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 pictures of Samsung's top-of-the-line LED and plasma TVs for 2012.

Samsung ES800 LED and E8000 plasma hands-on pictures

Samsung ES800 LED and E8000 plasma hands-on pictures

Tech

Reviews

Science

Creators

Entertainment

If you’re diabetic, don’t wait for your smartwatch to replace your needles

Microsoft’s new Copilot will change Office documents forever

Amazon’s latest layoffs cut 9,000 more jobs in divisions including Twitch and AWS

Amazon’s Swarm is so close to being brilliant

This Apple Pencil clone provides 80 percent of the experience for a quarter of the price

Samsung ES800 LED and E8000 plasma hands-on pictures

Samsung ES800 LED and E8000 plasma hands-on pictures

Hands-on pictures of Samsung's top-of-the-line LED and plasma TVs for 2012.

If you’re diabetic, don’t wait for your smartwatch to replace your needles

Microsoft’s new Copilot will change Office documents forever

Amazon’s latest layoffs cut 9,000 more jobs in divisions including Twitch and AWS

Amazon’s Swarm is so close to being brilliant

This Apple Pencil clone provides 80 percent of the experience for a quarter of the price

More from Smart Home

Belkin’s smart home brand Wemo is backing away from Matter

Apple’s second-gen Magic Trackpad hits its best price in months

Samsung ES800 LED and E8000 plasma hands-on pictures

Samsung ES800 LED and E8000 plasma hands-on pictures

Hands-on pictures of Samsung's top-of-the-line LED and plasma TVs for 2012.

Share this story

If you’re diabetic, don’t wait for your smartwatch to replace your needles

Microsoft’s new Copilot will change Office documents forever

Amazon’s latest layoffs cut 9,000 more jobs in divisions including Twitch and AWS

Amazon’s Swarm is so close to being brilliant

This Apple Pencil clone provides 80 percent of the experience for a quarter of the price

More from Smart Home

Belkin’s smart home brand Wemo is backing away from Matter

Apple’s second-gen Magic Trackpad hits its best price in months