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Whether you're shopping for a geek or a tech newbie, smart home gifts are a great choice. You can gift something basic to introduce them to the concept of a smart home, or something more advanced to help them take their home automation to the next level.
If you're looking to give the gift of a smart home this holiday season but aren't sure where to start, peruse this list to find the perfect purchase. We've got big names on here, such as the Nest Mini and Amazon Fire TV Stick, as well as quirkier fare, including a smart padlock and an app-controlled face mask.
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Anyone who has an Echo will love this board game, which is fun for both kids and adults. With Alexa as their tour guide, they'll take a tour around the world, answering global trivia questions and learning about many different countries. When in Rome's creators worked with natives of the many cities featured in this game to develop the trivia and record narration.
Don't let the low price fool you: This tiny security camera is one of the best that money can buy, and it makes a great stocking stuffer. It shoots 1080p video, which you can access from your phone, and will send an alert if it spots an intruder.
This power strip consists of four outlets and two USB ports which you can individually turn on and off, and automate using Alexa and Google Assistant. It can turn anything that's plugged into it into a smart device.
Some devices can't just be automated with a smart plug because you need to push a button to turn them on. Enter the SwitchBot, an adorable button-pushing robot. Using Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri, you can tell it to turn on your light switch, or press the "on" button on your fan, coffeemaker, air conditioner, or anything else.
A smart plug makes a great stocking stuffer, and the WeMo Mini is one of the best you can buy. It has a compact design, and you can automate it with Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit.
Amazon's newest Echo Dot is an excellent gift. It's one of the best smart speakers around, it's just $35, and it won't take up much space on their nightstand or coffee table. It sounds great for such a small device, and your friend or relative will love playing around with Amazon Alexa. Also, it displays a handy LED clock.
Gift this to someone who tends to lose their keys ... a lot. They can stick this tiny battery-powered device on their key ring and locate it, even if it's out of Bluetooth range, using a crowd-finding network drawing from other people's Tile devices.
A Google Nest Mini is a great gift for a friend looking to get started on a smart home, or anyone who just wants a nice smart speaker. If your friend hasn't used a voice AI before, they'll love playing around with Google Assistant and discovering everything it can do.
Google Assistant doesn't only come in speakers; it also comes in small alarm clocks with smart displays, including this one. The Google Assistant-equipped Lenovo Smart Clock uses a combination of lights and sounds to wake you up. You can choose from a number of different alarms and visual elements.
The iGrill is a must-gift for anyone who loves a barbecue. Let it know how you want your meat cooked, and you'll get a notification when your meal is ready.
You can't go wrong with the gift of a streaming stick. The Fire TV Stick 4K is one of the cheapest options out there, and it will allow your friend or relative to control their TV with Alexa (using the included voice remote) and access hundreds of streaming services, including Hulu, Netflix, HBO and (of course) Amazon Prime Video.
For anyone who goes to the gym, school, or anywhere else you need to place valuables in a locker, a smart padlock is a great present. You can unlock this one with just your fingerprint —no key or combination necessary.
A smart light bulb is an excellent gift for someone who wants to try out a smart home, or who has cheaper smart bulbs but wants to upgrade. The Lifx A19 is compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit, and the bulb can produce a number of cool lighting and color effects, such as flickering, strobing, and pulsing to match your music.
This device is one of our favorite smart displays, and one of the cheaper ones you can buy. You can use its 7-inch screen to watch YouTube videos, follow along with recipes and other tutorials, or read song lyrics. You can also use it to control all of your Google Assistant-compatible smart devices.
A universal remote can be a god-send for a smart-home owner who wants an easy way to control all their different devices. The Harmony 665 can control a number of tech products, including lights, plugs, smart locks, and even cable boxes, all in one easy place.
A Google Assistant speaker can introduce your friend or relative to the world of smart-home with a cute design, colorful lights, and excellent sound. For just $79.99, this is the best Google Assistant speaker you can buy.
Amazon makes a number of different Echo Show smart displays, from the $59.99 miniature Echo Show 5 to the full-sized, booming, $229.99 Echo Show 2nd-Gen. For gifting, I think the $79.99 Echo Show 8 is the best combination of price and quality. It sports most of the features of the larger Echo Show, including a bright 8-inch screen, a webcam, and (of course) built-in Amazon Alexa. You can use the touchscreen to watch videos, browse the internet, and control your smart-home devices, and can also use the camera to video chat.
Any chef, even one who's not too tech-savvy, will appreciate the gift of a smart sous vide. Just place your ingredients in a sealed container, drop the container into hot water with the Anova, and the device will do the rest — it's an easy way to fit cooking into a busy schedule.
These are smart dimmer switches you can automate, or control remotely with Lutron's app or Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit. The prospect of swapping out your light switches for smart dimmers might be intimidating, but this starter kit has everything your friend or relative will need, and Lutron's smartphone app will guide them step-by-step through the process.
Gift this to a friend who wants to equip a full apartment or house with smart lights. This kit includes four white bulbs, which you can control with Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit, and a Philips Hue Bridge that connects them to your router. You can automate the bulbs with timers and schedules, and create gorgeous lighting effects. With the Philips Hue Sync feature, they can even sync up with the audio of your music, movies, or games.
Amazon's Echo Dots are a cool gift, but if you're shopping at a higher price point, the Echo 3rd-Gen is a bigger smart speaker with a much deeper sound. It comes in five different colors, so you can purchase the one that best fits your friend's or relative's decor.
Gift this to any friend who enjoys makeup, hairstyling, or skin care. It's a vanity mirror with Alexa built in, and it will look great in any modern bathroom. They'll be able to easily play music, hear the traffic reports, or play around with Amazon's voice assistant while getting ready for the day.
The home security kit from Ring includes a base station along with a keypad to control it, as well as motion detector, contact sensor and range extender. Altogether, this package will secure your loved one's home even when power is lost with a 24-hour battery backup.
Any beauty or skincare enthusiast will appreciate this smart face mask. Foreo makes a number of face masks for different occasions; there's one for nighttime, one for the morning, one customized for relaxation, and many more. Place one on the device and select the type in the Foreo app. The UFO will guide you through a customized application process that's super relaxing and feels great.
The Sonos One is the absolute best-sounding Alexa speaker you can buy, for anyone who wants truly premium audio. It's also a great gift for anyone who already has other Sonos speakers, as it will integrate with them for a multi-room audio experience.
This gift will help a friend or relative add a splash of color and light to their house. You can place it under stairs, behind a TV, or under a desk, and it creates a very cool, almost futuristic effect. (If your recipient is confused, tell them to look at pictures online for ideas of where to put it).
The Nanoleaf Canvas is a truly customizable smart-home gift. It comes with nine smart LED panels, which your friend or relative can stick on their wall in any pattern they please. Together, the panels can display hundreds of color schemes, and create truly stunning effects; they can flicker, strobe, cycle, sync to your music, and more. There are even some cute games built in.
Video doorbells might sound weird to give as a gift, but this one makes a perfect present because there's nothing intimidating about the setup process — it's entirely battery-powered, so your friend doesn't need to fiddle with any wires, and they can stick it onto their door in about five minutes. You can monitor the ring's 1080p video feed from your smartphone, and it can send an alert when someone approaches the door.
Many people think of robot vacuums as a luxury purchase, but this is one of the best ones you can buy and it's only $199.99. The R85 can suck up pet hair, crumbs, dust, and anything else it might find on your floor, and is easy to set up and control with the connected smartphone app.
