Smart Home Devices

4 Most Useful Smart Home Devices You Can Buy Right Now

One of the ways you can spruce up your house and shake things up is through smart home devices. It’s one of those things that reinvent how you use your space. Just the act of not getting up to turn on a light switch can make your home feel different and more alive.

Smart home devices can be fun, cool, efficient, lifestyle-changing, and sometimes a little gimmicky. None of the ones below are gimmicky; you can find real use for all of them.

Here are 4 of the Most Useful Smart Home Devices we could find:

Wyze Smart plug

A smart plug is one of the easiest gateways into the world of smart home devices. Connect a ‘dumb’ device, and voila! You have a smart gadget that you can control from anywhere. Perhaps it’s your coffee maker. You can now set it to start brewing at the crack of dawn.

Cold house? Hook up your dumb space heater, and the smart plug will ensure that the heater gets to work before you get home.

I’m sure you can think of some other ‘dumb’ gadgets that need a little more smarts. We like the Wyze plug because it’s easy to install, thanks to its user-friendly app. Plus, it pairs and connects to WiFi seamlessly, supporting both Alexa and Google Assistant. For around $20, you won’t be disappointed.

Amazon Echo Show

Particularly the Amazon Echo Show 8. It is a smart display with an 8.0″ HD touchscreen through which you have access to all your smart home devices. It works as a smart home hub to manage your smart home devices.

Not only that, but on its own, it’s pretty smart too. You can speak to it and get it to set a timer and remind you you’re out of milk; ask it to play music or dim the lights. Get news and weather updates. It’s one of those endlessly useful smart home devices, and for $119, it’s a purchase from which you’ll get value for money.

Many smart home devices feature support for multiple platforms, but you have to be especially careful with smart speakers and smart displays. The reason is that some require that you use a particular voice assistant. For example, with the Echo Show, you are stuck with Alexa.

For some people, this non-interchangeability is a deal-breaker. Consider this while buying your smart home devices because some smart home systems won’t play well with others. In the case of smart displays, if you use many Google services and have an Android phone, you should consider the Google Nest Hub.

But luckily, Amazon has plans to upgrade to the Matter open-source platform, which will enable the Echo Show to have support for Google Assistant.

Nest Learning Thermostat

Likely the best thermostat money can buy. It takes the meaning of smart home devices to another level. What the Nest learning thermostat does better than everyone else, is improve over time.

As you continue to use the thermostat to adjust the temperature, it learns your routines. After the first week, it can adjust the HVAC settings to exactly what you need without your input.

Even better, it can use your phone’s location to know when you’ve left so it can change to a more energy-efficient mode. Over time, this efficiency will be good for your wallet. Google claims that the Nest Learning Thermostat will pay for itself in under two years by saving an average of 10% to 12% on heating bills and 15% on cooling bills.

If you’re willing, the Learning Thermostat costs $249, but you can save some money and opt for the cheaper, less smart but still excellent Nest Thermostat that retails for $99.

August Smart Lock Pro

This list of smart devices wouldn’t be complete without a smart lock. A smart lock gives you better control over the entry point to your house. What can it do? Well, for starters, you don’t need keys anymore; the door can unlock automatically when you’re within range.

Also, you can set it to close immediately or some minutes after you leave. If you want the dog walker to come in and walk your dog, you can allow them entry for a prescribed amount of time. All while you are working miles away.

The August Smart Lock will also let you know your door’s locked/unlocked status at any time, making it one of the great security-focused smart home devices. As for installation, the August Smart Lock Pro is installed DIY, and it integrates nicely with most smart home systems. HomeKit, Google Assistant, and Alexa are all covered.

At $197.99, the August Smart Lock is among the priciest smart home devices on this list, but we think it is well worth the price.