Smart Home Products: The Beginners Guide to a Smart Home

The Internet of Things (IoT) has seamlessly transitioned from streamlining how the world works and communicates to how the world lives. It is totally standard to have any given device connect to another to make the day-to-day easier. A simple example: that app that lets you open your garage and check on your home, or the Google Home that dims your lights for you on command? That’s the Internet of Things in action.

As convenient as having all of our devices connected and able to manage our entire home with one or two downloads, it is also overwhelming. Logistics like installation and cost scare most people (myself included) away from attempting to incorporate smart tech into their home. Fear not; listed below (in no particular order) are 6 beginner-friendly smart home devices fresh from Amazon. They are equal parts fun and functional, and act as helpful foundations to a smarter home.

1. The Amazon Alexa – Is there anything Alexa can’t do? The echo dot, one of Amazon’s most popular smart home products, can stream music, check the weather, and dim lights all on command. The best reason to invest in an Alexa, however, is the fact that it picks up new skills—and compatible devices—every day. Consider Alexa a vital foundation for your new Smart Home

2. The Nest Protect Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm – You know what is an underestimated nuisance? When the smoke detector is low on batteries and chirps incessantly when you least expect it. Don’t worry, smart home company Nest has you covered; its smoke detector connects to your phone and sends you updates so you know exactly what’s happening in your home.

3. Ultraloc UL3 BT – Leave your keys in 2018. The Ultraloc UL3 BT smart lock offers several ways to access your home, such as on the app, via keypad passcode, and fingerprint identification. The app also provides a history of who has access to your house and who has entered. Bonus feature: there is a hidden key stored at the bottom of the lock, in case your information is hacked or if you just want to kick it old school.

4. Nest Learning Thermostat – Aside from being one of the chicest thermostats ever created, the Nest Learning Thermostat is user-friendly, designed with a large, readable font and intuitive temperature setting. It can also tell you the weather and, of course, is compatible with Alexa. The biggest perk? This thermostat is energy efficient, learning about your habits through advanced memory technology which helps you save money as you go. Win-win.

5. Sonos One – This small and mighty smart speaker is voice controlled and comes pre-installed with Amazon Alexa. Enjoy high-quality music streaming from Amazon Music, Spotify, SiriusXM, Pandora, and more. Plus you can add other streaming services via the Somos app, which make the possibilities (almost) endless. One cool feature fairly unique to Sonos: all of the Sonos Home Sound System products are compatible with one another, and can connect wirelessly to form a high definition stereo in your home.

6. eufy Boost IQ RoboVac – Nobody loves vacuuming, so let the eufy Boost do it for you. Unlike most automatic vacuums, the RoboVac 11S is armed with drop-prevention sensors to avoid falls as well as a remote control for easy navigation. For the noncommittal types, worry not: eufy offers a generous 12-month warranty, so take the risk and never stress about a dirty floor again.