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The best smart home devices, tested and reviewed
Smart home gadgets can go a long way in making your life easier, from automatically setting the temperature to creating mood lighting to keeping your home safe. But with so many different products and brands on the market, it can be difficult to know where to start.
ZDNET regularly tests and reviews new smart home devices to help find the ones most worthy of your home (and your money). We've gathered the best smart home devices we've tested so far across different categories (like smart home hubs, smart speakers, smart locks, and smart lightbulbs) to help you make an informed buying decision.
Also: Smart home starter pack: 5 devices that will make your life easier
Our pick for the best smart home device overall is the Samsung SmartThings station -- this nifty hub can connect over 5,000 devices from different manufacturers, helping you more easily automate smart gadgets across your home. Read on for the rest of our picks for the best smart home devices available today.
- Excellent compatibility
- Wide connectivity
- Impressive app UI
- No built-in voice control
SmartThings Station features: Hub for: SmartThings | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Thread, Matter | Voice control: Alexa, Google & Bixby
The SmartThings Station is the latest hub from Samsung for its proprietary home automation system. It supports Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for voice control through other devices and features impressive connectivity abilities, with the option to connect via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Thread, and Matter.
This smart home hub also doubles as a wireless charger and has a button for smart home automations. Plus, if you've got a Samsung ecosystem at home, it also works as a scanner for SmartThings Find, Samsung's network to locate Galaxy devices.
Read more: Can your smart hub do this? Samsung's $59 SmartThings Station innovates where it matters
The highly-intuitive SmartThings platform works with over 5,000 different devices from varying manufacturers and can connect to some of the best smart home devices, including smart lighting, smart speakers, and smart cameras.
- Packed with features
- Affordable
- Excellent ecosystem
- Limited connectivity
- Poor sound quality
Amazon Echo Dot features: Smart speaker | eero built-in | Amazon Alexa | LED display
The Echo Dot is also one of the best Amazon Echo models, delivering improved sound over earlier models.
Enjoy crisp notes with clear highs and deep bass, with a superior experience to most portable speakers. Or turn your home into a concert hall or movie theater by adding compatible Echo devices or Fire TVs to form a stereo pair.
If you have an Eero network, you can extend Wi-Fi availability in your home and minimize internet interruptions and streaming interruptions.
Read more: It sounds ridiculous, but I forgot how useful digital clocks can be
This speaker is compatible with various popular services, including Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Spotify. You also can bypass those services and connect directly via Bluetooth throughout your home. Either way, Alexa is here to help with hands-free voice control.
This Echo Dot features a clock and temperature sensor and can detect motion, turn lights on when you walk in the room or assist with temperature control by operating your smart fan. It also has a built-in alarm to help with those early mornings.
- High interoperability
- A lot of unlocking features
- Inexpensive compared to others
- App is slow to respond
Aqara U100 smart lock features: Compatibility: Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, IFTTT | Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Matter | Voice control: Alexa, Google & Siri
Don't you wish you could unlock your front door with your iPhone as easily as you can check out with Apple Pay?
The Aqara U100 is a smart lock that offers users the option to unlock by entering a predetermined passcode on the keypad, using their fingerprint, a physical key, a mobile app, NFC tags, or through Apple Home Key by simply holding their iPhone or Apple Watch up to their lock.
Review: This is the most versatile smart lock I've seen so far - and Apple users will love it
These versatile options have definitely come in handy during our testing, especially arriving home with bags full of groceries after a long day.
This lock is also highly compatible. It works with Apple HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home, and IFTTT, and it also supports Matter.
- HD display
- Superior camera
- Oversized HD display
- Subpar Zoom
- No rotation feature
Amazon Echo Show 8 features: Alexa-compatible | Screen size: 8 inches | Resolution: 1280 x 800 | Speakers: 1 x 1.7 inches | Camera: 2MP
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen) is not only one of the best smart home devices but also one of the best smart displays you can buy today. It has an eight-inch HD color touchscreen and stereo speakers to add bold sound. There is even a 13MP camera that allows you to make video calls at will and check in when you are away. The camera helps keep you in the frame with automatic framing and centering while in use. You can also connect to smart home devices like lighting and cameras with compatible voice control.
Review: Amazon Echo Show 8: How one big feature changes everything
There is room for the fun stuff, too. You can stream your favorite content using services like Prime Video and Netflix or ask Alexa to fire up Amazon Music, Apple Music, or Spotify. Automations are also impressive. Create a calendar and add reminders so you never forget an appointment. Make lists, set timers, and improve your cooking with step-by-step recipes. When not in use, turn your device into a digital photo frame with the help of Amazon Photos.
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen) also employs Amazon's discriminating privacy policies and features a mic and camera off button with a built-in camera shutter.
- Millions of colors
- Dimming lights
- Instant-On option
- Expensive
- Users report some issues with scheduling
Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance Starter Kit features: Type: LED | Wattage: 9 watts | Voltage: 120 volts | Bulb size: A19
The Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance Starter Kit is the best Philips Hue lighting available and some of the superb lighting I have personally seen. You can quickly transform your home with beautiful LED mood lighting with a dimmable feature. Create a movie theater in your living room, or bring warm, comforting colors to a nursery. Either way, you receive up to 11,000 lumens of light with a Hue bridge to control it all.
Also: Philips Hue users are getting long overdue customization upgrades. Here's what's new
This starter kit comes in the popular A19 bulb size and offers incredible lighting with 50,000 shades of white alone. There are also 16 billion different colors you can enjoy for a fantastic light show.
Control your lights with your smartphone or tablet, or use your voice when you connect Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, or Google Assistant. It is also compatible with Nest and SmartThings systems. With the Philips Hue app, you no longer have to climb out of bed to turn out the lights or worry about a high electric bill when you leave a light on while you are away. Instead, it only takes a button with the Philips Hue White & Colors Ambiance Starter Kit.
- Room-filling sound
- Siri and smart home hub
- iOS exclusive
- Expensive
Apple HomePod features: Powerful, Hi-Fi sound | Room sensing | Siri built-in | Spatial audio | Sound recognition
This is one of the best-sounding smart speakers on the market, and it's a perfect fit for an iPhone user looking for the best of the best for their smart home. It works as a smart home hub for Apple HomeKit and, with Matter support, the promise of interoperability opens the door to more brands than ever.
Review: Apple HomePod (2023) review: Way better sound quality than HomePod Mini
Since Matter was launched as a new connectivity standard last year, different smart home device manufacturers have adapted their products to support it, making more brands work together than ever before.
This means that smart home brands that didn't work with Apple HomeKit before would be able to, thanks to Matter. But it being so early on in the game also means that not many have updated their product line to support the new standard, so it's largely a case-by-case basis.
Matter aside, the new HomePod is the best Apple smart speaker, with Siri built-in, temperature and humidity sensors, a touch display, and Sound Recognition, a feature that alerts you when a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm goes off in your home.
What is the best smart home device?
The Samsung SmartThings Station is the best smart home device overall that you can buy, topping many of ZDNET's lists. This smart hub has the capability of hosting multiple devices with fantastic connectivity options. Compatibility is nothing to laugh at, either, with more than 5,000 devices working with this system.
To see how the smart home hub compares, here is a look at the best smart home devices.
| Smart home device | ZDNET's take | Price | Compatibility |
| Samsung SmartThings Station | Best smart home device overall | $80 | Alexa, Google, IFTTT |
| Amazon Echo Dot | Best cheap smart home device | $50 | Alexa built-in |
| Aqara U100 | Best smart home lock | $190 | Alexa, Google, HomeKit, IFTTT |
| Amazon Echo Show | Best smart home display | $130 | Alexa built-in |
| Philips Hue Starter Kit | Best smart home lighting | $199 | Alexa, Google, HomeKit |
| Apple HomePod | Best smart speaker | $299 | HomeKit, Siri built-in |
Which is the best smart home device for you?
This list highlights the best of the best smart home devices, covering a number of different areas of your home. From multi-device hubs to individual devices, there are a number of ways to turn your home into a smart home. If you are not sure which smart home device is best for you, consider these recommendations.
| Choose this smart home device... | If you want... |
| Samsung SmartThings Station | A smart home hub capable of controlling your whole home. Think of it as your home's command center. |
| Amazon Echo Dot | Add wireless sound to your home. Use voice control through Alexa to control your smart devices. |
| Aqara U100 | The most versatile smart lock available. Bring convenience to your front door with the touch of an app. |
| Amazon Echo Show | A smart home display with Alexa built-in. Use it to keep an eye on your whole home and smart home devices. |
| Philips Hue Starter Kit | To bring the power of smart lighting to your home. Install mood lighting, uplighting, or simply save money in energy bills with these LED lights. |
| Apple HomePod | A smart speaker that actually sounds amazing. Use it as your smart home hub and a companion for your iPhone to round out your Apple ecosystem. |
How did I choose these best smart home devices?
There are a number of factors I consider when choosing the best smart home devices.
Type: There are multiple types of smart home devices you can buy, from lighting to speakers to the TV in your living room. Once you buy individual smart home devices, consider adding a smart home hub or automation system to control them all, so you do not have to adjust each device individually.
User reviews: The users know best, so it is important to consider user reviews as a way to learn about the ins and outs of a product. In our reviews, our team also combines personal experience with expert analysis to find the best smart home devices you can add to your home.
Cost: Many smart home devices are actually affordable, costing a few hundred dollars or less. The best smart home devices range in cost from $50 to $210, depending on the manufacturer and product you choose.
What is a smart home device?
A smart home device is a product that is voice- or app-controlled. Most smart home devices can connect to a number of smart home assistants, like Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, or Google Assistant, via voice control. You can use your voice or app to turn things on and off or make adjustments to things like volume or temperature. These devices also have the capability to connect to other smart devices in the home, allowing them to perform and coordinate without requiring any personal interference from you.
Are smart home devices worth it?
Smart home devices bring a level of simplicity and convenience to your home that you probably didn't know you were missing. No longer do you have to worry about a coffee pot or curling iron left on because now you can use your smart plug to take care of it. Leave a light on? Check the app to turn off the lights and save money while you are away.
Which companies make the best smart home devices?
There are tons of companies that manufacture smart home devices, including giants like Amazon and Google. However, there are many other quality companies that specialize in specific devices SmartThings with its home automation system, Philips with its Hue lighting, and Wyze with its smart plug. Before you buy a smart home device, look for a company that is known for quality products.
Are there alternative best smart home devices worth considering?
That is far from all that is available. These are some of the other smart home devices I feature that can fit your home.