smart Lock Pro is designed to not only make coming in and out of your house easier, but makes it safer as well.

You can lock and unlock the door from anywhere via a smartphone, and you can also control who can access that dor as well. If you own an Amazon Echo speaker, you can use Alexa voice commands to control the door lock. You can even set it to automatically lock the door behind you when you leave and unlock it when you return.


8. Best smart doorbell: Ring Video Doorbell Pro

Ring Video Doorbell ProAmazon

Along with a smart lock, another one of the best smart home gadgets to get is a smart doorbell for security. The Amazon-owned Ring company has been the leader in this field for a while now. Its Ring Video Doorbell Pro can replace your existing wired doorbell and lets you see, hear, and talk to any wanted or unwanted visitors on your smartphone, tablet or even a smart TV.

It supports up to 1080p video with clear images, even at night. Amazon Echo owners will get notifications if someone is approaching the door, via motion sensor hardware.


9. Best smart security camera: Arlo Pro

Arlo Pro security camera attached to wallAmazon

People who want even more home security need wireless cameras they can put almost anywhere. The Arlo Pro wireless cameras are designed to work both inside and outside your house and include night vision and two-way audio support for scaring off any intruders. These smart home gadgets let you watch live video streams from anywhere, or you can watch up to seven days of recorded video on your smartphone. The Arlo Pro cameras aren’t cheap, but you can take advantage of significant discounts with larger multi-camera bundles.


10. Best smart smoke and CO alarms: Nest Protect 2nd Gen

Nest protect device on wallGoogle

The Nest smart home gadgets division of Google is best known for its smart thermostats, but it also makes smoke and CO alarms as well under the Nest Protect brand. Not only can these devices alert you if you have a fire or if CO is filling up your house, but they can also link to the Nest Thermostat, via Google Assistant, and automatically shut down your heating equipment if such an event takes place.


11. Best smart thermostat: Ecobee4

ecobee4 smart thermostatAmazon

The Ecobee4 smart thermostat is supposed to help you save money on your energy bills. The company claims it could save you as much as 23 percent a year on your heating and power bills.

The Ecobee4 comes with a separate room sensor that can measure room temperature as well as occupancy, so when people are in the room, the sensor will inform the thermostat and adjust the temperature to the right degree. The thermostat is controlled with a smartphone app, but it has built-in support for Amazon Alexa if you want to use voice commands. This may be the most important of the smart home gadgets you can buy as it will actually save you money in the long run.


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