Building a smart home is easier than it used to be, but choosing the right devices can still get messy fast. Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home each have their strengths, while Matter has made it easier for products from different platforms to work together. Compatibility still matters, though, especially when features depend on a specific hub or service.
You don’t need to commit to dozens of gadgets at once. A smart speaker, thermostat, lock, or a few lights can make a noticeable difference on its own, and you can expand from there. We’ve rounded up the smart home devices we’d recommend in 2026, covering everything from voice assistants and security cameras to robot vacuums and streaming devices.
A smart speaker or display is an easy starting point because it can become the control point for everything else you add. Your choice will mostly come down to whether you prefer Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or Apple Home.
Alexa households should start with the Amazon Echo Dot Max. Amazon redesigned its Echo lineup around Alexa+, and the Dot Max is a substantial step up from older Echo Dots with better sound, more capable hardware, and built-in smart home functionality. It supports Zigbee, Thread, and Matter, allowing it to do more than play music or answer questions. Digital Trends highlighted the improved audio and Alexa+ integration when Amazon introduced the new lineup.
Want a screen instead? The Echo Show 8 (2025) gives you a display that’s large enough for recipes, video calls, camera feeds, music controls, and smart-home dashboards without taking over an entire countertop. Amazon also offers the larger Echo Show 11 (2025) if you want more screen space.
Google finally has new hardware for its lineup too. The Google Home Speaker (2026) replaces the aging Nest Audio as our main Google recommendation. At $99.99, it combines Gemini with better audio, a Thread border router, and Matter hub support. In our Google Home Speaker review, we found Gemini’s conversational controls to be the biggest improvement, letting you speak more naturally instead of memorizing rigid commands. Some of its more advanced AI functionality does require a subscription, however.
Apple users can choose between the HomePod mini and full-size HomePod. The mini is the easier entry point for adding Siri and Apple Home controls around the house, while the larger HomePod offers dramatically better audio. Both can serve as home hubs, and HomePod mini also supports Thread-based accessories.
The Sonos Era 100 takes a different approach. It’s a music speaker first, making it a better fit when sound quality matters more than having the broadest possible smart-home assistant.
A smart lock can eliminate one of those tiny everyday annoyances that adds up over time. You can lock or unlock your door remotely, create temporary codes for guests, and check whether you actually locked the door after leaving home.
The Yale Assure Lock 2 still earns its place here thanks to a clean design, a well-developed app, and multiple configurations depending on how you want to unlock your door. Yale has also continued expanding the lineup since launch, including support for features such as Apple Home Key on compatible versions. As we noted after spending more time with it, the Yale Assure Lock 2 has actually grown better with age.
The Wyze Lock Bolt v2 is the more affordable route. It adds built-in Wi-Fi, fingerprint unlocking, keypad access, a physical key, and voice control through Alexa or Google Assistant.
Looking for more features? The Aqara Smart Lock U100 adds a fingerprint reader, keypad, Apple Home Key support, and compatibility with Alexa and Google Home. It can also work with Matter, but only when paired with a compatible Aqara hub and Matter controller. We include it among the best smart home devices that support Matter.
Before choosing any smart lock, check exactly what features require an additional hub. A Matter logo doesn’t always mean every function works identically on every platform.
Smart security cameras range from inexpensive indoor cameras to battery-powered outdoor models that can watch over your property for months at a time. Video doorbells fill a related role at your front door, so it makes sense to consider both together.
The Arlo Essential XL 2K suits outdoor monitoring when you want better-than-1080p video without running power. Its 2K resolution gives you more detail, while the XL battery is designed for long stretches between charges. It’s a practical choice if you’d rather install a wireless camera and mostly leave it alone.
Indoors, the Ring Indoor Cam keeps things simple. It’s compact, easy to place, and fits neatly into a Ring or Alexa setup where cameras, doorbells, and Echo devices can all work together.
Battery life and price are the main draws of the Blink Outdoor 4. Blink’s cameras are built around straightforward wireless installation, and they’re a natural fit for Alexa-heavy homes. Keep in mind that it requires a Sync Module, and Person Detection requires a Blink subscription plan or trial.
At the front door, the Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) is the stronger Google choice for 2026. It adds 2K HDR video and built-in detection for people, packages, vehicles, and animals, while Gemini-powered features push it further into Google’s newer smart-home setup. Some advanced AI features and longer video history require Google Home Premium, so subscription costs are worth factoring in.
The Ring Battery Doorbell family is the obvious counterpart for Alexa users. Ring has a mature doorbell lineup, broad compatibility across Amazon’s Echo devices, and plenty of additional cameras if you want to expand later. The Ring Battery Doorbell Pro is the upgrade if you’re willing to spend more for extra features.
Whichever camera system you choose, factor subscriptions into the cost. Some cameras are perfectly usable without one, while others reserve cloud recordings, richer alerts, or longer video history for paid plans.
A smart thermostat can be one of the more practical connected-home upgrades because it works largely in the background. Once you’ve configured schedules and preferences, you shouldn’t have to constantly fiddle with it.
The Google Nest Learning Thermostat (4th Gen) is the premium pick. Its large display and polished design make it one of the better-looking thermostats available, but the important upgrade is underneath. It can learn your heating and cooling habits, work with remote temperature sensors, and is Matter-certified. That opens the door to control through compatible Matter platforms, including Apple Home. We’ve previously called the fourth-generation Nest Learning Thermostat the better choice if your budget allows it.
The Amazon Smart Thermostat covers the opposite end of the price range. It skips many of the premium features and design flourishes of the Nest, but it handles the basics and integrates neatly with Alexa. In a home already filled with Echo devices, that simplicity can be an advantage.
The Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium offers a different high-end path. Ecobee puts a lot of emphasis on remote room sensors, which can help in houses where upstairs bedrooms and downstairs living areas never seem to agree on a temperature. Its broader feature set also appeals to buyers who don’t want to build exclusively around Google hardware.
Installation requirements vary considerably depending on your HVAC system, so check compatibility before ordering any thermostat, particularly if your existing wiring doesn’t include a C-wire.
Smart lighting is still one of the easiest ways to make a home feel smarter. You can start with a single bulb and add more later, or install smart switches if you’d rather keep using conventional bulbs.
Philips Hue is still the premium lighting system to beat. The selection goes far beyond simple white bulbs and includes color bulbs, light strips, lamps, outdoor lights, switches, and accessories. Hue products can be more expensive than competitors, especially once you add a Hue Bridge, but reliability and the size of the product range are the reasons people keep buying into it.
Matter support varies depending on the setup. Existing Hue products can participate in Matter through a Hue Bridge, while newer Matter-enabled Hue bulbs can support direct Matter setup. That distinction is worth checking before buying if you’re trying to minimize extra hubs.
Nanoleaf Essentials Matter A19 bulbs take a simpler Matter-first approach. They’re easier to incorporate into different smart-home platforms instead of tying the bulbs to one company’s assistant. Nanoleaf is also appealing if you think you’ll eventually want decorative panels or other ambient lighting.
A smart switch can be the better route for rooms with several fixtures. Lutron Caseta lets you make an entire existing lighting circuit smart, which can be cheaper and cleaner than replacing every bulb individually.
The Kasa Matter Smart Light Switch is another straightforward option. It works with major smart-home platforms through Matter without requiring you to replace the lights themselves. It does require a neutral wire, so check what’s behind your existing switch before purchasing.
Smart plugs solve a similar problem for ordinary lamps, fans, coffee makers, and other simple appliances. TP-Link’s Kasa lineup is one of our favorite smart plug families, with options for different platforms and both indoor and outdoor use.
Robot vacuums have gone from quirky gadgets to some of the most autonomous devices you can add to a smart home. High-end models can now vacuum, mop, empty their own dustbins, wash their mop pads, and navigate around objects without needing constant rescue missions.
The Roborock Saros 10R shows how far the category has come. It combines powerful vacuuming and mopping with excellent navigation, while its dock handles much of the maintenance that used to make robot vacuums feel less automatic than advertised. It can even leave its mopping pads at the dock when vacuuming carpet, preventing damp pads from being dragged across rugs. Our Roborock Saros 10R coverage highlights how useful that can be in a mixed-floor home.
The Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni focuses more heavily on mopping. Its roller-style mop gives it particularly strong hard-floor cleaning. When we compared the X8 Pro Omni with the Saros 10R, the Roborock had the advantage for navigation and mixed surfaces, while the Ecovacs stood out for mopping performance.
Both are expensive. Premium robot vacuums are regularly discounted, so unless you need one immediately, there’s usually little reason to pay full MSRP.
A streaming device might seem like an odd inclusion in a smart-home guide, but the category increasingly overlaps with connected-home platforms. Apple and Google, in particular, use their TV hardware as part of their wider home systems.
The Apple TV 4K is the obvious choice for Apple users. It’s fast, polished, and supports the major streaming services, but its usefulness goes beyond watching TV. Once added to a room in Apple Home, it can serve as a home hub. For Thread-based Matter accessories, you’ll want a Thread-capable model such as the third-generation Apple TV 4K with Wi-Fi + Ethernet.
The Google TV Streamer fills the same role for Google households and replaces the discontinued Chromecast with Google TV. It’s much faster than the old Chromecast, offers more storage, includes Ethernet, and supports both Matter and Thread. It can function as a smart-home hub as well as a streaming box. Our Google TV Streamer review found it to be a worthy replacement for Chromecast, even if some of its smart-home features still felt like early efforts.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is the more affordable Alexa-friendly route. Its compact design makes it easy to move between televisions or take with you when traveling.
The Roku Streaming Stick 4K is the least ecosystem-dependent choice in this group. Roku’s interface is easy to navigate, its app selection is extensive, and the small stick disappears behind your television.
Apple TV 4K and Google TV Streamer are the better fits when smart-home integration matters. Roku and Fire TV make more sense when inexpensive streaming is the priority.
Not every useful smart-home product fits neatly into lighting, security, or climate control. Connected devices now cover everything from lawn care to litter boxes, and a few more specialized products are worth considering if they solve a problem you actually have.
A robotic lawn mower such as the Husqvarna Automower can automate one of the more time-consuming outdoor chores. Models such as the Automower 415X and higher-end 450XH can follow schedules and handle large areas with minimal intervention once installation is complete. They’re expensive and require more setup than a robot vacuum, but for the right yard they can save a considerable amount of time.
Pool owners can apply the same idea underwater. The Beatbot AquaSense Pro is a cordless robotic pool cleaner capable of handling multiple parts of a pool rather than simply wandering along the bottom. Robot pool cleaners are still a luxury, but they’re becoming considerably more capable.
Inside the house, the Whisker Litter-Robot 4 is the sort of gadget that’s easy to mock until you’ve lived with one. It automatically sifts waste after your cat uses it and tracks activity through its companion app. The newer Litter-Robot 5 now sits above it in Whisker’s lineup, but the LR4 is still actively sold and remains the cheaper option. You’ll still need to empty it and add litter, but it can substantially cut down the daily maintenance of a traditional litter box.
The Aera Smart Diffuser is a much smaller luxury. It lets you control scent intensity and schedules from your phone, which is useful if you like fragrance but don’t want a diffuser running continuously.
The trick with these more specialized smart-home products is the same as with the basics: buy them because they remove a real inconvenience, not simply because they connect to Wi-Fi. A smart home works best when the technology quietly handles repetitive jobs. If you find yourself spending more time managing a gadget than the gadget saves you, it probably isn’t making your home any smarter.
You don’t need to build an entire smart home at once. Pick the device that solves a problem you already have, whether that’s a smart lock for easier entry, a thermostat that needs less babysitting, or a robot vacuum that takes one chore off your list.
The platform you’re already using matters, but it shouldn’t box you in. Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home all reward staying within their respective setups, while Matter is making it easier to mix brands without turning compatibility into homework.
Add things slowly and keep the ones that genuinely make life easier. A smart home doesn’t need to be packed with connected gadgets. Ideally, it’s the kind of setup you stop noticing because everything just works.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.
Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.
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