The best smart home devices, in the order to buy them

A mixed household where someone has an iPhone, someone has a Pixel, and there are already Zigbee sensors on the wall.

Protocols

Matter, Thread, Zigbee, IR

Hub

Thread border router

Local

On-device automation

Power

USB-C / PoE option

• Thread border router, Zigbee coordinator and Matter controller in one box, so one purchase ends the protocol argument.
• Automations run on the device rather than in a cloud account, which means the lights still work when the internet does not.
• Pairs into Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings from the same QR code — it does not make you pick a side.

Skip this ifyour home is entirely Apple and you already own an Apple TV 4K, you have a Thread border router already. Skip this.

Finding out whether you actually want voice control before committing to an ecosystem.

Assistant

Alexa

Audio

1.73" driver

Sensors

Temperature, motion

Hub

No Thread

• It is the cheapest device on this entire site that changes how a room works, and it goes on sale constantly.
• The built-in temperature sensor can trigger routines, which turns a speaker into a cheap climate sensor.
• Three of them scattered around a flat cost less than one smart lock and solve the 'I shouted and nothing happened' problem.

Skip this ifIt is not a Thread border router and it is Alexa-only. If you want one device to also be the hub, buy an Echo Hub or the Aqara M3.

The first smart home purchase anybody should make, and the one they end up buying four more of.

Protocol

Matter over Wi-Fi

Monitoring

Per-device energy

Size

Compact, single socket

Hub

None needed

• Matter certified over plain Wi-Fi, so it works on all four platforms without a hub, a bridge or a border router.
• Energy monitoring per socket turns 'is the old fridge expensive' from a guess into a number.
• Small enough that it does not block the second socket, which sounds trivial until you own one that does.

Skip this ifWi-Fi plugs each take an IP address. Past roughly thirty devices, move to Thread or Zigbee plugs instead.

Anyone who wants lighting that behaves identically in every room, every time, for the next decade.

Protocol

Zigbee via bridge

Color

16M + white range

Scale

50 bulbs per bridge

Extras

Motion, dimmer switches

• The bridge runs the bulbs on Zigbee rather than your Wi-Fi, which is why Hue setups stay reliable at a scale where Wi-Fi bulbs fall apart.
• The ecosystem is the point: dimmer switches, motion sensors and wall modules all speak the same system.
• Ten years of firmware support behind it. Most smart lighting brands have not existed that long.

Skip this ifIt is the expensive option per bulb. For two lamps in a rented flat, Matter Wi-Fi bulbs cost a third as much.

A home with a regular-ish routine and a heating bill worth attacking.

Display

Large round LCD

Learning

Auto-schedule

Sensors

1 remote sensor in the box

Protocol

Matter certified

• Matter certification is new for this generation, which is what finally lets an Apple Home household buy a Nest.
• Remote temperature sensors fix the single biggest complaint about every thermostat: the hallway is not the bedroom.
• It builds a schedule by watching, which matters because almost nobody ever programs a thermostat by hand.

Skip this ifIt runs most 24 V systems, usually without a C-wire, but not line-voltage baseboard heat. Run Google's compatibility checker before ordering.

A front door with no existing doorbell wiring and a package problem.

Video

Head-to-toe view

Motion

3D motion detection

Power

Battery or wired

Storage

Subscription for history

• The head-to-toe aspect ratio is the one that shows the parcel on the doorstep rather than the top of the delivery driver's head.
• 3D motion detection cuts down the 'a car drove past' notifications that make people turn alerts off entirely.
• Battery means no electrician, which is the actual barrier for most renters and flats.

Skip this ifVideo history needs a Ring subscription. If recurring fees are a dealbreaker, look at a doorbell with local storage.

A main entrance in a household where not everyone carries the same brand of phone.

Protocol

Matter over Thread

Entry

Fingerprint, keypad, Home Key

Keyhole

Physical key retained

UWB

Hands-free unlock on supported phones

• Apple Home Key plus a fingerprint reader plus a keypad plus a physical key covers every member of a household including the one who refuses apps.
• Matter over Thread means it answers to all three major platforms rather than one.
• Ultra-wideband lets it unlock as a supported phone approaches, with no tap and no code, which is the feature that turns a smart lock from a gadget into a habit.

Skip this ifMost of the good features need a Thread border router in range of the door. Confirm coverage first.

Covering a side gate, a garage or a hallway without starting a monthly bill.

Video

2K

Rating

IP66 indoor/outdoor

Storage

microSD local, free

Night

Color night vision

• Local microSD recording with no subscription, at a price where buying three is a normal decision.
• IP66 means the same camera works indoors and out, so you do not have to decide at purchase time.
• 2K is enough to read a face at doorstep distance, which is the only resolution question that matters.

Skip this ifNo Apple Home support and no cloud backup. If a thief takes the camera, the card goes with it.

A home with both hard floors and rugs where nobody wants to empty a bin every three days.

Dock

Auto-empty, auto-wash

Mopping

Dual spinning pads

Mapping

LiDAR

Carpet

Mop lift

• The dock empties the bin and washes the mop pads, which is what turns a robot vacuum from a chore into an appliance.
• LiDAR mapping handles multi-room layouts and no-go zones properly rather than bouncing off furniture.
• Mop lift over carpet is the feature that makes a single machine viable in a mixed-floor house.

Skip this ifThe dock is large and needs a permanent spot near a socket. In a small flat, a dockless model may fit better.

The unglamorous layer that makes everything else automatic instead of voice-operated.

Types

Motion, door/window, light, vibration

Battery

1–2 years typical

Hub

Aqara hub or Zigbee coordinator

Size

Very small

• These are the cheapest devices in a smart home and they do most of the actual automating — lights that come on because you walked in, not because you asked.
• Battery life is measured in years, so a dozen of them is not a dozen maintenance tasks.
• Small enough to sit on a door frame without anyone noticing, which matters more than the spec sheet suggests.

Skip this ifThey need an Aqara hub or another Zigbee coordinator. Hubless? Buy Thread sensors instead and check border router coverage.

Renters and anyone who does not want to replace perfectly good curtains to automate them.

Fit

Clips onto existing rail

Power

Battery; solar panel sold separately

Platforms

Need a SwitchBot Hub (sold separately)

Noise

Quiet mode

• It clips onto the curtain you already own, so this is the only automation here that leaves no trace when you move out.
• An optional solar panel, sold separately, keeps it charged on a sunny window and removes the recharging chore.
• Opening the bedroom curtains on a sunrise schedule is the one automation that most people keep using after the novelty wears off.

Skip this ifHeavy blackout curtains on a stiff rail will defeat it, and on its own it only talks Bluetooth to a phone nearby: Alexa, Google, Apple Home and control away from home all need a SwitchBot hub.

Anyone who has had a washing machine hose fail, and everyone who has not yet.

Fits

1/2, 3/4, 1 in; lever or butterfly

Install

Clamps on, no pipe work

Hub

Aqara Zigbee 3.0 hub required

Power

AA batteries, up to 2 years per listing

• It clamps onto the valve you already have rather than being plumbed in, so there is no plumber and no insurance question.
• Paired with an Aqara leak sensor under the washer, it closes the valve on its own and sends a notification, so a burst hose becomes a wet floor rather than a ruined one.
• Through the Aqara hub it appears in Apple Home, Google Home, Alexa and SmartThings via Matter, so the shutoff can sit inside whatever app the house already uses.

Skip this ifIt needs an Aqara Zigbee hub — the M3 or the M100 — and the listing says it is not for outdoor valves. No Aqara hub and no plan to buy one? Look at a plumbed-in shutoff instead.