Learns your schedule and stops heating an empty house. The 4th-gen far-field display earns a wall spot, and it pays for itself in most homes within a couple of seasons; the included sensor fixes the one-cold-room problem. Check your HVAC compatibility first — a few older two-wire systems need a C-wire adapter.

A coffee maker that grinds fresh for every pot and brews to SCA-certified standards, with a 10-cup thermal carafe and a podless single-serve option for the one early riser. The SmartHQ app stores MyBrew profiles—bloom time, grind, strength—and it takes Alexa and Google voice. It's a barista setup on the counter. Trade-offs: a premium $349 price for a drip machine, and the built-in grinder adds cleaning steps.

A faucet timer that waters the garden on a schedule and skips the day it's about to rain—WeatherSense pulls the local forecast and adjusts automatically, all controlled from the app through the included Wi-Fi hub, and it's EPA WaterSense certified. It works with Alexa. The thing to plan around: the bundled hub has to stay in range indoors, so a far-flung yard can hit a connectivity gap.

A keypad deadbolt that hedges its bets sensibly. It runs Matter onboard, so it pairs cleanly across Google, Apple, and Alexa setups rather than locking you into one app, and the matte black finish suits a Nest Doorbell. You manage codes, share access, and check who came and went from the Google Home app, with Google Assistant voice locking when your hands are full. Matter over Thread keeps battery drain low. A few realities: remote access needs a Matter-enabled hub, it runs only on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi in the U.S. and Canada, and the keypad keeps a physical key as backup — so you're never locked out.

The Gen-2 L40 Ultra leans hard into raw cleaning power: 25,000Pa across five suction levels, with an extending brush and mop arm that reach into corners and under furniture where most robots leave a border of dust. The all-in-one self-cleaning dock cuts the manual upkeep, and four carpet modes—avoidance, suction boost, intensive cleaning, and mop lifting—let you tune how it treats rugs, which pet owners care about. Smart Pathfinder and 3DAdapt mapping keep it off your shoes, and a 5,200mAh battery is rated for up to 231 minutes and roughly 1,679 sq ft per charge, with off-peak charging. App and Alexa/Siri/Google control, on 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, U.S. only.

A countertop oven that scans a grocery barcode and cooks the food correctly for you—six functions including steam, toast, air fry, bake, broil, and reheat, with the Tovala app recognizing 1,000-plus name brands and loading the right program. Air fry needs no preheat. The catch to weigh: it's designed around Tovala's paid meal subscription, and the smart value drops sharply if you only ever use your own groceries.

The Outdoor 4 XR exists for one reason: range. Its Sync Module XR runs cameras on the 900MHz band instead of Wi-Fi alone, which Blink rates at up to 1,000 feet open-air (400 typical)—four times farther—with 20% quicker live-view access and up to 70% fewer disconnects. That's the answer for sheds, driveways, and far corners where standard cameras drop out. You still get up to two years on the included lithium AAs at distance, control of up to 10 devices from the app, and a choice of cloud storage or local recording to a MicroSD card. For large or congested properties, this is the version that holds up.

A power-user's single router that refuses to nickel-and-dime you. AX6000 dual-band Wi-Fi 6, two 2.5Gbps ports you can aggregate, eight Gigabit LAN ports, and lifetime AiProtection security and QoS with no subscription. When you outgrow it, AiMesh lets you bolt on other ASUS units to extend coverage. The catch: it's one big antenna-laden box, so very large or multi-floor homes will still want those extra mesh nodes.

Replace a dumb wall switch and the light it controls becomes schedulable, voice-controlled, and able to fake occupancy while you're away—all without a hub. It's UL-certified, talks directly over 2.4GHz to Alexa and Google, and is the cheapest honest entry to in-wall smart lighting. Two things to know: it's on/off only with no dimming, and it needs a neutral wire and hardwired install.

The L60 Ultra FE is the value entry to Dreame's Ultra-tier experience: most of the cleaning and nearly all the dock automation, at a more reachable price. Vormax suction rated 30,000Pa pulls dust, hair, and litter off any floor, and a TriCut blade-and-rubber brush keeps long hair from tangling. Dual flex arms extend a side brush and swinging mop into corners, baseboards, and furniture gaps. Maintenance is where it shines for the money: a ThermoHub washboard heats to 100C to scrub and sanitize the mop pads, and the Smart PowerDock handles hot-water washing, hot-air drying, auto dust emptying, water and solution refills, and charging on its own.

The do-everything home printer: wireless print, scan, and copy with auto two-sided and a document feeder, set up from your phone in minutes. It works with Alexa for voice-prompted reprints, and the HP+ option bundles months of Instant Ink. The honest catch is that model — enabling HP+ locks you to genuine HP cartridges, so weigh the ink plan before you commit.

An entry-tier Dreame that punches above its price on raw power. 20,000Pa Vormax suction with an optimized airflow design pulls dust, hair, and debris out of floors and rugs, and a dual anti-tangle design on both brushes keeps hair from wrapping and clogging — the headache that usually defines budget robots. It vacuums and mops at once, with an electronic water tank you can dial from a light refresh to a deeper wash. The self-emptying dock collects debris into a 4L bag for up to 120 days hands-free. If you want strong cleaning and hands-off convenience without flagship money, this is the honest pick.

The value pick in the 4K Fire Stick line. The Select trims back from the Max but keeps what most people actually use: 4K Ultra HD with HDR10+, fast-enough performance, and Alexa voice search to launch and find shows by talking instead of scrolling. Every major app is here—Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock—alongside free ad-supported content, and Alexa+ adds more natural, conversational search. It doubles as a light smart-home remote for lights, weather, and music. If you want real 4K HDR without paying for the Max's extra speed and features, the Select hits the essentials at a lower price.

This is the ecobee at its most complete: a vibrant touchscreen display in metal-sided glass, plus a bundled SmartSensor so the thermostat reads occupancy and comfort in another room rather than just the wall it's mounted on. ENERGY STAR certified, it claims up to 26% in annual heating and cooling savings versus holding a steady 72°F, and a built-in air-quality monitor flags poor air and furnace-filter changes. Compatible with 95% of systems, and the included Power Extender Kit handles C-wire-less homes for a genuine DIY install. Alexa or Siri is built in, so it doubles as a voice speaker—useful if you want it, ignorable if you don't.

Think of the Chime 2 as the part of an Arlo setup that lives indoors. It plugs into any outlet, connects straight to Wi-Fi with no base station, and turns doorbell rings and camera motion into audible alerts you'll actually hear from across the house. Pick from a range of melodies, set the volume, or drop it into silent mode. The 80-plus-decibel siren can fire automatically on motion or audio, or be triggered from the app as a deterrent. This is an accessory, not a standalone camera—it only earns its keep if you already run a compatible Arlo doorbell or camera, so check the compatibility list first.

The do-everything cooker, now app-connected—ten functions including pressure cook, slow cook, sous vide, and yogurt in one 6-quart pot, with the Instant Connect app guiding you step by step and a WhisperQuiet release that drops the alarming hiss. It's the single appliance that replaces a shelf of them. The honest take: the Wi-Fi is more novelty than necessity, and setup adds friction if you just want a pressure cooker.