It is almost six. in the morning and the alarm clock seems to be buzzing earlier than it’s normal time. It is not a malfunction or break down in the alarm, but the smart clock scanned your schedule and adjusted the time because you have got that big presentation first thing in the morning on that day. Your shower automatically switches on and warms the water for you to your preferred temperature 103°F.
And also the electric car is ready to be on the move, charged by the solar panels mounted on your roof or the wind turbine in your backyard. When you get home later that day, there is a surprising package waiting for you, delivered by a drone. You open it to uncover some cold medicine in it. Turns out, health sensors implanted in your bathroom observed signs of an upcoming illness and placed an order automatically. Good thing you already knocked that presentation out of the park.
That, at least, is the utopian version of the smart home that exists 10 years out. research shows that 63 million American homes will qualify as being called “smart homes” by the year 2022, with everything from Internet-connected light bulbs to cameras that let us spy on our pets from our place of work (there were nearly 130 million homes in the U.S. in total in the year 2018). But a decade from now, professionals say, we will make a big move from turning the lights on and off with our voices to total immersion in the Internet of Things (IoT).
Thanks to the technological advancements in the aspect of artificial intelligence, the best smart home devices will also be able to truly know about their owners or occupants, eventually understanding their needs. Improvements in robotics will give us machines that give us a helping hand with the cleaning, laundry, cooking and more in a better much way. Also, new detectors will keep tabs on our well-being. Central to all of this will be the data that smart homes gather, analyze and act upon, helping to turn the houses of the future from a mere exhibition of devices and accessories into truly “smart” homes.
Let’s also look at some of these smart home devices that help turn our modern houses into a smart home.
Best smart home devices at a glance
- The best smart home device overall: Amazon Echo Dot with Clock
- The best home security camera: Arlo Q
- The best smart thermostat: Ecobee smart thermostat
- The best smart light bulbs: Philips Hue White A19 Starter Kit
- The best smart lock: August Wi-Fi Smart Lock
- The best video doorbell: Nest Hello
- The best smart plug: Wemo WiFi Smart Plug
- The best smart smoke detector: Nest Protect
- The best smart home hub: Samsung SmartThings
- Best smart garage opener: Chamberlain MyQ
What are the best smart home devices?
The best smart home device speaker is the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock. The spherical, $60 speaker features a lovely cloth-covering the exterior part, with a built-in LED system that allows you to use all of the best Alexa skills. It looks a bedroom alarm clock, but even better.
Also, we have the Amazon Echo Show 10 and Apple HomePod mini devices which are all arriving later this year to contest with the Echo Dot’s title. The Echo Show 10 is also a smart display that follows your movements, while the HomePod mini is a portable model of the Apple HomePod device.
the Arlo Q security camera, which is one among the best smart home devices built to provide you with peace of mind over your property whenever you are not around. The $149 camera records in 4k video quality and also 1080p high-definition, in addition, it’s software and app are very easy to use and understand.
The motion detection alarms can be used to activate your smart home routines or even let you know when something or someone is moving around your house when you are not around.