The 12 best smart home devices you need to live like the Jetsons

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The Insider Pick:

• The smart home is on the rise, and there are a ton of great products to choose from. It can be overwhelming to choose which smart home gadgets to get. Thankfully, we’ve done the work for you, so building your smart home is as easy as adding all these products to your wish-list and connecting them to your Wi-Fi.

The smart home has grown and evolved into a major tech category over the past few years, and while it still has a long way to go, there are ton of great products out there that can seriously simplify your life.

There are quite a few different types of smart home products to choose from, and the idea is that they can all work together to automate your home and give you full control of things like your lighting whether you’re at home or not. You can get light bulbs, light switches, power outlets and sensors, and then things like hubs and smart speakers to control all of those devices.

Of course, there are a few things to consider when you’re buying your smart home devices. For starters, you’ll want to make absolutely sure that they work with your other smart home products. Not all devices work with all other devices – and not all of the devices on this list will work flawlessly together. However, many of them will work together or offer workarounds to create a cohesive smart home.

Still, smart home compatibility is getting better, and it’s likely more devices will work better together as time goes on. It's important to note that it’s likely that better devices will be launched to replace older models in the future, so building a smart home that lasts may require updating it now and then. However, many companies continue to offer software updates with new features so older products last longer.

We’ve spent months testing all of the latest and greatest smart home products, and selected only the best of the best. Here’s what we’ve found.

• The best hub: Samsung SmartThings hub
• The best smart speaker: Amazon Echo
• The best smart lights: Philips Hue
• The best smart switch: Belkin WeMo
• The best smart thermostat: Nest Learning Thermostat
• The best smart outlet: Belkin Wemo Mini switch
• The best sensors: Samsung SmartThings Motion and Multi sensor
• The best smart door lock: Kwikset Kevo Gen 2 lock
• The best security camera: Nest Cam IQ
• The best smart doorbell: SkyBell HD
• The best smart smoke detector: Nest Protect
• The best smart robot vacuum: iRobot Roomba 690

Read on in the slides below to learn why these are the best smart home gadgets you can buy to bring your home into the 21st century.

The best smart home hub

Why you'll love it: There are plenty of smart home hubs out there, but the best by far is the Samsung SmartThings hub, which is inexpensive, compatible, and easy to use.

While not all smart home devices work properly together, smart home hubs can help alleviate some of those compatibility issues. No smart home hub can connect with every smart home device out there, but in our testing, the one that works the best with the most devices is the Samsung SmartThings hub.

The hub is able to connect to devices through a range of connectivity standards, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Zigbee, and so on. That’s good news for those who want to diversify their smart home offerings and build a home filled with different products.

There are actually a few ways to take advantage of the Samsung SmartThings system. You can get the standard hub, or if you own a Nvidia Shield TV, you can get the SmartThings Link, which costs $40 and plugs into the back of your Shield TV. Last but not least, you can get the Samsung Connect Home, which doubles as a Wi-Fi router and can be used to create a mesh network.

The SmartThings app is pretty easy to use, and while it is advanced, we do think it could use some refining. Still, that’s a software issue – meaning that it’s possible Samsung could very easily update the app and refine it as time goes on. That’s the only real downside here. The SmartThings hub is super compatible, relatively inexpensive, and otherwise pretty easy to use.

Pros: Versatile, easy to use, inexpensive

Cons: App could be better

Buy the Samsung SmartThungs Hub on Amazon for $73.44 (originally $99.99) 

Read our smart home hub buying guide on Insider Picks

The best smart speaker

Why you'll love it: The Amazon Echo is easy-to-use, affordable, and it’s compatible with a huge range of smart home products.

Smart speakers have become quite popular over the past few years, but the best out there is still the Amazon Echo. Why? It’s compatible with the widest range of services, can do the most things, and looks great. 

Of course, that doesn’t mean the Echo is the best for everyone. If you’re highly plugged into the Google ecosystem, then the Google Home is probably a better option. If not, however, then the Echo is the choice for you. The device is compatible with a massive range of devices and services, including smart home devices from the likes of Philips, Belkin WeMo, Nest, and even the Samsung SmartThings system.

Beyond the smart home integration, the Echo is compatible with other services, too — like Uber, Domino’s, and so on — so you can do things like order pizza just with your voice. And, Amazon is continuously updating the Echo with more skills, so it's only getting smarter as time goes on.

The downsides of the Echo? Its audio quality isn’t as great as a high-end speaker, and it’s not the most beautiful object. However, both the look and sound have improved with the second generation model we recommend. With the Amazon Echo, however, the pros far outweigh the cons.  

Pros: Versatile, convenient, compatible with a range of smart home products

Cons: Not the best audio quality

Buy the Amazon Echo on Amazon for $79.99 (originally $99.99) 

Read our full smart speaker buying guide on Insider Picks

The best smart light bulbs

Why you'll love it: Philips has been at the top of the smart lighting game for a few years now, and its Hue range of Wi-Fi-enabled bulbs is easy to use, inexpensive, and customizable.

If you want a reliable, easy-to-setup service to outfit much of your home with smart lighting, then the Philips Hue range of lighting is for you.

Setting up Philips Hue lighting is pretty easy, but you will want to get a starter kit if you’re a first time user. Why? Well, the Philips Hue light bulbs connect through the Hue Bridge, meaning your initial investment is slightly higher than some other smart lighting offers. However, you can also buy an Amazon Echo Plus, which has a hub built in if you want to forgo the hub and have a smart speaker, too.

After you have your hub or Echo Plus, Hue bulbs are really quite inexpensive and available in a few different options. You could save money and get the simple white bulbs, or you could get fancy with colored bulbs that you can control straight through the Philips Hue app. White bulbs cost $30 for two, while color bulbs come in at around $50 for one. A Hue starter kit, with a hub and four white bulbs, costs $100.

Because of how popular Philips Hue is, it’s compatible with a ton of different smart home systems, too. You can control your Philips Hue bulbs straight from the Samsung SmartThings app, or through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Therefore, most people will be able to easily implement it into their wider smart home setup.

So what are the downsides? Well, like any smart light bulbs, they’ll be rendered useless if someone turns off the light switch, which is one reason why some opt for smart light switches over bulbs.

Pros: Easy to implement, generally inexpensive, easy to use

Cons: Requires a hub, useless if you use light switches

Buy the Philips Hue Starter Kit on Amazon for $91.99 (originally $99.99) 

Read our buying guide to the best smart light bulbs on Insider Picks