You want a smart home. Your landlord wants you to not put holes in their walls. These two things are not as incompatible as they seem. In fact, some of the best smart home devices require zero installation — no drilling, no wiring, no permanent changes. Here are 15 devices that transform a rental apartment … Read more
Your parents want to age in place. You want them to be safe. The smart home industry sees both of those desires and markets aggressively to both of you. But here’s the thing most smart home guides for seniors miss: the wrong technology makes life harder, not easier. A voice assistant that mishears commands, a … Read more
Smart showers. Smart toilets. Smart toothbrushes. The bathroom is the new frontier for smart home marketing, and most of it is nonsense. A toothbrush that sends brushing data to your phone. A mirror that shows the weather while you shave. A toilet that tweets. (Yes, that’s real.) But buried under the gimmicks are a few … Read more
They got an Echo Dot for their birthday. Or maybe a smart plug. Or a video doorbell they haven’t installed yet. Now you need a gift that works with what they already have — not another random gadget that requires a separate app and a PhD in networking. Here are smart home gifts that actually … Read more
Power outage. Internet goes down. And suddenly your smart home is a dumb home. The lights won’t turn on, the thermostat stops responding, the door lock is just a lock, and the voice assistant is a paperweight. You bought all these devices for convenience, and they’re all useless because your ISP had a bad day. … Read more
Your dog barks at the door while you’re at work. Your cat knocks things off counters at 3 AM. You wonder if they’re eating, if they’re comfortable, if they’re even alive (cats are dramatic about silence). Smart home tech can help with all of this — but most pet-focused smart devices are overpriced gadgets with … Read more
We’ve all seen the articles: “This smart thermostat will save you 23 percent on your energy bill!” Then you buy it, install it, and your bill goes up because you keep cranking the AC to 68 degrees since now you can do it from your phone. The truth is, some smart home devices genuinely save … Read more
Your smart home is only as good as your WiFi. It doesn’t matter if you have the best smart thermostat, the fastest smart speaker, or the most expensive security cameras — if your network drops devices, forgets connections, or can’t reach the garage, none of it works. Here’s how to set up your network so … Read more
You set up a “Good Morning” routine that turns on the lights, reads the weather, and plays a Spotify playlist. You used it twice. Now it just turns on the hallway light at 6 AM while you’re still asleep. The problem isn’t smart routines — it’s that most people build routines that are impressive in … Read more
Here’s what the alarm industry doesn’t want you to know: most people don’t need a 50-dollar-per-month monitored system. The question isn’t whether you need an alarm — you probably do. The question is which type actually makes sense for your home, your budget, and your risk level. Monitored, DIY, and self-monitored systems each have real … Read more
