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The best smart home devices 2024

Want to upgrade your smart home? From internet-enabled thermostats to smart speakers, this is the best connected tech you can buy

Boosting your home’s tech skills sadly isn’t quite as easy as sticking in some extra RAM or upgrading the firmware. But thanks to our list of the smart home devices, you don’t need to knock down walls or embark on a rewiring disaster either.

Like everyone, you’ve got a smart speaker. But how can you take your connected abode to the next level? Here’s our guide to the most appealing and useful smart home devices you can add to an existing setup to get your pad properly smartened up.

What smart ecosystem should you go for?

Amazon Alexa remains the GOAT of smart assistants. The number of Alexa-powered Echo devices out there is now in the hundreds of millions, and Alexa’s prowess shows in its accurate responses. And it’s no longer audio-only: the Echo Show range of smart displays is getting better at serving as an effective touch interface, rather than just being voice-controlled with a tacked-on screen.

While Alexa is still a little ahead for controlling the smart home, Google Assistant’s everyday charm is compelling. What sets it apart is its ability to rely on a certain massive search engine and the info it stores about just about everything. Local bus times? No bother, and it’ll even tell you how long it will take to walk to your stop. Google Assistant is also top-notch with follow-up questions, making it able to be more conversational than Alexa or Siri.

Once seen as a part-time lover, Apple’s HomeKit is now a serious smart home ecosystem with hundreds of devices supporting it – and, of course, native support on Apple devices via the Home app. As a simple system to use, it can’t be beaten – even device setup is relatively easy.

The best smart home devices to buy today