The smart home was once a far-flung pipe dream, but it is now a reality. Wherever you live, your home is ground zero for some of the most interesting tech available right now, and tech that’s yet to come. Best of all, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get your home up and running with smart hardware and services.

Home security and monitoring solutions can alert you to a burglary, smoke, fire, or just simple motion activity. There are plenty of options with a range of capabilities, from smart doorbells and smart locks to indoor and outdoor cameras that can see in the dark.

Smart speakers, like the Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Apple HomePod each play a big role in helping you out, too. In the kitchen, they can read out recipes, or if you’re cleaning, you can call out to them to change the song on the fly. If you buy smart light bulbs, for instance, you can turn them on and off by using your voice.

Smart Home

Hands-on photos of the Biscotti living room video conferencing camera.

Biscotti video conferencing camera hands-on

Biscotti video conferencing camera hands-on

Biscotti video conferencing camera hands-on

Biscotti video conferencing camera hands-on

Hands-on photos of the Biscotti living room video conferencing camera.

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Biscotti video conferencing camera hands-on

Biscotti video conferencing camera hands-on

Hands-on photos of the Biscotti living room video conferencing camera.

Share this story

Walmart’s 4K Google TV box is the best $20 deal in streaming

Logi Dock review: conference calls have never been so cute

Watch this Nvidia demo and imagine actually speaking to AI game characters

The System Shock remake is a delightful surprise

Quest 3 hands-on confirms Meta’s building a ‘far thinner and lighter’ headset

More from Smart Home

Dyson’s new robot vacuum promises to clean every corner

A trip to Dyson’s dirt-filled, germ-obsessed world

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Drop’s DCX keycap sets for mechanical keyboards are buy one, get one free