Are you still switching your lights on and off by hand? Is your fridge not talking to your reading lamp just yet? And who do you talk to when you’re all alone, and Alexa is not around? Ok, let’s be honest. Not everyone needs to be convinced that the convenience of a smart home wins over the security of not connecting every plug in your apartment to the Internet. Yet if you don’t really care about Amazon and Google profiling your home habits on top of your web browsing, and you would like to make your home a little less dumb, here’s a list of ten devices you could start with. They don’t need to be connected with each other, and they’re all perfectly fine with living their smart life on their own. But be careful; once you’ve tasted the convenience of turning on and off your lights and your heating with a voice command, going back to those old pesky manual switches might not be that easy.
10 essential devices to make your home smarter in no time
If you’re experiencing smart home FOMO, here are ten devices that would help you make your abode smarter and connected very quickly.
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- Andrea Nepori
- 18 May 2022
Amazon’s Echo Show 15 is a great entry point into the Alexa ecosystem. Think “smart frame,” but bigger and way smarter. The design is minimal and elegant, and the custom Amazon processor makes the Echo Show 15 the most powerful and versatile device in the Echo lineup. It looks great on a wall but can easily be placed on a sideboard as well.
If you’re more of an Android enthusiast, it might be worth considering a Google Nest device as a hub for your smart home. Here we like the Nest Mini (previously Google Home Mini) for it unobtrusiveness. It fits perfectly on a bedside table, but you can also mount it on a wall. If you’re worried about Google eavesdropping on your conversation, there’s a physical off-switch for the microphone for added peace of mind.
Smart thermostats have come a long way since the Nest was the only acceptable option. Tado has developed a solid ecosystem with broad compatibility with European heating systems. The setup is easy, and you can do it yourself if you’re not scared of dealing with some basic electrical wiring. Programming the heating times is a breeze, thanks to the intuitive smartphone app, which includes advanced geofencing functions.
In Europe, where key and locks standards are quite different from country to country, smart locks had a hard time gaining traction. Nuki has done a great job of improving compatibility with an intelligent solution that’s safe and affordable. If you’re comfortable with having your house door remotely controlled by a digital lock, then Nuki is a great option to test the waters.
Lighting fixtures are the bread and butter of the smart home. Manufacturers of smart lighting solutions abound, but here we’re still big fans of Signify (previously Philips) Hue solution. They ensure top-in-class compatibility with all home automation platforms, and they come with an app that’s well designed, easy to use, and full of features.
Air Purifiers are a great ally against pollen, PM2.5 particles, and other pollutants that might affect air quality at home. Xiaomi’s lineup has the advantage of being connected to the company’s smart home ecosystem through an easy-to-use smartphone app. The 3H model has the best price per value. Filters are also easy and cheap to come by.
At the center of a good smart home ecosystem lies a capable router. In a crowded market, the AVM products won’t win a Red Dot award for their design, but they’re powerful, reliable, and well priced. They’re also compatible with a series of DECT-based smart home devices, like smart plugs, smart switches, and smart thermostatic valves, making for a secure add-on to a regular wi-fi-based intelligent home setup.
The Arlo system is a best-in-class security kit that includes cameras with a wide 180° angle, 4K resolution, and fully wireless video transmission capabilities. They’re a good option for owners of a big house who want to set up a smart surveillance system without spending a fortune on old-school security solutions.
You know a product has been a successful invention when its name becomes a synonym with an entire market category. That’s the case of the Roomba, the quintessential vacuuming robot developed by iRobot. If you want to experience completely smart vacuuming solutions, the Roomba is the way to go. iRobot keeps expanding its innovative capabilities every year with free updates. Plus, there’s a Roomba for every price point, and some of them are also compatible with a base station that sucks out the dirt and keeps you from manually emptying the robot’s dust bin. You can’t get smarter cleaning than this.
IKEA has been doubling down on its smart home ambition with a series of exciting additions to its lineup. The Fyrtur smart blinds are unique in their category, as they bring down the price of novelty items like motorized blinds. Like every other smart Ikea device, they connect to the Trådfri gateway and can be controlled via the official IKEA Home app. They’re compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri through Apple’s HomeKit.