The holiday season is officially here. Neighborhoods are adorned with lights, the temperature has cooled down, and buying presents for our loved ones has begun. Buying presents can be stressful when you don’t know what to buy someone- so if you have a tech lover in your life, this one is for you. Here’s the list of the must have smart home gadgets to buy this holiday season.
Smart Thermostat
Notable companies: Nest, Ecobee, Alarm.com, Honeywell
As cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation would say, “this is the gift that keeps on giving, the whole year.” Smart thermostats are in the must have smart home gadgets list for a reason. Not only are they beneficial for electricity bills, they’re highly customizable and most offer a sleek design. This is perfect for the winter, especially on mornings where you’re too cold to get out of bed. You can easily adjust the temperature from your phone and get out of bed once you’ve warmed up.
Smart thermostats have these capabilities:
- Connect to the WiFi
- Work through an App on a smartphone
- Compatible with third party sources, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home.
- Know when you are home based off of motion detection.
- Adjust to your schedule. It will know the average schedule of when you’re at home and when you’re gone.
- Know the weather to make adjustments to conserve energy
- Adjust from anywhere, with a touch of a button.
- Controlled through a touch screen, making it higher tech.
- Support geofencing to get an idea of your location through your cell phone location.
Looking for more information? Here’s our article that outlines what smart thermostats are and how they can save you money.
Doorbell Cameras
Notable companies: Ring, Nest, Arlo, Eufy, Arlo, Alarm.com, SimpliSafe
Not only will doorbell cameras deter package theft, it will help keep your home more secure. With CNBC reporting that over 36% of American homes are subject to “porch pirates” a term coined to describe the pesky thefts that steal packages from front doors. These cameras have live viewing capabilities, as well as recorded video history.
Other than the safety, the live viewing allows you to see exactly who is at your door at all times. That way, you don’t have to worry about going to the door if it’s someone you don’t know. Doorbell cameras also come with a two-way microphone, so you could talk to whoever is at your door. This is helpful if a delivery person is at your door and you’d like them to put the package somewhere else. For instance, you could ask them to put a package behind your fence.
The safety capabilities of doorbell cameras, plus the ease of seeing who is at your door at all times helps doorbell cameras be on the must have smart home gadgets list for 2020.
To learn more about these doorbell camera brands, read our list here.
Smart Lights
Notable Companies: Google, Samsung, Philips
Smart lights are becoming a must have smart home gadget, giving users the full opportunity to dim/brighten lights through their smartphones. This is an active way to conceal the fact that your lights are automated, giving your home a “lived in look.” The gift of smart lights is perfect for any tech-lovers who enjoy automation from their fingertips, travel often, or have long work hours.
There are lights that just offer the LED function, with brightness and dimming. While other light bulbs have different color options, warming and brightening features. The average cost of each lightbulb rounds out to $7.
Virtual Assistants That Use Ai
Notable Companies: Amazon Alexa, Google Home
Having an Amazon Alexa or Google Home in your house can provide great benefits. These devices can
- Play music
- Provide information, such as answering questions. An example: Who won the Superbowl in 2020?
- Deliver news, sports scores
- Weather, both daily and weekly forecasts
- Play games. An example: Jeopardy! On Alexa.
- Use to set alarms, timers, or reminders.
- Find recipes.
- Play podcasts.
- Control your smart bulbs
- Work with your home security system.
These devices are designed to integrate into your daily routine, providing you with extra technology to make your days easier. It can replace your old speaker system, allowing you to play your own favorite music or podcasts out loud.
This really allows full access to a smart home living, from telling your Alexa to dim the living room lights to 20%, to telling your Google Home to set your thermostat to 70 degrees. The possibilities are endless, and each generation of these devices is getting smarter and more user friendly.
The Gift of Security
This holiday season, give yourself a gift too! For more than a decade, ONIT has experience with setting homes up with the best home security systems and must have smart home gadgets. Visit us online today, or call at 1-833-433-0331 to get a free quote today.