The Only Smart Home Devices Worth Buying
Most smart gadgets add work. A few genuinely remove it.
By Ravi Menon · 7 min read
The test: does it save an action?
A smart device is worth it when it removes a repeated action you already dislike, and worthless when it adds an app to something a switch did fine.
Judge by that alone and the shopping list gets short.
What passes
Scheduled lighting, a smart thermostat, a leak or smoke sensor, and a robot vacuum with a schedule. All four run without you thinking about them and pay back in comfort, money, or avoided disasters.
Smart locks are useful if you host or share access often, and pointless if you do not.
What to skip
Anything requiring its own hub for a single function, cameras pointed inside your living space, and appliances whose only smart feature is a phone notification when they finish.
Prefer devices that keep working when the internet does not. That single requirement filters out most regrets.