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through the end of December.You can find our other guides right here.
When it comes to smart home stuff, once you start, it hard to stop
As soon as you&ve got one light that you can turn on and off from your phone, you&ll want five.
As such, smart home gear can make great
gifts for anyone who already started making their way down that rabbit hole.
Alas, there a lotof bad smart home hardware out there —
mystery devices from brands no one has heard of, with apps that hardly work out of the box and will probably just silently stop working
altogether the next time there a big iOS or Android update.
Looking to help someone make their already smart home a little smarter? Here
some of the stuff we liked this year:
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TP-Link Kasa Plug
Smart plugs are a great way to introduce
a person to the connected home
The TP-Link Kasa plugs are inexpensive but work with every popular voice assistant and smart phone
Smart plugs let you turn a basic lamp or coffee maker into a smart device without replacing anything.
Price: $28 for a two-pack on
Amazon
Wyze Cam Pan
The Wyze Cam Pan packs a lot of features for the price
At $35, the small 1080p camera pans, tilts and zooms, and sports a low-light mode
Best of all, the Wyze cam works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for things like &Alexa, show me a view of the living room on my
office TV.& It by far the best smart home camera for the price.
(If you don&t need it to tilt/pan/etc
on command, there also a $25 version without all that.)
Price: $35 on Amazon
Echo Dot with Clock
The Echo Dot with Clock is part of the
It slightly more expensive than the ubiquitous Echo Dot… but it has a built-in clock! The clock makes this thing way more useful when
you&re not actually talking to it — and, fortunately, unlike the Echo Spot, there no built-in camera to make it extra weird to put on your
One catch: these keep going in and out of stock, so they might be a pain to get this late in the game.
Price: $35 on Amazon
Nanoleaf
Canvas
The Nanoleaf Canvas is a new type of wall art
It an interactive, fun way to splash a wall with light and design
The panels snap together, allowing the owner to create and recreate designs to fit their life and space.
Price: $180 for a starter kit of 9
tiles
Ember
The Ember is a smart coffee mug
The Ember uses an internal heater to keep the drink at an ideal temperature as set by the user via a companion app
If the coffee drinker in your life is more of an all-day coffee sipper, the Ember should bring joy to their life.
Price: $100 on
Amazon
Dewplanter
Some people love plants but hate watering
That where the Dewplanter comes in by capturing and filtering water in the air
It works as a dehumidifier — but instead of dumping excess water into a bin, it waters a plant
A control panel allows the owner to set the desired water amount
Set it and forget it and get a green thumb without any skill
Low-maintenance plants like evergreens, ferns, violets and aloe plants work best.
Price: $50
Furbo
It&d be nice if we could all be home
with our dogs 100% of the time — but for most people, that just not the case
Furbo is part web cam and part treat dispenser
Using a smartphone app, dog owners can monitor and interact with their pets, remotely tossing out treats when your pup does something good
Dog-friendly color signals and sounds are designed to get attention, while real-time updates and a camera let owners gain insight in their
Boots starts barking so the neighbors don&t complain? Furbo can listen for barking and send you notifications accordingly.
Price:
$134
iGrill
The Weber iGrill is a fantastic thermometer designed for grilling
Wireless connectivity brings the grill into the modern era, allowing the user to check the meat temperature from a smartphone and without
A magnetic base sticks the control unit to the side of the grill and the probes are designed to withstand searing heat.
The iGrill Mini is
around $50 and includes Bluetooth connectivity
The slightly more expensive iGrill 2 adds a LED display to the base unit and an extra probe, while the priciest model, iGrill 3, has more
battery life and the extra probe but is only designed to be permanently mounted directly on the side of specific Weber grills.
Price:iGrill
Mini, $45 on Amazon | iGrill 2, $65 on Amazon | iGrill 3, $80 on Amazon
Casper Glow Light
The Casper Glow Light makes going to bed and
The light is warm, and gradually dims to assist in falling asleep
Likewise, there an alarm function that slowly turns on to help knock the sleeper out of a deep slumber
The $129 Casper stands apart from other light-alarm clocks in several ways
One, it works as a lantern, allowing the owner to carry it throughout the home, and recharges using a bed-side dock
The Glow Light design is simple and durable; it can likely survive a fall off a table
Most importantly, the clock is managed with a smartphone app, eliminating the need to use clunky, on-device controls.
Price: $129
Sonos
Move
For the Sonos lover in your life, the Move speaker fills a massive hole that existed in Sonos& lineup for far too long: portable
The Move brings all of Sonos& features to a speaker designed to move around the owner house
And it sounds great, too, with full, expansive sound able to fill any room
At $399 the Move is more expensive than competitors, but for someone who has already embraced the Sonos concept, the connectivity and
ecosystem is worth the price of admission.
Price: $399 on Amazon
