For the past few months, we've been hard at work filling the CNET Smart Home with connected gadgets. Our goal is to test all of it under one roof, in a practical, real-world setting. Click through to see everything we've played with to date.
The Google-owned Nest Learning Thermostat is perhaps the the most popular smart-home gadget, and it's our thermostat of choice for the CNET Smart Home. We've got two of them -- one downstairs, and one on the second floor.
We've also been eager to test out voice controls in the smart home, so we made sure to pick up an Amazon Echo smart speaker. You operate Echo by talking to Alexa, the cloud-connected AI housed inside. She can already sync up with a few notable smart-home gadgets, and the list is growing.
We also wanted a smart-home platform capable of uniting multiple third-party devices within a single system. After weighing the options, we went with the second-gen SmartThings Hub.
After installing those Hue bulbs, Philips released an updated version of the Hue Bridge that'll sync your lights up with Apple HomeKit. So, we made the upgrade.
We wanted to use the Smart Home to help us be better hosts as well -- and that meant connecting the bar. With Fizzics, we were able to pour a bubbly brew from a bottle.
Smartening our drinking game was fun, but we were plenty serious when prepping the CNET Smart Home for disaster. The Fibaro Flood Sensor will help us watch for leaks.
