Weekly curated picks on smart home technology, gadgets, and home automation from our editors.
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Not every smart home gadget is worth buying. These ten are. They deliver genuine convenience, measurable energy savings, and security improvements that make a real difference in how your home functions every single day.
The smart home has matured past the novelty phase. The early promise — that every device would talk to every other device, that automation would be seamless, that the friction of traditional home management would disappear — is now largely delivered by a core set of genuinely excellent products. The key is knowing which ones to buy and which to skip.
The ten devices below have been evaluated against a single criterion: do they make daily life measurably better in a way you will still appreciate twelve months after purchase? Every one of them does.
The Nest Learning Thermostat learns your schedule in seven days and automatically programs itself around your life. The average household saves 10-12% on heating and 15% on cooling — enough to pay for the device within the first year of ownership. Every subsequent year is pure energy savings. Few smart home devices deliver this level of clear, measurable financial return.
Google Nest Learning Thermostat — Learns your schedule automatically, remote control via app, energy history reporting, works with Alexa and Google Assistant, ENERGY STAR certified. The thermostat that recouped its cost within the first heating season for virtually every household that purchased it.
Check Current Price →Package theft costs Americans over $12 billion annually. A video doorbell with motion detection, two-way audio, and cloud storage allows you to answer your door from anywhere — deterring theft, managing deliveries, and providing a video record of every visitor. The psychological security benefit alone justifies the cost within weeks.
Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 — Head-to-toe HD+ video, 3D motion detection with Bird's Eye View, two-way audio with noise cancellation, advanced motion zones, hardwired for continuous power. The video doorbell that has prevented countless package thefts.
Check Current Price →Lost keys, lockouts, and the constant management of who has copies — all eliminated. A smart lock allows entry via fingerprint, keypad code, smartphone, or voice command, with a complete log of who entered and when. For families, landlords, and anyone who regularly needs to grant temporary access, the convenience is transformative.
Schlage Encode Plus Smart WiFi Deadbolt — Built-in WiFi (no hub required), Apple Home Key compatibility, fingerprint reader, 100 access codes, auto-lock, built-in alarm. The smart lock that security professionals recommend above all others.
Check Current Price →Smart lighting does not just let you control lights with your voice. Done properly, it creates lighting scenes — warm and dim for dinner, bright and cool for focus work, amber and minimal for pre-sleep — that adapt to each moment of your day without manual adjustment. The circadian health benefits of proper light management are now well-established.
Philips Hue Starter Kit White and Color Ambiance — 16 million colors, compatible with Alexa, Google, Apple HomeKit, Siri, schedules, scenes, entertainment sync. The smart lighting system that architects and interior designers specify for luxury home builds.
Check Current Price →A robot vacuum that also mops reclaims more of your time than virtually any other smart home device. At three automated cleaning cycles per week, you recover over 150 hours per year of manual floor care — time that does not return. The best combination units now navigate around furniture with precision mapping, avoid stairs, and self-empty into a base station that requires attention just once per month.
Roborock S8 Pro Ultra Robot Vacuum and Mop — 6000Pa suction, sonic mopping, auto-empty, auto-wash mop, obstacle avoidance, 3D mapping, works on carpet and hard floors. The robot vacuum that justifies the premium category once and for all.
Check Current Price →A smart home hub — Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod, or Google Nest Hub — is the central nervous system of any automated home. It connects disparate devices across different ecosystems, allows voice control of everything simultaneously, and creates routines that trigger multiple actions from a single command. "Good morning" can open the blinds, start the coffee maker, play the news, and adjust the thermostat in one phrase.
Amazon Echo Show 10 Smart Display — 10.1-inch HD screen that rotates to follow you, Alexa built-in, compatible with 140,000+ smart home devices, Zigbee hub built-in, video calling, entertainment. The smart home hub that works with everything.
Check Current Price →A smart plug is the most inexpensive and most versatile smart home device available. It turns any conventional appliance — a lamp, a fan, a coffee maker, a space heater — into a smart device controllable by voice or schedule. The ability to automatically turn off a forgotten appliance from anywhere in the world is a convenience that becomes essential within days of setup.
Kasa Smart Plug Mini EP25 — Works with Alexa and Google Home, energy monitoring, schedule and timer support, compact form that doesn't block the second outlet, no hub required. The smart plug that every smart home professional recommends as a starting point.
Check Current Price →A professional home security system with 24/7 monitoring, cellular backup, and smart home integration provides genuine protection — not the false confidence of a sticker in a window. Modern systems self-monitor via AI, detect entry, motion, smoke, and carbon monoxide, and alert both you and emergency services simultaneously.
SimpliSafe Wireless Home Security System — No contract required, professional monitoring available, cellular backup, works without WiFi, weather alerts, outdoor cameras, easy self-installation. The security system that won PCMag's Editors' Choice for seven consecutive years.
Check Current Price →CO2, VOCs, particulate matter, humidity, and temperature — these invisible factors in your home environment directly affect your cognitive performance, sleep quality, and long-term health. A smart air quality monitor makes these invisible factors visible and triggers automated responses — turning on an air purifier, opening a window notification — before the environment degrades enough to affect how you feel.
Airthings Wave Plus Indoor Air Quality Monitor — Monitors radon, CO2, VOCs, humidity, temperature, and air pressure. App-connected, wave to wake display, no subscription required. The air quality monitor preferred by building health consultants.
Check Current Price →Leaving the garage door open is one of the most common home security vulnerabilities — and one of the most anxiety-inducing uncertainties when you're already thirty minutes from home. A smart garage door opener lets you monitor, open, and close your garage from anywhere in the world, and auto-closes after a configurable time window.
Chamberlain myQ Smart Garage Control — Compatible with any garage door opener manufactured after 1993, smartphone control, real-time alerts, auto-close scheduling, delivery service integration with Amazon Key. Setup takes under 15 minutes.
Check Current Price →The smart home is not a single purchase — it is a system built over time. Start with the thermostat and a smart plug. Add lighting and a video doorbell. Expand into automation as your comfort with the ecosystem grows. Each device compounds the value of those already installed. The home that pays attention to you is worth living in.
