The best smart home devices of 2025
You’re not too late to join the smart home revolution — it’s only just beginning. It might sound quite complicated if you haven’t started building yours yet, but there’s nothing to fear. Smart home devices are designed to make your life better, so a good user experience is all part of the package when it comes to the best products. You also don’t need to buy all of the gear at once. You can start small with a smart speaker or a light strip and accumulate the gadgets that enhance your day from there. All you really need to know is which products are worth buying. To that end, here’s our guide to the best smart home devices of 2025.
The best smart speaker: Google Nest Audio
The Google Nest Audio isn’t the flashiest smart speaker on the market, but that’s part of its charm. It’s a straightforward, budget-friendly smart speaker aimed at delivering balanced, quality audio in a compact design. You get a seamless integration with Google Assistant, letting you manage reminders, make inquiries, and stream content from popular services like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music.
With Media EQ and Ambient IQ, the Nest Audio adjusts sound based on media type and ambient noise. This makes it equally effective for music and podcast playback. The touch-sensitive top offers easy volume and playback control, and while its bass won’t shake the room, the overall sound quality is impressive for its size. There are multiple color options to choose from, so you can pick one that matches your decor.
Check out the Google Nest Audio review from our sister site SoundGuys for more details.
Amazon Echo (4th gen): The best smart speaker for Alexa
The Amazon Echo (4th gen) offers impressive audio quality and is a particularly good choice if you have other devices within the Amazon ecosystem. Voice recognition is highly responsive, even over music, and setup via the Alexa app is straightforward. It’s very affordable compared to the competition, so it makes a versatile and accessible option if you want a quality sound experience on a budget.
Sonos Era 100: The best smart speaker for audio quality
The Sonos Era 100 is all about bringing great sound anywhere in your home with ease. Its compact design fits perfectly on a shelf, countertop, or nightstand, while dual tweeters and a larger mid-woofer deliver punchy bass and clear stereo sound. With quick setup through the Sonos app, you’re ready to go in minutes. Trueplay tuning automatically adjusts the sound to suit your room’s acoustics, so everything you play sounds spot-on. You can stream over Wi-Fi, switch to Bluetooth with a tap, or even connect a turntable, making it as versatile as it is stylish.
The best smart display: Google Nest Hub Max
The Google Nest Hub Max is the jewel in the crown of Google’s smart display lineup. It combines a 10-inch screen, integrated Nest Cam, and enhanced audio capabilities. Its auto-framing camera is ideal for Duo video calls, keeping users centered in the shot — a nice feature if you’re moving around while chatting. The sound quality surpasses many other smart displays, with two 10W tweeters and a 75mm woofer that offer solid clarity and decent bass.
Gesture controls add convenience to the Nest Hub Max, letting you pause media or silence alarms with a wave. As a Matter-compatible device, it integrates seamlessly into various smart home ecosystems, enabling easy management of devices, notifications, and streaming services.
Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen, 2025): The best smart display for Alexa
The Amazon Echo Show 8 (3rd gen) is a compact option with an enhanced auto-framing camera and adaptive color adjustments for comfortable viewing. Audio is solid, and you can use it to stream Netflix while you’re making dinner. Alexa integration makes it a versatile smart home hub for voice-controlled management of compatible devices, and it’s also a good option for video calling.
Amazon Echo Show 15: The best large-screen smart display
A bigger space needs a bigger Echo Show, and Amazon has just the thing. The Echo Show 15 is a 15.6-inch smart display that shines in the kitchen, thanks to Alexa’s handy features and Fire TV. It offers a spacious widget panel for viewing personal schedules, shopping lists, and the weather, while Fire TV also adds entertainment via streaming. You can follow recipes, manage smart home devices, and control music or timers — all with voice commands.
The best smart home hub: Homey Pro
The Homey Pro (2025) is a powerful smart home hub designed to bring various smart devices under one roof, supporting multiple protocols like Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Matter. It’s all run through the Homey app, which enables intuitive, advanced automations without technical know-how. You’ll be creating custom flows with simple drag-and-drop controls in no time.
Local processing in the Homey Pro enhances privacy, and it doesn’t rely on subscriptions, offering a one-time $399 investment. It’s not cheap, but it’s perfect for those wanting sophisticated control of a mid-to-large smart home.
Amazon Echo Hub: The best smart display-hub-hybrid
We’ve done smart displays, but a screen always makes things easier. The Amazon Echo Hub is a wall-mounted or stand-supported smart home controller priced at $179.99. Featuring an 8-inch touchscreen, it allows easy access to compatible devices from a central, guest-friendly hub. Support options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Sidewalk, Thread, and Matter, so your other smart home gadgets will be under your control. Customizable dashboards let you prioritize devices, view camera feeds, and automate routines. Its infrared proximity sensor even switches between displaying photos and controls when you’re nearby.
Aeotec Smart Home Hub: The best smart home hub for Samsung compatibility
The Aeotec Smart Home Hub is a flexible and powerful foundation for any smart home. It supports Zigbee, Z-Wave, Matter, and Thread, allowing up to 100 devices per protocol, so you can easily add more lights, sensors, or plugs as your needs grow. Integration with the SmartThings app makes automating “Scenes” or monitoring security straightforward from your phone.
The best smart bulbs: Philips Hue White And Color Ambiance
The Philips Hue A19 LED Smart Light Bulb in White and Color Ambiance brings flexible, colorful lighting to any room. With millions of colors and warm-to-cool white tones, these 60W-equivalent bulbs are perfect for setting the mood or adjusting brightness to suit your day.
Adding a Hue Bridge lets you control your Philips Hue lights remotely, enjoy stable connectivity with Matter, and set up handy automations. Voice control with Alexa or Google Assistant makes hands-free use easy, while the Hue app lets you create custom lighting effects for any vibe.
Wyze Bulb Color: The best-value smart bulbs
The Wyze Bulb Color gives you adjustable lighting from a powerful 1,100lm to a soft 30lm — perfect for setting any mood. With 16 million colors and adjustable white tones, you can create custom presets in the Wyze app for everything from cozy movie nights to bright work sessions. Set routines for waking up, automate reminders and even use “Vacation Mode” for added security. Voice control with Alexa or Google Assistant and group control options make it easy to manage your lighting hands-free.
Govee LED Smart Light Bulbs: The best color-changing smart bulbs
The Govee LED Smart Light Bulbs are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled, allowing remote control through the Govee Home App or voice commands with Alexa and Google Assistant. 1,000 lumens of brightness make them perfect for large spaces, offering both vibrant colors and energy efficiency. Choose from 16 million colors, adjustable brightness, and a warm-to-cool white range for any mood. There are 54 unique scene modes and even a Music Mode.
