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best-smart-home-gifts-for-2024-[cnet]
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Best Smart Home Gifts for 2024 [CNET]

Desiree DeNunzio

View Article on CNET

$50 at Amazon

5th-gen-echo-dot-by-tycnet-1
Amazon Echo Dot (fifth gen)

Alexa smarts for beginners

$300 at Amazon

a Ring Alarm Pro base station next to a fruit bowl

Ring Alarm Pro

A system that will fully revolutionize your home’s smarts

Everyone has that person who is super hard to shop for when it comes time for presents. But, with how engrained tech is in our lives, a gift that anyone can use today is a great smart home device to make things more convenient. A gift for the home is always thoughtful — and useful — and there are many smart devices to choose from. Streamlining home life with smart gadgets is easy, and it may surprise you how affordable these gift ideas are, too.

However, having many options is great but you may need to prepare yourself for just how many products you’ll find on the market. We compiled a list of our favorite gadgets and gizmos that’ll make the techie in your life jump for joy.

If you’re hunting for a gift fit for an Apple or Google fan, you’ll see some great smart home gifts below including smart speakers, smart thermostat options and other smart home gadgets. Prices vary for intuitive tech like smart home security devices, which will keep a household safe, and smart speakers and displays for a fuller music streaming experience. You don’t need to max out your credit cards to find a special home enhancement that your gift recipient will love.

Here’s a look at the best smart home gifts for 2024.

Philips Hue/CNET

One of the easiest ways to upgrade your living space is to invest in smart lighting. Philips Hue is one of the more expensive smart lighting brands on the market, but it’s also the most dependable. While individual Philips Hue bulbs are compatible with any Amazon Echo or Google Assistant device, we recommend investing in the Philips Hue Starter Kit for smart lights and going from there. That way, it’s easier to expand into various zones and you can take advantage of the full functionality of the system. 

Setup Hardwired, outdoor/indoorResolution 1536 x 1536 (2K)Storage Cloud storageGoogle/Alexa Compatibility BothField of View 180 degrees

Chris Monroe/CNET

The second-gen Google Nest Hub is one of the best smart displays we’ve tested. It’s a super smart device that brings convenience to nearly every dimension of the Google Assistant-powered smart home. Whether you’re streaming music, checking who’s ringing your video doorbell or playing YouTube videos, the Nest Hub’s got you covered. 

Read our review.

For those on your list who don’t have a smart home started, a great starter for smart home gifts is Amazon’s Echo Dot. The fifth-gen Dot offers better sound than its predecessor and has a built-in motion detector and temperature sensor. It can even function as a Wi-Fi mesh extender for Eero routers. As with other Alexa devices, this smart speaker can check the weather, stream music, set alarms and more, all just using your voice.

Read our Amazon Echo Dot (5th gen) review.

Hobie Crase/CNET

Installation DIY installationContract Required NoVoice Assistant Amazon Alexa, Google AssistantAdditional Fees 24/7 professional monitoring fee, recording feesService Bundles N/A

The Ring Alarm Pro is a DIY home security system, but you’ll get the most out of it if you plan on upgrading your whole home’s smart systems. It has a built-in Eero router, so adding an extender can turn your network into a Wi-Fi 6 mesh system. Plus, it includes cellular-supported backup Wi-Fi, so if you lose power or network connection, your internet stays intact. Finally, you get local video processing and storage, and cool integrations with Alexa if you have an Amazon Echo device.

In short, it will turn a regular old home into a surprisingly robust smart home in no time.

Read our review.

iRobot/CNET

This is one of my all-time favorite smart-home purchases. iRobot’s Roomba i4 robot vacuum works like a champ and saves me hours of vacuuming time. Several other Roomba vacs are on CNET’s list of the best robot vacuums of 2024. This model doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the higher-priced models (you have to empty the i4’s bin after each cleaning), but I was drawn to the wallet-friendly price. I’ve been through several bot vacs over the years, and this one sucks up pet hair and dander like nobody’s business.

Ry Crist/CNET

Wi-Fi Standard Wi-Fi 6Speed Rating AX1800Range Up to 2,500 sq. ft.Wireless Networking Security WPA3Bands Dual-Band (2.4 and 5GHz)

The TP-Link Archer AX21 is an entry-level Wi-Fi 6 router that typically costs about $100 or so, but right now the cost is down to $75. Among all of the Wi-Fi 6 budget picks we’ve tested, it performed the best, with fast, reliable speeds and an easy-to-use app that makes it a cinch to set the thing up and manage your home network settings. All of that made it an easy Editors’ Choice-winner here on CNET. 

Likely, most of the new Wi-Fi devices you’ll be buying in the next year will support Wi-Fi 6, so if you want to take advantage of that faster, more efficient level of performance at home, you’ll need a router to match. This deal gets you there with a very capable router at a terrific price.

Read our TP-Link Archer AX21 review.

Chris Monroe/CNET

If your friend or family member prefers Alexa to Google Assistant, the Echo Show 5 — which got an update earlier this year — is a fantastic first smart display. It brings all the smarts of Amazon’s voice assistant and acts as a smart speaker, along with the ability to video chat, watch cooking videos and catch some cool kids programming with Amazon Kids Plus (especially if you get the kids edition).

Chris Monroe/CNET

Amazon’s Smart Thermostat sets a new standard for the category. It has a clean, modern touchscreen design and it’s easy to use, whether you’re adjusting the temperature at the thermostat, through the Alexa app or with Alexa voice commands with a compatible Alexa-enabled smart speaker or display. It earned a CNET Editors’ Choice award for best value smart thermostat.

Read our Amazon Smart Thermostat review.

Apple

Apple hasn’t launched a smart display to compete with the Nest Hub or Echo Show devices, but as far as smart speakers for the Siri lover in your life, the Apple HomePod Mini is a great-looking smart home gift that is compatible with the Home Apple app. While the HomePod doesn’t have a screen, it does boast some solid sound design, and it works really well with other Apple devices, like iPhones, Apple TVs and Homekit-compatible smart home gadgets. What’s more, it comes in a handful of new colors.

Read our review.

Amazon

Smart plugs are an easy way to upgrade your existing devices and can be used for many things, including automating lights, small appliances and more. Leviton makes some of the best smart plugs on the market, and the D215P-2RW is our choice for the best smart plug you can buy. CNET’s David Anders likes that it plays nice with all three of the major smart home ecosystems, including Apple HomeKit, which is unique for a smart plug, as the majority of them work only with Alexa and Google.

Ry Crist/CNET

Wi-Fi Standard Wi-Fi 6Speed Rating AX3600Range Up to 5,500 sq. ft. (two devices)Wireless Networking Security WPA2, WPA3Bands Tri-Band (2.4 and two 5GHz)

If you’re looking to improve your home internet, one of the best moves you can make is to upgrade from a traditional router to a mesh Wi-Fi system. TP-Link’s Deco W7200 is a tri-band Wi-Fi 6 system that costs less than $200 for a two-pack. That might be the best mesh router value we’ve seen. According to CNET’s Ry Crist, the best part is that “it performs like a champ, with fast, stable speeds, decent range and a setup process that’s about as easy as it gets.”

Read our TP-Link Deco W7200 review.

Amazon

This is kind of an odd pick, but it will be much appreciated during the winter months when germs are at an all-time high. This automatic soap dispenser from Amazon is one of our favorites, designed with good hygiene in mind. It features a 20-second timer for proper hand washing, which is especially helpful if you have young guests over. We found that this soap dispenser can last for a few months on just one charge. See our Amazon Smart Soap Dispenser review.

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