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We are about to enter the home phase of 2021. This is our collection of clues to the best smart home products available this year, from smart speakers and home security systems to smart thermostats and robotic vacuum cleaners. Whether you are buying a new smart display or an air purifier that can be used with a voice assistant, we have a product for you on our list.
We have more than one product in some categories, differentiated by price or feature set. Since smart speakers are equally important for entertainment and smart home control, you can also find them in our list of the best home entertainment products. Finally, please keep in mind that not all products on this list were launched this year. We will not avoid recommending a great product just because it will be on the market as early as January 1, 2021.
The Aeotec Smart Home Center is simple, direct and easy to navigate, and can control your castle.
SmartThings is our favorite DIY smart home platform for a long time, and Samsung's decision to stop building its own smart home hardware has not changed our minds. The Aeotec smart home hub now fills the role of the hub. It is compatible with the same extremely wide range of SmartThings compatible devices, including Lutron, Philips Hue, Z-Wave and Lutron smart lighting; Sonos and Bose speakers; Kwikset and Yale smart locks; knock Sound home security devices; of course, there are smart speakers powered by Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. If you want to take the DIY route to build your smart home, the Aeotec Smart Home Center should be its foundation.
Sonos has better-sounding speakers in its lineup, but this one sounds great, and it allows you to control any Sonos speaker (and the rest of the smart home) via voice commands.
Voice commands are the ultimate solution for controlling smart homes. There is no better Alexa-driven smart speaker than Sonos One. (If you prefer the Google Assistant family, you can configure it accordingly.) No matter how loud the music you play, Sonos supports almost all music, and the speaker’s onboard microphone array will almost magically respond to the Alexa wake-up words—— Existing streaming services — the company’s own Sonos Radio is also great — Sonos One sounds great. More importantly, absolutely no one can do better than multi-room audio. We did not review the Sonos One (2nd generation) because Sonos stated that it is functionally the same as the original. Looking for the best smart speaker for listening to music? Check out our recommendations in the home entertainment category.
Google Nest Audio has improved the original Google Home in all aspects and is a brand new smart speaker priced at $100.
With the demise of Google Home Max, Nest Audio is now Google’s flagship smart speaker. Although the superior Max is a behemoth, the smaller Nest Audio is more welcoming and more affordable at $100. Equipped with a sturdy aluminum chassis, tweeter, and mid-woofer, Nest Audio provides surprisingly rich, deep sound, and the AI chip on its device helps speed up the response speed of Google Assistant.
Speaking of assistants, Nest Audio can control your smart device like any Google smart speaker. If you spend $6/month on the Nest Aware service, it can even monitor suspicious sounds, such as smoke alarms or broken glass. The subscription also enables some beautiful features for the Nest security camera and video doorbell.
If you are a loyal user of Apple and Siri, HomePod Mini is a good choice, but if you are willing to try Alexa or Google Assistant, there is better value.
The HomePod mini is Apple’s only smart speaker because Cupertino unplugged the original HomePod earlier this year. This is a collective behavior. If you are an iPhone user and are looking for a smart home hub with the best privacy features, then HomePod mini is the product you should buy.
Apple's HomeKit ecosystem is newer and smaller than competing solutions from Amazon and Google, but the quality of HomeKit certified products is very high. You can use Siri to control any HomeKit-compatible device, play Apple Music, send messages to other Apple users at home, and answer daily questions ("Hey Siri, how is the weather today?").
The improved fourth-generation Echo Dot has arrived. It uses a spherical design to distinguish it from its smaller, flatter predecessors.
Amazon’s fourth-generation Echo Dot abandons the ice hockey design, adopts a spherical design, and is equipped with the famous aura of Alexa at the bottom of the device. However, although the new Echo Dot has undergone a complete redesign, it is basically the same device, with onboard Alexa, a lot of smart home features, and slightly improved audio quality, which means it sounds a bit better than its predecessors .
Of course, the Echo Dot's killer feature is its list price-only $50, and because it is almost always on sale, you can usually buy it at a lower price. If you are looking for an inexpensive way to start your smart home journey, then the Echo Dot is an attractive first step.
It does not improve the Home Mini much, but you can still expect better sound, mounting holes, and refined controls, all at the same price.
Like the Amazon Echo Dot, the Google Nest Mini is only $50, and it is very cheap, and like the Dot, it is also regularly discounted. The Nest Mini is small, fabric-covered and attractive. It does not have a 3.5mm jack for Dot to connect external speakers, but it always has Bluetooth. Google Assistant is quickly surpassing Alexa in smart home device compatibility, and thanks to its treasure trove of Google search knowledge, the assistant has the upper hand in answering general questions. Whether you are just starting to use your smart home or want to put Google Assistant in every room of your home, Google Nest Mini is great value for money.
Echo Show 8 (2nd generation) is an excellent smart display at a low price and can be used for video calls, home security, entertainment, and most importantly, smart home control.
An 8-inch screen is enough to check your security camera feed, check the weather, and make video calls with its 13-megapixel camera, which can digitally pan and zoom so you are always in the center of the picture. Photos look great on its 1200x800 pixel adaptive color display, which reacts to ambient light. It has a small footprint-7.9 x 5.4 x 3.9 inches (WxHxD)-and does not take up a lot of space on your counter or desk. With Amazon's home monitoring feature, you can turn the Echo Show 8 itself into a security camera, so you can view the homestead when you are out. The many functions, high performance, small size and low price of Echo Show 8 make it the perfect display for managing smart homes. Need a larger Alexa-based smart display to play movies? Check out our recommendations in the home entertainment category.
The successor to the Nest Hub uses almost the same design and monitors your sleep without the need for a wristband.
With its vibrant 7-inch display and slim and slim profile, the Google Nest Hub is perfect for placing on a kitchen counter or a shelf in the living room, but it performs well in the bedroom, where the radar-driven sleep sensing function is located on the second floor -gen Nest Hub can monitor your sleep without a wrist strap.
With Ambient EQ, Nest Hub can also make beautiful photo frames, which can adjust the color and brightness of the display according to the ambient light in the room, or you can project videos to the screen through Chromecast. Controlling smart home devices is easy. Just tap the display or ask the Google Assistant. It can also play music, provide you with weather forecasts, read your schedule, and answer general questions. It's great value for only $99.
This powerful air purifier can provide up to 1,200 square feet of coverage and is also suitable for your smart home ecosystem.
The 27-pound NuWave OxyPure Smart Air Purifier is about the size of a mini refrigerator and is equipped with four filters, including an electrostatic filter to remove bacteria, viruses, and mold, and a HEPA to filter gases and volatiles /Carbon composite filter for organic compounds. Touch-sensitive control makes it easy to manually start the cleaning cycle, and there is an operating mode that automatically runs the device based on the dirtiness of the surrounding air.
The NuWave OxyPure Smart Air Purifier is compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant and is both practical and large, even though it costs $500. Looking for something more affordable? Consider the Coway Airmega 150, which is a compact air purifier with responsive real-time monitoring and (as of press time) the price is about $150.
S7 is an excellent sweeping robot/mop hybrid robot that pays equal attention to hard floors and carpets. Used in conjunction with Roborock's Auto Empty Dock, it provides one of the most automated cleaning experiences.
Roborock S7 is simply the best robot mop/vacuum hybrid vehicle we have tested. The $650 S7 is equipped with a LiDAR scanner for improved navigation. It uses sonic vibration technology to scrub hard floors up to 3,000 times per minute, allowing it to remove most of the stains that other vacuum/mop hybrids cannot remove. Upgrade to a $950 S7 configuration and you will get a bundled Auto-Empty Dock accessory that can charge the S7’s battery and suck debris from the vacuum cleaner’s dustbin so you won’t get dirty Hands, rubbish will not escape and blow into the air.
Ecobee is ahead of anyone else: Ecobee SmartThermostat with voice control is our first choice in this category.
Yes, Ecobee's fifth-generation smart thermostat has Alexa built in, but this may be its least important feature. The reason why this smart thermostat is so innovative is that its remote room sensor can monitor the temperature of the room they are in and use its onboard motion sensor to determine which rooms are inhabited. The thermostat takes this information into account and instructs your HVAC system to heat or cool so that the temperature of the occupied room is as close as possible to the target temperature you set. Ecobee's latest thermostat is compatible with various HVAC systems, and there is even a power adapter kit that can be used for installations without a C wire.
No one is better at smart lighting than Signify's Philips Hue. While retaining Zigbee, adding Bluetooth makes it cheaper and easier to use.
As a long-term leader in the field of smart lighting, Signify’s Philips Hue brand continues to innovate, launching new gradient lights and light strips, as well as Hue Play HDMI sync boxes for TVs, but the humble Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 bulbs Still our favorite single smart lighting product.
As the perfect gateway to the Hue ecosystem, White and Color Ambiance A19 can be controlled via Bluetooth using a simple mobile application, and it offers millions of colors and a wide range of white color temperatures. When ready, you can add Zigbee-based Hue Bridge ($50) to get more advanced features, such as outdoor control, automation, geofencing support, and the ability to control up to 50 lights (Bluetooth app limits your control 10) .
The same product as D215P, with dimmer support but no grounding pin, the price increases by only $5.
Leviton’s second-generation Decora smart plugs (with a switch for space heaters, fans and other small appliances, and a dimmer for lights) cost more than the competition, but they are only the best in their class of. The D215P type switch and D23LP type dimmer operate over Wi-Fi, so if you want to keep it simple, you don't need a smart home hub, and they are compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple's HomeKit smart home platform. Both plugs are small enough to plug them into the same duplex socket, and the My Leviton app (available for Android and iOS) gives you an impressive level of control over the device when setting up scenes and schedules. The same application also controls Leviton's various series of in-wall Wi-Fi products.
Lutron's Caséta smart switch provides you with powerful dimming and remote control functions, but you need to hardwire the hub to the router. Please note that this price includes two in-wall switches, two remote controls and a Wi-Fi bridge.
Over the years, our view of the Lutron Caséta smart home platform has continued to evolve. We like it more today than when we first evaluated it, and the Caséta ecosystem has evolved to include not only smart lighting (such as the in-wall dimmer switch named here), but also motion sensors, smart ceiling fan control, smart curtains, and even smart Wooden shutters. Lutron uses its own proprietary wireless standard and its own Wi-Fi bridge (and range extender is also available), but the company actively cooperates with other manufacturers to ensure wide compatibility. The list of partners includes Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, Samsung SmartThings, and even Sonos speakers. Bottom line: You can deploy Lutron's excellent Caséta products without worrying about being trapped in a walled garden.
TP-Link’s Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Power Board provides all the right options, from a stylish design suitable for home decor to a set of advanced scheduling options and surge protection for various daily and travel needs.
Surge protectors are all the same, right? Incorrect. TP-Link’s Kasa smart Wi-Fi power strip is connected to your Wi-Fi network, so you can individually open and close its six protected sockets from anywhere you can access the Internet. More importantly, you can operate the socket as planned, and you can even ask Alexa and Google Assistant to command to do the same thing (although there is no HomeKit or Siri support).
You also get three always-on USB-A charging ports for your phone and tablet. In addition to smart control, the Kasa smart Wi-Fi power board also provides surge protection (500 volts per AC power branch) and energy monitoring. TP-Link also offers a smaller, cheaper version-TP-Link's model KP303-which has three AC power sockets and two USB charging ports. TP-Link's Kasa Smart Wi-Fi power supply board is hard to beat.
You don't want to miss our selection of the best home safety products for 2021-22 and the best home entertainment products for 2021-22.
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