Arguably the most important part of a truly connected home, these devices offer both security and flexibility, letting you come and go as you please, and monitor who is entering and leaving your home while you're away. Our favorite budget-friendly model, the Ezviz DB1C Wi-Fi, delivers sharp HD video with a wide viewing angle, offers local and cloud video storage, and supports IFTTT as well as Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands.Īnother piece of technology you'll want on your front door is a smart lock. They not only let you see and speak with the person outside, but they also record footage of visitors that approach your door while you're away or unable to answer. Beyond this convenience, video doorbells can serve as the first line of defense against property theft, home invasion, and porch pirates. There are so many products that we've arranged them by room to help keep things organized, but that doesn't mean you can't use most of these gadgets just about anywhere.Īnd make sure to check back soon, as we're regularly testing new products and adding them to this guide.Īrlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera (Credit: Arlo)įor those times you want to check whether it's a delivery person or an unwanted solicitor knocking on your door, a video doorbell will let you see who's there without getting up from the couch. What follows is a rundown of the best smart devices we've tested for every room of the house. With Apple HomeKit, you can control your devices with Siri voice commands, or from an Apple Watch, and create scenes to trigger several devices at the same time. Using IFTTT, a service supported by many of the top smart home brands, you can link various internet-connected devices and easily program them to respond to real-world events, such as setting your lights to turn on automatically at sunset. With Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, you can set up routines to program your devices to work together and do multiple things at once, like adjust the temperature and lighting when you get home. After having a bike stolen, for instance, PCMag's editor Wendy Sheehan Donnell programmed her smart garage door to automatically close every night at a specific time. Many smart home companion apps support scheduling, so you can easily program your devices to perform a certain action at a certain time. Most also work with various forms of voice control. In general, these products connect to the internet, so you can control them from your phone via a companion app. These days, there's a smart version of pretty much every home device you can think of. Even my air fryer sends me a notification when it's done preheating. I receive severe weather warnings and recipe ideas on the screen of the smart display in my kitchen. I adjust my thermostat through an app on my phone, from the comfort of bed before I get out of it in the morning. I ask Alexa to reorder protein powder and dog food and it arrives on my doorstep two days later. Now I walk into the bedroom and tell Google Assistant to turn on the lights. Since then I've been reviewing smart home gadgets for PCMag, and my little Florida beach bungalow has transformed into a test bed for the latest home tech, growing smarter by the week. Then I got a dog, which led to the purchase of a smart air purifier to help combat allergies and asthma, and a pet camera to keep an eye on my fur baby (and my home) from my phone, 24/7. My old-school corded upright vacuum was too bulky to fit all the way under, so I picked up a robot vacuum to handle the dirty work for me. After peering beneath my bed skirt to retrieve a fallen item, I was horrified to discover a thick coating of dust on the floor. The transition started a few years ago, out of necessity.
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