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Smart Home, Tested at Home
Honest reviews of the gadgets that earned a place in my house — and the ones that didn't.
Roughly fourteen smart home gadgets have passed through this house in three years. Most of them are in a drawer. The ones that survived did so for a boring reason: they removed a chore or a decision without adding a new one. That's the bar every review on this page holds a product to — a proper month of real use, not a weekend demo.
If you're starting from zero, read the smart home starter kit playbook first — the buying order matters more than the brand. Already got the basics? The only 3 gadgets worth buying is the shortlist I'd actually defend.
After cutting half my smart home automations, here's exactly what's left running in my house every day — the handful of routines that survived, and why…
Amazon just made Alexa+ a permanent free Prime perk. After six months of UK early access, here's my honest take on whether the AI upgrade is worth turning on…
Apple just confirmed a security camera, a smart doorbell and a tabletop display with a robotic arm. Here's what actually excites me about the leak — and what doesn't.…
I automated every light, plug and routine in my house — then quietly switched half of it off. Here's why over-automating my smart home made daily life worse, not better.…
Matter 1.6 promises to fix clumsy setup and the ecosystem wars between Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home. Here's my honest take after years of smart-home frustration.…
I set up a smart display in my kitchen for a week, expecting a gimmick. Here's what genuinely earned its counter space, what I never touch, and whether one's worth buying.…
I've had roughly fourteen smart home gadgets pass through this house over the past three years. Most of them are now in a drawer, unpaired, forgotten…
You don't need forty gadgets and a weekend of frustration. Here's the exact order to buy, install, and connect your first smart home devices — so it actually…
I installed a Nest Learning Thermostat and an Ecobee in the same house, a heating season apart. Here's what actually separated them — and which one I kept.…
I've replaced a dumb dial with a learning algorithm before and regretted it. This time I gave it a proper month, tracked the actual bill, and paid attention…
I handed over one chore completely for a month. It didn't go perfectly — but it changed how I think about which parts of home life are actually worth…
For years I believed a smart lock was a security downgrade waiting to fail. After months living with one on my own front door, here is the honest verdict.…
My internet has gone down three times this year and my smart home never noticed. Here's how I moved it onto Home Assistant, a free local hub, and what changed.…
I built the same away routine on Google Home and Amazon Alexa — locks, lights, thermostat, cameras — in the same house, to see which one I'd actually trust.…
I put a heated smart mug on my desk for a week expecting a gimmick. Here's what actually surprised me — the good and the genuinely annoying.…
I ran Philips Hue and Govee lighting side by side for a month — same house, same routines. Here's which one actually earned a permanent place, and why…
Questions people actually ask
What smart home devices should I buy first?
One smart speaker or display in your chosen ecosystem, then two or three smart plugs — cheap, useful everywhere, and they teach you the routines everything else builds on. The exact order (and what to skip) is in the starter kit playbook.
Do smart thermostats actually save money?
Mine cut heating usage by a bit over 9% across 30 days compared with similar weather the year before — real savings, though the payback period depends on your energy prices. The full numbers are in my 30-day smart thermostat review.
Are robot vacuums worth it?
After 30 days, my honest answer is yes — if you have mostly open floors and minimal trailing cables, and you treat it as a daily maintenance layer rather than a replacement for proper cleaning. The caveats are in the robot vacuum verdict.
Do I need to pick between Alexa, Google Home and Apple Home?
Yes — it's the most important decision in the whole process, and it's best made before you buy anything. The Matter standard means most new devices work with all three, but your daily experience still lives inside one app. The beginner's playbook walks through choosing.