Why You Can Trust CNET Best Smart Home Gifts for 2024
From smart speakers to displays to home security cameras, these gadgets will make the perfect gift for anyone on your list.
Shopping for the perfect present can have you thinking of all sorts of goodies you'd be interested in buying for your friend or loved one. And while there's a plethora of cool stuff to choose from, an item that can make your giftee's home smarter is thoughtful and useful.
When shopping for the best smart home gifts, though, you must prepare yourself for the vast array of products you'll find on the market. We went ahead and compiled a list of our favorite gadgets and gizmos that'll make the techie in your life jump for joy. And if you're hunting for a gift fit for an Apple or Google fan, you'll definitely see some great ideas below.
Streamlining home life is easy, and it may surprise you how affordable it is, too. 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 our favorite smart home gifts for 2024.
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 Home device, we recommend investing in the Philips Hue Starter Kit 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.
The Arlo Video Doorbell is CNET's pick for best video doorbell overall. With excellent performance, easy installation, and reasonable cloud storage fees starting at just $3 a month, it stands well above the competition. It also has HD video, a built-in siren, two-way audio, motion detection zones and arm-disarm modes.
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.
Amazon's Echo Dot is a great entry point into getting your smart home started. 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.
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.
This is one of my all-time favorite smart-home purchases. iRobot's Roomba i4 robot vac works like a champ and saves me hours of vacuuming time. Several other Roomba vacs are on CNET's list for 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.
The TP-Link Archer AX21 is an entry-level Wi-Fi 6 router that typically costs about $100 or so, but right now, for Black Friday week, you can find it for $25 off, bringing the cost 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.
It's very likely that 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.
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, 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).
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 speaker or display. It earned a CNET Editors' Choice award for best value smart thermostat.
Apple hasn't launched a smart display to compete with the Nest Hub or Echo Show devices, but it does have a great looking and sounding smart speaker for the Siri lover in your life. 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.
Smart plugs are an easy way to upgrade your existing devices and can be used for a number of 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.
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. And 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."
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.