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The best home security cameras for 2024

By admin April 27, 2024

The best home security cameras for 2024, Choosing a home security camera can be a daunting task since there are a lot of things to consider. Some aren’t susceptible to power outages, thanks to their battery power and local storage, while others need careful placements inside or outside the home.

We recommend starting with something like the Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera, a well-rounded camera that’s packed full of features and boasts performance that ensures you’ll be in the know about what’s happening at your home. Competitors like Ring and Nest may be more recognizable brands, but the Arlo Pro 4 has them beat on features for the price. If you’re not sold on the Arlo product, here’s a look at the best security cameras of 2024.

Arlo Pro 4

The best all-around home security camera

Arlo has always offered the best solution when you need multiple cameras. The Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera shares many of its predecessor’s features and specs, but it doesn’t require a hub to function. It is fully weather-sealed and ready for use indoors or out, wired or wire-free, with a 160-degree viewing angle. The batteries can easily be swapped and charged separately, so wire-free cameras won’t suffer any downtime while charging.

Now that the camera has ditched the base station that previous Arlo models needed to function, the setup process is streamlined because you connect it directly to your home’s Wi-Fi router. When it comes to video quality, its 4-megapixel one-third-inch sensor does a fantastic job of capturing sharp details with accurate colors. The performance is made better thanks to HDR and color night vision, which help to uncover details that are often lost in high-contrast scenes and at nighttime when lighting becomes challenging.

The Arlo Pro 4 is also backward compatible with the existing Arlo Pro system, so current users can continue to use their same base station and older cameras alongside the new model. When you consider the excellent camera performance, Wi-Fi direct connectivity, and smart security courtesy of Arlo Smart, its $200 starting cost makes it more attractive than previous iterations. In fact, the starting cost of the previous Arlo Pro 3 was $500, although it did come with two cameras as opposed to one.

The best home security cameras for 2024

Arlo Pro 4

The best all-around home security camera

Google Nest Cam (battery)

The best Google Assistant integration

The Nest line produces reliable products with the latest A.I. features, and its products are always strong picks for those already using Google Home. This latest battery-powered cam is excellent for DIY users who want the freedom to place the cam wherever they want — indoors or outdoors — at any angle. The cam supports 1080p video at 30 frames per second, with night vision and a 130-degree field of view.

The camera offers the ability to zoom in, use two-way audio to talk, or contact emergency services. It’s also smart enough to customize alerts based on whether it thinks it has seen a person, pet, vehicle, or more. It’s also compatible with Google Assistant and devices like the Nest Hub Max, although you won’t find any Alexa support on this Google product. If you are placing the cam outside, you can also attach a weatherproof cable so you won’t have to worry about recharging the battery.

Out of the box and free of charge, the Nest Cam supports up to three hours of event-based battery history storage, after which you will need to clear out space. You could add a Nest Aware subscription if you don’t mind paying a monthly fee, which offers more A.I. features and much more storage for the cam.

Blink Outdoor Cam

Best security camera for Alexa

Pros

• Built-in Alexa compatibility

• Customizable motion zones

• Multi-year battery

Cons

• Local storage requires a separate hub

• No cloud storage without a subscription

The Blink Outdoor camera offers weather-resistant surveillance at HD resolution with infrared night vision. While the model is battery-powered, allowing you to place it nearly anywhere, the battery sports a runtime of up to two years before needing to be recharged (although it’s still a good idea to place it in a more manageable spot like your porch or above a garage).

Blink uses motion detection with customizable motion zones to help reduce errors and includes a two-way audio feature to communicate with the cam. The Alexa compatibility works very well with devices like an Echo Show for an immediate look through the cam and also supports voice commands to arm or disarm the unit whenever you’d like.

The small downside to Blink’s affordable outdoor cam is you can’t save video natively right out of the box. Instead, you’ll either need to sign up for the Blink Subscription plan to get cloud storage options or purchase a separate Blink Sync Module 2 hub to enable local storage.

Wyze Cam v3

The best cheap security camera

From the easy-to-install Wyze Lock to the versatile Wyze Cam Outdoor, the Wyzeportfolio has been growing at a rapid rate. Its latest offering is the incredible Wyze Cam v3, which like its predecessor, astounds with its unbelievably low cost of $36!

Following the same cube-shaped design, this newer model benefits from a sturdier IP65 construction that allows it to work outdoors while resisting harsh elements. It also features night vision, something that has been largely reserved for pricier models. The usefulness of color night vision is astounding since there are details you wouldn’t otherwise be able to detect from your standard black-and-white night vision clips.

Furthermore, the Wyze Cam v3 offers a slew of capture modes that even includes a handy time-lapse mode, various security and privacy controls, and local storage to ensure your footage stays with you. You get all of that in a security camera for well under $50. Quite frankly, it sets the benchmark in what we expect out of entry-level security cameras.

Logitech Circle View Doorbell

Best security cam for HomeKit integration

There’s no denying that there are fewer security cameras on the market that support Apple’s HomeKit. One of the best options is Logitech’s Circle View Doorbell, an excellent choice if you prefer to control everything via the Home app (it also works with Alexa and Google Home). The 1080p cam offers a 160-degree viewing angle, 6-foot night vision, and two-way audio for communication. If you have an iCloud+ subscription, you can also upgrade to facial recognition, custom detection zones, and more.

Since it’s a video doorbell, the cam includes a chime button and is designed to be placed directly by your door for easy porch/street-side viewing. Setup and installation require an iOS device using the Home app, so there’s no need to download any extra apps. The Logitech Circle View Doorbell features an assortment of privacy features to ensure it’s safe to have inside the home. They include things like automatic arming based on your phone’s GPS location, a dedicated button that effectively shuts off the camera, and the ability to swivel the camera completely downwards.

The Circle View Doorbell is a wired doorbell, so you’ll need the proper wired connection to make it work (the doorbell comes with multiple mounting options and a chime kit to help). There are battery-powered doorbell options available, like the Nest Doorbell, but none work with Apple as well as this model.

Eufy SoloCam E40

The best security camera without a subscription

Today’s security cameras have advanced features that are blocked off unless you subscribe to one of their subscription services. One common benefit to some of these services is that they’ll store recorded events in the cloud, so you can access them at any time with your mobile devices. The beauty of the Eufy SoloCam E40 is that you don’t need to pay for a subscription service to reap some of its rewards, like cloud storage.

You’ll find an all-in-one solution with the Eufy SoloCam E40 because not only does it cover all of the basics, like crisp night vision, activity zones, and long-lasting battery life on a single charge, but you don’t have to pay a monthly fee in order to access the footage it records. All of your clips are stored locally and encrypted, so you can access them at any time on your smartphone.

Best of all, it’s a breeze to set up and isn’t too expensive to buy on any budget. For what you pay, it’s sweet knowing there’s no additional cost out of your pockets after buying it.

Blink Wired Floodlight Camera

Best affordable floodlight

Pros

• Affordable

• Powerful floodlights

• Wired connection for constant power

Cons

• Installation can be challenging

• Not as sleek as other cameras

The Blink Wired Floodlight Camera is surprisingly powerful considering its list price of just $99. Featuring two gigantic floodlights that churn out up to 2600 lumens of brightness, it’s more than capable of lighting up your entire yard.

Beyond its great lighting abilities, it benefits from a 1080p camera that’s fully weather resistant. And even if your yard isn’t lit up, it can capture night-time footage in color. Toss in two-way audio, built-in security siren, motion alerts, and customizable motion zones, and it’s easy to see why the Blink Wired Floodlight Camera earned on spot on this list. It also works great with other Alexa devices — so give this one an even closer look if you’re using an Echo hub.

Like most products in this category, some of the Blink Wired Floodlight Camera’s features are locked behind a Blink Subscription Plan. We’d recommend springing for the Blink Basic Plan at $3/month. This gets you live view recording, 60-day video history, photo capture, person detection, and the option to create a local backup with the Sync Module 2.

Blink Mini Pan-Tilt

Best affordable indoor camera

Clocking in at just $35, the Blink Mini is a perfect fit for every budget. This indoor camera captures 1080p footage, can film in the dark using night vision, and even comes with built-in two-way audio. If you want to make it a more versatile device, you can add the Pan-Tilt mount, which lets you remotely swivel the camera to see more of your home (and it still only costs $60). It’s a bit quirky, but it’s hard to find a better indoor camera in this price range.

Arlo Essential Indoor Cam

Best indoor camera for privacy

If you’re worried about privacy, the Arlo Essential Indoor Camera has you covered. Not only does it film in 1080p and come with a robust smartphone app, but you can enable a built-in privacy shutter that ensures nothing is being filmed while you’re home. That alone will put it at the top of the list for many shoppers, and everyone else will benefit from a sleek design, impressive night vision, two-way audio, and highly customizable motion zones.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do home security cameras keep footage?

It depends. The amount and length of storage you get depend on factors like the specific model and whether you have a paid subscription or free plan. Some models, like Google, have a certain amount of free storage that can fill up over time. Others keep captured footage for a period (for example, seven days), then discard it. Subscriptions generally increase the time that footage can be held by a significant amount. However, it’s always a good idea to download a clip from the cloud right away if you will be using it for evidence. Local storage, like an SD card, is generally free to use and permanent, but you have to manage it manually.

Can home security cameras be hacked?

Technically, yes, although it’s uncommon. Customers have reported instances where hackers access their home security camera’s audio feed. To help protect your home security camera from hackers, use a strong non-default password, use two-factor authentication when available, secure your wireless network, and buy your home security camera new from a trusted source. You can learn more about how to protect your home security camera from hackers.

How do home security cameras work?

Most home security cameras stream video feeds using your home internet network. Video is automatically captured for a certain amount of time when motion near the camera is detected, and an alert is sent to the owner’s phone so they can watch and make decisions like whether to contact the authorities. They use an app as an interface where you can do things like view live video feeds, communicate using two-way audio, set up motion zones, and access cloud storage (or the camera’s internal storage or SD card storage). Most offer various kinds of night vision, and some include built-in spotlights.

Do home security cameras deter crime?

Yes. The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of North Carolina Charlotte asked burglars about their most effective deterrents. Just over 50% said the presence of outdoor security cameras was an effective deterrent (they’d seek another target if the home had security cameras outside).

Where do I place home security cameras?

The best place to put security cameras is at common entry points — the front door, back door, garage, and lower-level windows. However, you should also consider your area, your property, and any special circumstances that may require a different placement. For instance, if you have a lot of expensive automobiles on your property, you may want to have an outdoor camera covering your vehicles. Or, if you live in an area where there are a lot of second-floor break-ins, you might want security cameras covering the second floor.

Do all home security cameras require a subscription?

No. A subscription is not required for all home security cameras, however, many home security cameras provide more features if you purchase the subscription plan. That could include additional A.I. features, more cloud storage options, or a bundled monitoring plan. Without the subscription plan, your features may be limited.

The cloud storage option in particular depends on a subscription fee. Cloud storage allows you to use your account to access saved video footage from anywhere and download it onto your computer or another device for future use (typically footage is held in the cloud for a certain time from a week to two months, depending on the tier of service). Few smart cams these days offer cloud storage without requiring a subscription fee. Google’s Nest Doorbell is one of the few examples with effective free storage. However, local storage is always an alternative and only requires buying a compatible SD card.

Are home security cameras legal?

In general, yes. Home security cameras are legal to place in your own home. If you’re using home security cameras for a rental property (like an Airbnb home), they are typically legal, provided you are placing them in common areas and the rental guests are aware of their presence.

However, it is not legal to use security cams to capture footage where people have the expectation of privacy. Capturing footage on your porch is fine, because it’s your yard, and the street beyond it is a public area. But capturing footage of something like your neighbor’s backyard is illegal and has led to successful lawsuits. For another example, it is not legal to place a home security camera in a place like an Airbnb rental bathroom. Plus, that’s just creepy anyway.

Do home security cameras record sound?

Some can … but there’s always an option to turn sound recording off, and many models skip it altogether. That’s due to wiretapping laws, which often make it illegal to record sound on surveillance equipment. Even two-way audio communication may have limits depending on specific state rules, although it’s typically legal if the conversation isn’t being actively recorded.

How does Digital Trends test security cameras?

This is by no means an exhaustive list of home security cameras, but these are a few of our favorites that stand out for various unique reasons. Smart home cameras are at their best when they stay out of your way and offer worry-free operation and streamlined apps so that when you do need to interact with them, it doesn’t cause a headache. Good image quality is nice, but it’s not the most important feature when it comes to keeping your home safe or checking in on your kids or pets.

We look for cameras that offer a great combination of features — night vision, battery power, alerts, two-way audio, integration with other services, etc. — in determining the best ones. Obviously, we also take price into account, and there is quite a range of pricing in the current smart home camera market.

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Featured

The best music streaming services of 2024

By admin April 26, 2024

The best music streaming services of 2024, Music streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Qobuz, and Deezer have entirely changed how we explore, enjoy, and exchange music. They bring convenience and accessibility to all new levels.

Yet, with so many choices, selecting the right music streaming app might feel like a daunting task. Each platform offers a music collection featuring artists, albums, playlists, and podcasts. Additionally, they each have their interface designs and special features, like song lyrics display, offline downloads, AI-generated playlists, high-quality audio formats, and more.

We’ve compiled a list of the best music streaming services to assist you. We’ve tested them all, and our evaluation criteria include pricing plans, user interface experience, quality of tracks offered, and much more. Let’s get started!

Spotify

The best for most people

Pros

• Excellent UI

• Best-in-class discovery

• More than 100 million songs

• The biggest podcast network

• Fun special features

Cons

• No hi-res option … yet

• Glitchy performance at times

Specs
Plans (monthly):	Free / Individual: $11 / Duo: $15 / Student: $6 / Family: $17
Library Size:	More than 100 million tracks
Quality:	160kbps to 320kbps

When it comes to music streaming, Spotify is definitely one of the most recognizable brands on the planet. Launched in 2006, the platform is available across the globe, and is home to more than 100 million songs and growing. Spotify is also the world’s biggest podcast platform. Whether you’re rocking an iPhone, a Google Pixel, a laptop, or you’re in your car, there’s a good chance that Spotify is going to be compatible with your hardware.

Beyond the music archive, Spotify offers several different subscription options, including individual, family, and student plans, as well as a free version with ads. Spotify Premium users also receive unlimited track skips, 320kbps audio quality, and offline downloads for up to 10,000 songs across five devices. The company is also really good at keeping its user interface familiar and reliable from one hardware type to another.

Spotify is also great for sharing. Thanks to integrations with social platforms like Facebook and Instagram, your circle of pals will get to see what you’ve been jamming out to lately. You’ll even have the option of sharing songs with others and even creating collaborative playlists you can all add to. Additionally, no one is quite as good as Spotify at always adding and experimenting with new and fun features, like its AI-driven DJ and, most recently, its beta AI Playlist that lets you type Chat GPT-style text prompts to get it to curate playlists for you.

So, where does the service struggle? Track quality, for one. Unlike platforms like Tidal and Qobuz that place a big emphasis on hi-res audio, Spotify’s tracks are capped at 320kbps, which only the most critical of audiophiles will notice. Spotify’s long-awaited Hi-Fi tier may still see the light of day, though, so if it’s not a deal breaker, you could just wait it out. But if you just want a music streamer that offers tons of genres, playlists, and fun social features, Spotify is going to be your best bet.

Spotify

The best for most people

.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The best music streaming services of 2024

Apple Music

Perfect for Apple users who want hi-res audio

Pros

• More than 100 million songs

• Excellent hi-res options and Dolby Atmos

• Great interface

• Competitive pricing

Cons

• No free tier

• Can’t keep downloaded songs if you cancel

• No plan for couples

Specs
Plans (monthly):	Individual: $11 / Student: $6 / Family: $17
Library Size:	More than 100 million tracks
Quality:	256kbps AAC, 16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/48kHz, 24-bit/192kHz

Some folks will remember Apple’s original foray into digitized music from a little platform called iTunes that launched back in 2000. Paving the way for Apple’s streamlined interface and big music library, iTunes eventually evolved into Apple Music in 2015. A fierce competitor to rivals like Spotify and Tidal, Apple Music is simple to use, boasts a library of more than 100 million tracks, is available across multiple platforms, and even offers hi-res listening options.

Apple Music also lets you test the waters before enrolling in one of its many subscription options. With a one-month free trial, you’ll have plenty of time to get a good lay of the land, at which point you’ll need to shell out for a monthly subscription, which runs $6 for students, $11 for an Individual plan, and $17 for the Family plan.

Every tier gives you access to full playback controls, recommended music based on your listening habits, and some nice visual treats for your phone, tablet, and computer screens. We’re talking immersive album artwork, line-by-line lyrics, and intuitive search tools that make finding songs and artists a breeze.

As far as track quality is concerned, Apple’s audio far exceeds Spotify’s 320kbps cap, with lossless ALAC tracks that can get as high as 24-bit/192kHz. Apple Music also uses the smaller AAC format with resolution up to 256kbps and offers many tracks and albums in Dolby Atmos, which Apple brands as Spatial Audio. And while you’ll be able to share tracks with friends and family, Apple Music doesn’t offer the same social integrations as Spotify.

If you’re familiar with the design and UI of devices like the iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and Apple TV, you’re going to feel right at home using Apple Music. Both desktop and mobile interfaces are clean, simple, and easy to navigate, with just about everything you could need right at your fingertips. Plus, there are all kinds of smart speakers (such as Sonos and Apple’s HomePod) and smart displays that offer native Apple Music support.

Apple Music

Perfect for Apple users who want hi-res audio

.Derek Malcolm / Digital Trends

Tidal

Audiophile quality with wide device support

Pros

• More than 110 million tracks

• Some of the best hi-res tracks in the game

• Includes offline listening

• Works with many different types of devices

• Awesome playlist curations

Cons

• Weak podcast library

• Music discovery tools are not as good as others

• UI could be improved and more streamlined

Specs
Plans (monthly):	Indvidual: $11 / Family: $17 / Student: $6 / DJ Extension add-on: $9
Library Size:	More than 110 million tracks
Quality:	320kbps, 16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/192kHz

Regarding top-notch music streaming quality, Tidal is one of the best names in the business, bar none.

Renowned for its focus on excellent sound quality, Tidal gives you access to an immense library of songs in 16-bit/44.1kHz up to 24-bit/192kHz in various formats, including HiRes FLAC, Dolby Atmos, Sony 360 Reality Audio, FLAC, and Master Quality Authenticated (MQA). Not all of Tidal’s artists and albums are in hi-res, but there’s a good chance that several artists you enjoy have at least some hi-res offerings in the archive.

Diehard fans will also enjoy Tidal’s dedication to additional content, including videos and real-time streams, creating a more immersive musical experience. We’re also big fans of its artist-generated playlists.

In terms of cross-platform compatibility, Tidal is also available on a range of popular devices, from iOS and Android hardware to smart speakers, smart displays, streaming devices, and even native AV support from audio brands like Sonos and Harman Kardon through Tidal Connect. But what sets Tidal apart is its user-friendly interface. From apps to desktop versions, Tidal’s UI is designed to be clean, ultra-navigable, and tethered to your preferences, ensuring a comfortable and personalized experience.

Beginning in April 2024, Tidal removed its expensive HiFi plans, while still keeping its high-quality library. The best part? Its new plans are cheaper and more in line with what Apple Music, Spotify, and others are charging. This means you can enjoy premium music streaming without breaking the bank. You can try Tidal for free for the first 30 days of a new membership. The platform also offers discounts to students, military, and first responders, making it even more affordable.

If you’re looking for supreme audio quality and talented curation, you should give Tidal a try. Plus, you’ll be hard-pressed to find many of these high-resolution tracks elsewhere.

Tidal

Audiophile quality with wide device support

.Qobuz app’s home screen Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Qobuz

Audiophile quality for a little less

Pros

• Big hi-res music library

• Inspired editorial content

• Can purchase songs and albums without a subscription

• Free trial for Studio plan

Cons

• Lacks social listening features

• No podcasts

Specs
Plans (monthly):	Studio: from $11 / Sublime: from $180 per year
Library Size:	More than 100 million tracks
Quality:	16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/192kHz

A close competitor to Tidal, Qobuz is another music streaming platform that goes all in on the hi-res catalog. It is home to over 100 million tracks in lossless CD quality, and more than 240,000 albums in hi-res audio. Qobuz streams audio using high-quality FLAC files ranging from 16-bit/44kHz to 24-bit/192kHz, translating to some seriously good sound. Whether you’re listening through a pair of speakers or a pair of headphones, Qobuz tracks are going to sound about as good as they can get.

Qobuz offers two subscription plans, namely Studio and Sublime. Each plan has three levels to choose from. The Studio plan provides offline listening and a visually appealing desktop and mobile interface enriched with additional content such as artist bios, reviews, feature op-eds, and how-to guides. The Solo Studio level costs $13 per month, Duo costs $18 per month, and the Family plan (for up to six accounts) costs $22 per month. You can get discounts on these plans by opting for a yearly payment.

The Sublime subscription offers the same benefits as the Studio plan and up to 60% off many hi-res download purchases. However, you need to purchase a yearly subscription to get these benefits. The Solo Sublime plan costs $180/year, Duo costs $270/year, and the Family plan costs $350/year. Note that the Sublime subscription can only be purchased through a yearly payment, not monthly.

Oh, and we can’t forget this gem: You can pay to download Qobuz hi-res tracks and albums without a monthly subscription.

On the downside, Qobuz does not have Dolby Atmos tracks like Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music, and there are no podcasts or video content.

Qobuz

Audiophile quality for a little less

.Amazon

Amazon Music

Excellent value, hi-res audio, great for Prime customers

Pros

• Huge music library

• Lots of hi-res tracks and albums

• 90-day free trial

• Discounted plans for Amazon Prime members

• Discount for owning an Echo device

• Now offers a student plan

Cons

• Complicated subscription options

• Amazon Music only has shuffle mode

Specs
Plans (monthly):	With Prime: $10 / w/o Prime: $11 / Family: $17 / Single Device Owner: $6 / Student: $6
Library Size:	More than 100 million tracks
Quality:	320kbps, 16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/192kHz

Amazon Music is a unique streaming option, especially for those of us who are already paying for Amazon’s $139 annual Prime membership (or $15 per month). Like many platforms we’ve covered up to this point, Amazon Music offers both CD quality and lossless audio formats, Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio tracks, a large music library, and some awesome smart home integrations (especially for Alexa-powered devices). The “unique” descriptor is mainly aimed at Amazon Music’s pricing, though, which is complex, to say the least.

Are you an Amazon Prime member? Great! That means you’ll be able to get the ad-free Amazon Music Unlimited (AMU) for $10 per month, as opposed to the non-Prime member subscription tier, which costs $11 per month. If you’re interested in nabbing Amazon Music Unlimited and just so happen to own an Echo speaker, you can sign up for the Single Device Owner plan. It only costs $6 per month, but you’ll only be able to use AMU on that one device. Oh, and there’s also an AMU Family Plan for $17 per month ($169 per year) that covers up to six users.

The pricing isn’t impossible to understand, but figuring out which option makes the most sense for you and yours can be confusing. Plus, Amazon technically has two different music streaming options: Amazon Music Unlimited and Amazon Music Prime. The latter is built into your Amazon Prime membership and gives you access to Amazon’s entire music library, but playback is limited to shuffle mode, and you won’t be able to listen to any hi-res tracks either.

Whether you’re listening with Amazon Music Unlimited or Amazon Music Prime, Amazon Music looks great on mobile and desktop platforms. Unlimited subscribers also benefit from video content, offline downloads, and a fun scrolling lyrics feature.

Amazon Music

Excellent value, hi-res audio, great for Prime customers

.Deezer

Deezer

Somewhere in the Goldilocks zone

Pros

• Robust music library

• Offline downloads

• Includes video content and podcasts

• CD-level quality

• Can upload your own MP3s on desktop

• Duo plan is now available

Cons

• No hi-res

• Can’t upload MP3s using mobile devices

Specs
Plans (monthly):	Free / Premium: $12 / Family: $20 / Duo: $16 / Student: $6
Library Size:	More than 120 million tracks
Quality:	128kbps, 320kbps, 16-bit/44.1kHz

Deezer lives in the Goldilocks zone of music streaming options. It offers a bigger library than competitors like Spotify and Apple Music and has CD-quality music, but it doesn’t touch the top-shelf hi-res content you’ll find on platforms like Tidal and Qobuz. Price-wise, though, it’s weirdly more expensive than everyone except Tidal, but Tidal gives you hi-res. Its individual plan is $12 per month, and for that, you get access to unlimited listening, lyrics, video content, offline listening, and a few other features.

Deezer is also one of the only streaming platforms that lets you upload your own tracks. While the quality is limited to MP3, and you won’t be able to do any uploading with a mobile device, it’s nice to have the ability to spread your own library across multiple gadgets.

Deezer used to have a HiFi plan that was $15 per month, but now its 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC tracks are built into its Premium and Family plans. As mentioned, this is lower quality than top-tier plans from the likes of Tidal and Qobuz, but it still packs quite a punch. Deezer free tier customers can only access MP3 files up to 128kbps, though. On a positive note, like Spotify, there’s now a duo package available through Deezer for $16/month.

As for Deezer’s UI across desktop and mobile platforms, both versions are geared toward easy navigation through playlists, genre labels, and similar search criteria. There are also several recommended categories and an excellent podcast library to check out.

Deezer does a nice job at checking several of the most important boxes for what makes up a solid music streaming service. Hi-res devotees may want to look elsewhere, but we definitely think Deezer is worth trying out, so make the best of that 30-day free trial!

Deezer

Somewhere in the Goldilocks zone

.Derek Malcolm / Digital Trends

YouTube Music

The best of music and YouTube is all here

Pros

• Terrific music library

• Simple pricing model

• Intuitive user interface

• Cool community upload features

Cons

• No hi-res tracks

• No editorial content

Specs
Plans (monthly):	Free / Premium Individual: $11 / Family: $17 / Student: $5.50
Library Size:	More than 100 million tracks
Quality:	256kbps

Last but not least, we have YouTube Music. A rebranding and consolidation of multiple Google/YouTube paid services that came before it (including Google Play and YouTube Red), YouTube Music is your one-stop-shop for everything … music-related. Subscribers will have access to over 100 million tracks, podcasts, an intuitive lyrics tool, excellent playlists, and much more. Right off the bat, though, we’d like to let our hi-res fans know that YouTube Music caps its track quality at 256kbps.

That doesn’t mean you should look away, though. In fact, we think YouTube Music has a lot going for it when it comes to overall desktop and mobile interfaces. Navigating from one panel to the next is fast and easy, with most of what you’ll want to be listening to housed under the “Home” and “Library” tabs. The former is a hub for recommended content based on your listening habits, while the latter is the storage site for all your personal playlists, favorited songs and albums, and other user-specific features.

It’s also a thrill to watch YouTube Music sync up to your local time of day and weather conditions. These factors affect the type of music that the platform will recommend.

Regarding pricing, there’s only one paid subscription plan: YouTube Music Premium. This paid tier removes ads for desktop and mobile listening, grants you offline downloads, and gives you a sweet feature called Smart Downloads. When enabled, this lets YouTube Music automatically download your favorite songs, artists, and albums for offline listening and even adds in recommended tracks and albums.

And, of course, YouTube Music is packed with video content. When you search for a song or artist, you will get officially licensed media and see video results for YouTubers covering the song, lyric videos, and more.

YouTube Music

The best of music and YouTube is all here

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Android

The Best Smartwatches 2024

By admin April 22, 2024

The Best Smartwatches 2024, A GREAT TIMEPIECE doesn’t just display the time of day, it can elevate your outfit and make you feel good. The best smartwatches can do even more, from tracking your workouts and measuring your heart rate to serving up notifications and access to voice assistants. While you’re wearing a connected watch, you can leave your phone in your pocket and use your wrist for simple tasks.

The Apple Watch is our favorite for iPhone owners, but Samsung‘s Galaxy Watch6 and Google‘s Pixel Watch 2 are great wearables for anyone on Android. We also like several other options—in various styles and with different levels of smarts. Below is a roundup of the best smartwatches we’ve tested. Looking for a fitness or sleep tracker instead? We’ve got plenty more options in our Best Fitness Trackers, Best Fitbits, Best Garmin Watches, and Best Sleep Trackers guides.

The Best Smartwatches 2024

Updated April 2024: We’ve added the OnePlus Watch 2, Withings ScanWatch 2, and Casio Calculator Watch.

Best for iPhone Owners

Apple Watch Series 9

The Apple Watch is the best smartwatch money can buy. It has the best operating system, WatchOS, with plenty of apps to help reduce the number of times you need to pull out your phone. The Series 9 is nearly identical to its predecessor, the Series 8, but has the ability to process Siri requests on the device, making it snappier and more private (unless Siri needs to access the web for the answer).

That means you can ask the voice assistant about your health data from the week prior and get results quickly. This is thanks to the S9 chip, which is more efficient and delivers slightly better battery life—you’ll still need to regularly recharge the watch. The most exciting new feature is Double Tap. You can tap two fingers together on your watch hand to accept or reject calls, reply to messages, start or end timers, and more. It’s super handy.

There’s a new second-gen ultra-wideband chipset, which can help you precisely locate your iPhone at greater range. As usual, the health features remain robust. There’s an FDA-cleared electrocardiogram sensor, plus you can measure oxygen saturation in the blood (SpO₂)—helpful for athletes training at altitude or anyone with an underlying health condition. However, this feature is no longer available in the US on Apple Watches sold after January 18, 2024, due to a patent dispute. Our Best Apple Watch guide has more details, and check out our Apple Watch Accessories guide for extras.

Comes in 41-mm or 45-mm sizes.

★ A cheaper alternative: The second-gen Apple Watch SE ($220) is likely all you need. It debuted alongside the Series 8 in 2022 and is the model for those who balk at a $400 price and don’t need an electrocardiogram, SpO₂, the always-on display, or the skin temperature capabilities. It does have fall detection. Just take Apple’s claims of it being a carbon-neutral product with a grain of salt.

Best for Samsung Owners

Samsung Galaxy Watch6 and Watch6 Classic

The Galaxy Watch6 and Watch6 Classic don’t reinvent the wheel, but these round smartwatches are a great option for anyone with an Android smartphone, especially with Samsung owners as a few features like the electrocardiogram and irregular heart rate alerts only work when paired with Samsung phones (the watches don’t work with iPhones at all). Each model has two sizes you can choose from, with the option to spend more on an LTE version for constant connectivity even if your phone isn’t nearby.

I tested the Watch6 Classic in the 47-mm size, and it easily lasted two full days, and a day and a half with the always-on display. It’s dead simple to check notifications, respond to messages, and even control your smart home devices via SmartThings or Google Home. The Classic is the model with the mechanical rotating bezel, which is what you can use to scroll through the Wear OS interface—it’s way more fun to use than most other watches that rely only on a touchscreen.

Its health and fitness functions are satisfactory, with nice sleep-tracking data and robust activity-tracking options, and it has excellent auto-start and auto-pause capabilities. However, I did notice some discrepancies in heart rate measurements during select workouts.

Watch6 comes in 40-mm or 44-mm sizes. Watch6 Classic comes in 43-mm or 47-mm sizes.

Best for Android Owners

Google Pixel Watch 2

The original Pixel Watch was missing a lot of features when it launched, but Google slowly added them over a year. That means the Pixel Watch 2 pretty much has everything you’d want. There’s auto-start and auto-stop workout detection, fall detection, SpO₂ measurements, and even a redesigned Fitbit app that looks much more modern. Google has even added Safety Check this time around, allowing you to share your location with emergency contacts if you don’t respond after a certain time. A Body Response feature also can detect good and bad stress and offer ways to cope, like with a guided breathing session.

This is easily still the prettiest smartwatch in my eyes, and it’s super comfy on the wrist. It also nails its health and fitness features, from reliable heart rate and sleep-tracking data to an improved workout screen that shows you the most important information at a glance, including heart rate zones. You can take electrocardiograms and monitor for an irregular heart rate too.

The battery life is unfortunately just OK—it’ll last about a day—and this watch is also not repairable. If you have issues, you’ll have to get a replacement under the one-year warranty. I also don’t love that it has yet another proprietary charger that is different from the original Pixel Watch charger, though it does juice up the smartwatch quicker.

Comes in a 41-mm size.

PHOTOGRAPH: GARMIN

Best Fitness Watch

Garmin Vivomove Trend

Fitness watches are typically not as sleek or simple to operate as more robust smartwatches, but the Vivomove Trend oozes elegance. This is also the first Garmin to include wireless charging, which means you’re now free to ditch your annoying Garmin plug-in charger.

The watch has it all—wireless charging, blood oxygen measurements, sleep tracking, auto-activity tracking, and Garmin’s proprietary and excellent algorithms for measuring your fitness. It’s a little clunky to operate—it’s not anywhere near as feature-rich as the other smartwatches above—but that might be OK if you prioritize battery life as this tracker can last five days on a single charge. Read our Best Fitness Watches guide for more recommendations.

Comes in a 40.4-mm size.

PHOTOGRAPH: APPLE

Best for iPhone Weekend Warriors

Apple Watch Ultra 2

Frequently escaping to the hills every weekend? If your activities often take you to remote areas in rough terrain, then it might be smart to pony up for the expensive, uber-durable, and gigantic Apple Watch Ultra 2. A bigger watch means a bigger battery—we got nearly four days with normal use. The Ultra 2 has better mics than the Series 9 to pick up your voice, an 86-decibel siren to alert your position to anyone nearby, and a more precise GPS to better track your hikes (plus help you find your way back with the Backtrack feature).

There’s a spare customizable button on the left side called the Action Button, which you can use to trigger an activity of your choosing. It’s made of titanium, and the case rises up to protect the edges of the display, which is also covered with scratch-resistant sapphire crystal.

New in the Ultra 2 is the ability for the screen to hit a crazy bright 3,000 nits, which is a little overkill and really only meant for extreme situations. This smartwatch is faster, with the same new S9 chipset as the Series 9, supports Double Tap, and Siri processes basic interactions much more quickly. You can see topographic maps on the screen, but there’s still no way to view offline maps without an iPhone.

Comes in a 49-mm size.

The Calculator Watch

Casio CA53W-1CR Calculator Watch

It’s a calculator … on a watch. How much smarter can you get? Seriously, the buttons might be tiny, but you can calculate how much your tip will be when grabbing the bill at the restaurant, and everyone will marvel at your brilliance. This cheapo watch from Casio is a classic—it’s comfy and lightweight—and you can cycle through a few modes, including a stopwatch, an alarm, and a second time zone. There’s a five-year battery life, and the fully automatic calendar goes through the year 2099 (that’s 15 battery changes).

Comes in a 43-mm size.

Great Battery Life

OnePlus Watch 2

The OnePlus Watch 2 is great for anyone with an Android phone looking for a Wear OS smartwatch that prioritizes battery life. It can last roughly three days on a single charge, a little more if you enable some power-saving settings. Technically, this watch is powered by two chipsets and two operating systems to enable this feat of battery longevity, but the user experience is very similar to that of the Galaxy Watch6 or Pixel Watch 2, just with OnePlus taking the helm on the health and fitness features. It’s worth noting that this is a large watch, so consider it carefully if you have small wrists.

Health capabilities are lacking—there’s no fall detection or electrocardiogram—but there’s sleep tracking, and it’s generally pretty accurate. Some features, like heart-rate tracking, distance traveled, and steps, have mixed accuracy in our testing, which means you shouldn’t buy this smartwatch if you’re primarily using it for those functions. Otherwise, I was able to control my smart home devices via Google Home, control my music playback, respond to Slack messages, and delete those pesky emails—all without having to take my phone out of my pocket.

Comes in a 46-mm size.

PHOTOGRAPH: WITHINGS

An Analog-Looking Smartwatch

Withings ScanWatch 2

Withings’ ScanWatch 2 can pass for an analog watch. Its health-tracking feature set is comprehensive—you get heart rate monitoring, an electrocardiogram, blood oxygen measurements, and sleep tracking. Battery life is stellar too, as it can live up to 30 days with light use. (Heavier usage will see roughly 22 days before needing a charge.)

The main problem is the tiny display on this watch, which is too small to read some notifications. The GPS is also connected, meaning it requires your phone to be tethered and nearby. There’s an optional Health+ subscription, but we’d advise against it, as it doesn’t offer much utility. The ScanWatch 2, like the Garmin Vivomove Trend, doesn’t have the rich features and apps you’ll find on the likes of an Apple Watch, but if you just want to monitor your health data—and you don’t want your watch to look too techy—this will do the job.

PHOTOGRAPH: CASIO

Best Barely Smart Watch

Casio ProTrek PRW-61

I had this Casio on my wrist for more than a month and used one of its handful of functions every single day, something I can’t say for many smartwatches. I used the stopwatch to track my rest intervals between sets at the gym. I set my world time to New Delhi, India, the time zone my sister is in. I’ve used the compass to navigate when I emerge from the subway in New York City and can’t get my bearings, and I’ve learned to read the barometer—mostly just to see how cool it is to predict the weather without having to ask a voice assistant.

I love how this watch looks. It’s rugged and outdoorsy, but still relatively classy. Even better, it’s incredibly comfortable to wear. Seriously, I never took it off in the month I tested it. It’s been fine in the shower and through workouts. I love that it’s made of biomass plastics from regenerative resources, such as castor seeds and corn.

Don’t let that worry you about durability; I’ve been through a move, dinging it on various walls, got paint on it, and yet it looks pristine. The dial is easy to read—the indices glow or you can press a button right below the case to light ’em all up for nighttime visibility. And you never need to recharge it. Casio’s Tough Solar tech means it recharges itself via sunlight.

Comes in a 47.4-mm size.

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PHOTOGRAPH: CASIO

Honorable Mentions

Other Watches We Sorta Like

The number of smartwatches on the market is staggering. I’ve tested models from Tag Heuer, Citizen, Montblanc, and many other fashion brands, but most of them are simply too expensive for what you get. Here are a few options I like.

Apple Watch Series 8 for $329: If you can find the 2022 Apple Watch Series 8 for a good deal less than the Series 9 (under $300), you should snag it. It’s nearly identical to the latest model, especially the health features. Save your cash!

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 for $229 and Watch5 Pro for $380: The 2022 Galaxy Watch5 and Watch5 Pro are still great, just make sure you pay less than the price of the new Galaxy Watch6 models. They match the Apple Watch’s accuracy in several health and fitness metrics, from SpO₂, sleep, and heart-rate tracking to electrocardiogram measurements (though the latter is exclusive to Samsung phones).

The Watch5 Pro is larger and has a battery that lasts roughly two full days, whereas the Watch5 lasts around a day and a morning. The Pro also adds GPX, meaning you can download hiking routes to the watch. They have sapphire crystals protecting the screen, but the Watch5 Pro’s crystal is even more durable, and it has a stronger titanium case versus the standard Watch5’s aluminum.

Casio G-Shock Move DW-H5600 for $299: Want a G-Shock with a heart rate monitor? The DW-H5600‘s measurements lined up well with the Apple Watch, but if you’re serious about tracking your health, I think you’re better off buying something from our Best Fitness Trackers guide. The buttons are a bit tough to press, and there aren’t a ton of workouts you can track (running, walking, gym workouts).

You can sift through a good amount of data in the app, though I was left wanting more, and battery life lasted me roughly three days with continuous monitoring. It can recharge via solar, but you will need to use the bulky charging clip every few days. I still enjoyed wearing it, even if I didn’t find it as useful as our above picks. You can use it to track different time zones, your movements via the GPS during a workout, and even sleep.

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PHOTOGRAPH: MONTBLANC

Avoid These Smartwatches

Not every smartwatch is a winner. Here are a few ones we’ve tried that aren’t worth the dough.

Fossil Gen 6 Wellness for $199: This Fossil watch is just too laggy for how much it costs. It’s not optimized well, so it’s frustrating to use; its fitness app is a little too bare-bones. I also ran into an annoying bug where some features kept turning on and off. The battery life is also lackluster. The company is also officially exiting the smartwatch business, so it’s best to stay away.

Montblanc Summit 3 for $1,270: This is a beautiful (and large) smartwatch, and it runs Wear OS 3, but that doesn’t mean it’s worth the high price. There’s no speaker, no Google Assistant, and the fitness features feel half-baked. It just doesn’t offer all that much other than a pretty face.

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PHOTOGRAPH: NATALYA TROFIMCHUK/GETTY IMAGES

Swap Your Straps

Fresh Band

You don’t need to stick with the strap you get in the box! Nearly every smartwatch these days has straps that can easily be swapped out. Apple Watches and Google’s Pixel Watch have a proprietary strap system, but analog watch straps will work for others, making your options nearly endless. All you need to do is figure out the strap size of your smartwatch. You can usually find this on the back of the strap itself (you’ll see “20 mm” or just “22”), or you can check the manual or the website you purchased the watch from. It’s an easy way to further match your timepiece to your look.

NENA FARRELL

Buyers Beware

Know What You Buy

Search Amazon for “smartwatches” and you’ll be greeted with a long list of devices from brands you’ve probably never heard of. One brand that frequently popped up is Yamay, but a quick visit to the company’s Twitter page showed that it offered “full refunds” for people who post reviews. Look at the 1-star reviews and you’ll see complaints of the watch malfunctioning after a few weeks of use. This is a warning not to buy the first thing you see, even if it’s cheap and has plenty of positive reviews on Amazon. Research the company and look for other reputable websites that have reviewed the products before you make your decision.

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The 8 best QLED TVs for 2024

By admin March 7, 2024

When it comes to ultra-powerful brightness, next-level local dimming, and rich colors, a solid QLED TV delivers all of the above, and more! Available from some of the best TV brands of 2024, including Samsung, Sony, TCL, and Hisense, QLED TVs are exceptionally great for those of us watching movies and shows in brightly lit rooms.

The best QLED TVs are also optimized for next-gen gaming, thanks to HDMI 2.1 support and frame-rate features like Variable Refresh Rate, Nvidia G-Sync, and AMD FreeSync.

Audio quality is just as important, and the best QLED TVs support many leading surround sound formats, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Still, it doesn’t hurt to think about investing in a soundbar or dedicated speaker system, especially if you’re really into cinema and gaming.

With new models right around the corner, our favorite QLEDs are still 2023 highlights, but many sets are priced lower than ever before! So nab these models while you still can!

Samsung QN90C Neo QLED

The best overall QLED TV

It’s hard not to love a Samsung TV. Over the last decade or so, the manufacturer has consistently delivered one amazing set after another, and has been producing some top-notch QLEDS for several years now. We were huge fans of the 2022 Samsung QN90B, and now we’re more than glad to sing the praises of our favorite 2023 QLED, the incredible Samsung QN90C. Available in sizes ranging from 43 to 85 inches, the QN90C is going to be the best QLED for most folks; although some may be interested in taking things a step further with the flagship performance of the Samsung S95C QD-OLED.

As for those of us who choose to remain with a more traditional QLED, the QN90C has it all. We’re talking near-impeccable HDR performance, chart-topping peak brightness levels, terrific reflection handling, and some of the best gaming features you’ll find in 2023. Many of these features are further enriched by Samsung’s Neural Quantum Processor 4K, which optimizes each and every source to give you as much picture detail as possible, whether you’re watching brand-new Netflix 4K HDR releases or your vintage DVD collection.

When it comes to contrast, QLED TVs are also getting better at acting more like OLEDs, which bodes well for those of us who want our movies and TV shows to be packed with rich colors and amazing black levels. The QN90C is an LED-powered TV, and we did notice a bit of light blooming during darker scenes, but that’s a small grievance about an otherwise remarkable picture.

The 8 best QLED TVs for 2024

Also Read : Best Free Productivity Apps to Be Efficient in 2024

Sony Bravia X93L mini-LED

The best not-quite QLED alternative

While Sony doesn’t claim to use quantum dots (it call its tech Triluminos Pro) and doesn’t market its TVs as QLEDs, they compete right alongside the TVs on this list that are marketed as QLED. So, if you’re considering a “QLED” TV based on the idea that they are top-tier LED/LCD TV performers, then you should also be considering this Sony option, never mind that it doesn’t have QLED printed on the box.

With that out of the way, we give you the Sony Bravia X93L mini-LED, a 2023 TV that picks up where last year’s excellent flagship Sony X95K mini-LED TV left off, but for a much better price. In fact, the X93L is identical to the X95K but with a handful of software improvements, including better eco settings management, new black level adjustments for better fine-tuning of darker scenes (if you’re a Game of Thrones fan), and a new gaming dashboard

that lets you switch between 60Hx and 120Hz VRR. It’s bright (at 1,800 peak nits), has beautiful color reproduction, supports all the HDR contrasty things you need (HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision), and is excellent for gamers, too, with VRR, auto low latency mode, and HDMI 2.1 support.

If you’re a fan of Sony soundbars, too, you can take advantage of the X93L’s ability to sync the TV’s speakers with select soundbars to help with clearer dialog and immersion. It’s also Dolby Atmos capable. The X93L is a new spin on one of Sony’s best TVs for 2023, but without the premium “Sony tax.“

TCL QM8 QLED 4K mini-LED

One of the brightest TVs we’ve ever seen

New for 2023, TCL is at it again with its lineup of mini-LED QLED TVs that continue to prove that you can have high-end features and quality at prices that are way more reasonable than the marquee TV brands. And the TCL QM8 is literally the brand’s shining example … blindingly shiny with peak brightness levels of 2,500 nits in our tests, making it one of the brightest TVs we’ve ever seen. Our reviewer was so impressed with the QM8, in fact, that he praised it as his “go-to TV recommendation for probably 90% of people this year.”

In-line with QLED’s ability to deliver bright images that are great for those setting up their TV in a light-drenched room, the MQ8 also has it where it counts in the contrast area, too, with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10, HRD10+, and HLG, and excellent local dimming that also make it a good performer in darker rooms with decent black levels. Are they as inky as OLED? No, but not much is, and with OLED still costing a premium, it’s getting harder and harder to make a viable case for spending the extra cash. The QM8’s mini-LED technology delivers excellent color accuracy, too, with 97% coverage of DCI-P3 and about 76% of BT.2020 color gamuts.

The TCL QM8 is a Google TV-based TV, which makes for easy setup and use as well as access to all the streaming services and apps you could ever want via the Google Play Store, plus it’s got Chromecast built-in for easy mirroring and casting from your devices.

With a 120Hz refresh rate, fast-action movies are smooth, and gamers will appreciate the TV’s support for variable refresh rate (VRR) and Game Accelerator that boosts things up to 240Hz and AMD FreeSync Pro for even smoother gameplay.

The TCL QM8 also features a built-in subwoofer for bigger bass sound, but you’re still probably going to want an external soundbar. Available in 65-, 75-, 85-, and 98-inch sizes, the TCL QM8 ranges in price from $1,200 to $10,000.

Hisense U8K ULED TV

Unbeatable brightness for an unbeatable price

We can’t stop talking about Hisense TVs. When Hisense models first started hitting U.S. shelves, they were decent TVs, but they were certainly aimed at a more price-conscious shopper, with cost valued more than performance. Fast-forward to today, and Hisense has carved out quite the name for itself — and not just because of how much you won’t spend on a model like the U8K.

This is one mean QLED, folks. In our own testing of the TV, the Hisense U8K rocked the house when it came to peak brightness levels, delivering readings around 2,000 nits when viewing HDR content. Tech talk aside, this means that the U8K can get insanely bright, and without colors becoming oversaturated. That’s the biggest feat, really. Yes, most QLEDs can get very bright, but this tends to interfere with overall color accuracy and contrast. That’s just not the case with the U8K.

Available in 55-, 65-, and 75-inch sizes, the Hisense U8K tops out at 4K/120Hz on its two full-bandwidth HDMI inputs, and also includes Hisense’s Game Mode Pro for those of us hooking up a next-gen console or PC to the TV. And as a little bonus, those two HDMI 2.1 ports will actually push 4K at 144Hz when compatible PC gear is wired up.

The Hisense U8K’s price is a massive calling card, no doubt, but if you’re looking for a hard-hitting QLED that goes above and beyond the “cost-friendly” slabel, do allow Hisense’s flagship model to blow your mind.

TCL Q7 QLED

Great for gaming

We’ve been very impressed by TCL’s Mini LED models over the last few years, so it’s no surprise that the brand gets more than one mention in our roundup. Sitting one rung below the QM8, the TCL Q7 is another awesome QLED that competes with models like the Hisense U7K and the Sony X90L. We tested the 65-inch version ourselves (it’s also available in 55-, 75-, and 85-inch sizes), and were taken aback by the Q7’s high brightness output and vivid colors.

Now as far as nit metrics go, the TCL Q7 is a bit on the lackluster side Not only did it score some so-so peak brightness readings (around 1,100 nits) with HDR playback, but the meh results found their way into SDR content too (about 700 nits for peak brightness). Compared to TVs like the Hisense U8K, the Q7 just doesn’t touch the kind of QLED brightness of some of its competitors, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to love about it.

Two of the Q7’s four HDMI inputs are full-bandwidth 2.1 ports that support 4K at up to 120Hz. It also runs the latest version of Google TV for all your Netflix and Prime Video streaming needs. Plus, you’ll be able to use Google Assistant to search for media and control your smart home devices, and there’s also AirPlay and HomeKit support.

In a way, we love the TCL Q7 because it’s not a perfect QLED. But what it does well, it tends to do very well, and the price just can’t be beat.

Samsung QN900C Neo QLED TV

The best 8K QLED

Many consumer tech companies put the cart before the horse, and the world of TVs may be one of the biggest offenders when it comes to horse-less transportation. In the case of a TV like the Samsung QN900C, our equestrian analogy is best represented by a hardware versus software comparison. Quite simply, the QN900C is an amazing 8K TV, but we’re still living in a world that is primarily dominated by 4K and 1080p content.

Fortunately, Samsung’s next-gen QLED has some fantastic picture processing tech under its hood. The QN900C is outfitted with Samsung’s Quantum Matrix Pro, which itself is powered by mini-LED lighting. Translation, please? You got it! Matrix Pro is Samsung’s fancy-pants terminology for local dimming zones (a small block of LED lights), and because the QN900C uses mini LEDs, the QLED has a lot of control zones. At the end of the day, this means you can expect the QN900C to deliver excellent peak brightness and color brightness to the parts of the panel that require said brightness, while the rest of the screen is enshrouded in darkness (that’s a good thing).

And because this is an 8K TV, the QN900C will upscale whatever 4K or regular high-def HDR and SDR sources you feed it. Of course, you won’t be looking at a true 8K image, but it’ll be dang close! This is also an Infinity One Samsung QLED, which means the chassis is extremely thin and there’s essentially no physical frame to speak of. So, when it comes time to plug in your components, you’ll be doing so with the TV’s external One Connect box (because there’s no HDMI ports on the TV itself).

If you’re into future-proofing your consumer tech, the Samsung QN900C is an 8K TV that will rule your home theater setup for years to come.

Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED

The best budget QLED TV

Amazon has been making its own TVs for a few years now, and while these models definitely err toward the more “budget-friendly” side of the price and quality spectrums, we’ll admit that we were pretty impressed by the Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED series. Available in 43-, 55-, 65-, and 75-inch sizes, the Omni QLED delivers a pretty great picture. Now, it’s not the touting the most amazing specs and features in town, and the fact that the Omni QLED only tops out at 60Hz is a bit disappointing, but where the Omni QLED truly shines is in its Fire TV smart UI.

From the ground up, this is a TV built around Amazon’s larger smart home ecosystem, to the point where the Omni QLED has Alexa built right into it. This means you can fire off voice commands right from your living room couch, as well as control everything from smart lights and locks to web-connected security systems. You’ll even be able to see a live view from any compatible smart cameras right on your TV screen. And when the Omni QLED is powered down, you’ll be able to use the Fire TV Ambient Experience to display artwork and photos.

Other add-ons like Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive support bring a few more picture perks to sweeten the deal. Again, the Fire TV Omni QLED may not be the best QLED ever made, but it’s definitely worth adding to our list.

TCL 6-Series (R646)

Another great QLED

In 2021, TCL introduced mini-LED backlighting on the 6-Series, proving that the miniaturized light sources can make a big difference in contrast, black levels, and detail. And based on our hands-on experience with the R646, we love the end result.

Brightness soars with this TV, especially when it comes to peak nit output. The vivid visuals are present when it comes to color brightness too, making for a budget QLED that is packed with lots of punch and kick in the picture department, and for a relatively low price.

The 6-Series is also optimized for gaming, with its four HDMI inputs supporting 4K/120Hz, making this a blistering-fast choice for PS5 and Xbox Series X enthusiasts. In terms of overall picture upscaling, the 6-Series doesn’t touch the kind of cleanup powers you’ll find on higher-priced sets from Samsung and Sony, but for those of us that plan to do most of our TV-watching with Netflix and other mainline streaming apps, the TCL 6-Series (R646) is an excellent budget option.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is QLED TV?

The “Q” in QLED stands for quantum dot, a nanoparticle that emits light when energized. Quantum dots can be tuned to emit specific wavelengths of light, so TV makers add green and red quantum dots in a layer over their blue LED backlights, which creates a much purer white light than a single LED backlight can create on its own. With a pure white backlight, the TV’s color filters can produce much more accurate colors, leading to significantly better picture quality than regular LED TVs.

UHD vs. QLED: What’s the difference?

UHD stands for ultra-high definition, also known as 4K. It’s a description of resolution, or the number of pixels that make up an on-screen image. It can refer to the resolution of a specific piece of content (many streaming services offer movies in UHD) as well as the native resolution of a TV. QLED refers to the kind of display technology a TV uses (see above). QLED TVs come in various native resolutions, from HD to 8K, including UHD.

Is QLED better than OLED?

It depends. Right now, QLED TVs are capable of getting brighter than OLED TVs, which deliver better black levels and contrast. We feel that OLED TVs still produce a better overall picture quality, but if your viewing area is especially bright, or if you want a really big screen, QLED models might be a better choice for you.

Is QLED the best TV technology?

Once again, it depends on your particular situation. For instance, if you want a TV for your patio, where it will experience partial or full sun, an OLED TV simply won’t get bright enough to compete with all that daylight, and a QLED TV is definitely superior. On the other hand, if you can darken your media room whenever you want, an OLED TV will still deliver the deepest blacks and highest contrast.

What should I look for in a QLED TV?

Finding the right QLED TV for you is all about balancing size, picture quality, features, and price. First, figure out your budget, then prioritize the rest of your list. If getting the biggest TV for your money is the top priority, you’ll be able to find 75-inch and larger models from brands like TCL, Vizio, Hisense, and LG that are still quite affordable. If picture quality matters more – especially when viewing HDR material – you should choose a model with a very high peak brightness. If gaming is a top consideration, make sure you find a model that’s equipped with VRR, ALLM, and 4K at 120Hz for the best possible experience.

Which is the best Samsung QLED TV?

Samsung has two flagship QLED models depending on whether you want 8K resolution. The QN900C is the company’s top 8K model, and the QN90C is its top 4K model.

Are QLED TVs good for gaming?

Yes, but picking the right model is key. You’ll want to look for a TV that has the latest HDMI 2.1 features, like VRR, ALLM, and 4K at 120Hz. Another feature that gamers will appreciate is support for AMD’s FreeSync or Nvidia’s G-Sync, which are two proprietary VRR technologies used by game consoles like the Xbox Series X and many gaming PCs.

Do QLED TVs have problems with burn-in?

No. Burn-in is a permanent form of image retention caused by leaving the same image on a TV for many hours at a time. In OLED TVs, this can cause individual pixels to age prematurely, leaving the “shadow” of some parts of the image on screen even after the image has changed. Because QLED TVs use a backlight for their brightness, their pixels aren’t susceptible to this kind of uneven aging.

How long do QLED TVs last?

Theoretically, a QLED TV will outlast an OLED TV, at least in terms of maximum brightness, because OLED pixels lose their ability to produce brightness at a faster rate than a QLED TV’s backlight. But you would likely have to keep your TV on for eight hours a day, seven days a week, for many, many years before this difference became noticeable. That said, a QLED TV should last a decade or more as long as none of its individual components fail — something that can be hard to predict even for the best TVs.

When will QLED prices drop?

QLED prices, much like OLED prices, are dropping all the time. A few years ago, you’d need to spend well over $2,000 for a 65-inch QLED TV. Today, you can find them for less than half that price.

Is a QLED worth it?

Definitely. If you have a choice between a standard LED TV and a QLED TV, the QLED model will deliver brighter, more accurate colors, which should yield a better image overall. And as QLED TVs become the norm for non-OLED models, you won’t have to pay much of a price premium to get one.

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Best outdoor security cameras 2024

By admin January 8, 2024

Best outdoor security cameras 2024, If you’re shopping for the best outdoor security cameras of 2024, you’ll want to find something that’s weatherproof, captures high-quality footage, and works well at night. It’s also important to consider your budget and ongoing subscriptions that may be required to access premium features such as cloud saving and person detection.

Regardless of your budget, there’s an outdoor security camera that’ll fit your needs. From premium products crafted by Ring to budget-friendly options like those from Wyze, there are dozens of well-reviewed models that are perfect for protecting your home.

In fact, some of the best outdoor security cameras also double as floodlights, allowing you to light up your yard. Others are wireless for easy installation, while a handful require wired connections (though this allows for continuous monitoring).

Below, you’ll find a list of the best outdoor security cameras of 2024. You can’t go wrong with any of them, but each one caters to a specific audience and budget, so take a closer look at each to figure out which is best for your home.

John Velasco / Digital Trends

Arlo Pro 4

Best outdoor security camera

The Arlo Pro 3 was our pick for the best outdoor security camera for some time, but after testing the Arlo Pro 4, it brings a couple of new additions that help it earn our top pick. Just like its predecessor, it packs 2K video resolution and a wide 160-degree viewing angle. Also included are a weatherproof camera with color night vision, a built-in LED spotlight, and a built-in siren that can alert you to danger.

What makes this model superior is the fact that it no longer is tethered to a hub in order to talk with your home’s Wi-Fi network. You won’t need it this time, which certainly streamlines the setup process. And best of all, not only does it perform as exquisitely as the Arlo Pro 3 when it comes to safeguarding your home, but it now boasts a lower starting cost of $200 for a single camera, whereas the Arlo Pro 3 started at $500 for a 2K camera system.

The Arlo Pro 4 includes a three-month free trial of Arlo Smart, which gives you access to advanced features like 30 days of recording history, activity zones, enhanced 911 calling, and advanced detection features.

Best outdoor security cameras 2024

.Arlo

Arlo Pro 5S 2K

Best premium outdoor security camera

Pros

• Captures 2K footage

• Low Power mode extends battery life

• Impressive 160-degree field of view

Cons

• Expensive

• Very similar to the more-affordable Arlo Pro 4

The Arlo Pro 5S 2K doesn’t cut any corners. Featuring a camera that captures 2K video, a wide field of view, sleek design, and color night vision, few products can match its performance. Unfortunately, all those features come at a price, as the Arlo Pro 5S 2K clocks in at $250.

That makes it one of the most expensive security cameras on this list, but if money is no object, it deserves a closer look. Not only does it offer every feature found on our beloved Arlo Pro 4, but it also features Dual-Band Wi-Fi for simplified installation, SecureLink Connectivity that allows it to stay protected during power outages, and a Low Power Mode that offers a 30% boost to battery life.

But beyond those features, it’s eerily similar to its cheaper sibling. Still, if you need an outdoor security camera that’s as cutting-edge as possible, you can’t do better than the Arlo Pro 5S.

Wyze Cam v3

Best budget outdoor security camera

Night vision is a vital feature for every outdoor security cam — you don’t want the darkness to hide any detail, especially if something like a break-in happens. While our top cam picks include various kinds of night vision, Wyze’s indoor/outdoor cam is particularly notable thanks to its Starlight Sensor, which can record night-time video in full color for users.

This wired cam includes all the other smart features that make Wyze’s cams a great pick, including a motion and sound sensor for alerts, detection zones, sensitivity settings that you can tweak for best results, and two-way audio for communication. It’s also compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant and is friendly with IFTTT if you’d like to set up complex routines based on the alerts the cam gives you.

The Wyze Cam v3 also has one of the best free video storage options around, with a 14-day cloud storage option for video clips at zero cost. There’s also an SD card slot for local storage if you prefer that method. While it’s an indoor/outdoor cam, you don’t need to worry: All the outdoor IP65 resistances are included for all types of weather.

Ring Spotlight Cam Pro

Best wireless outdoor security cam

Amazon’s update to the Ring Spotlight Cam is an excellent option for those who don’t want a full floodlight camera, but would still like lots of illumination for their porch, patio, or driveway. The surprisingly bright LED lights on either side of the cam can be set to light up along with the motion detection features.

There’s a little bit of everything packed into the Spotlight Cam Pro’s design, including basics like 1080p video, night vision, and two-way audio. But Ring also has some extras, like a siren you can sound, advanced 3D motion detection, and a “Bird’s Eye” view option that gives you a model for where a subject may have gone. We also like that it’s battery-powered with an option to plug into an outlet.

As with all Ring cams, you will really want a Ring Protect plan to enable video storage and video sharing, but otherwise, this is the most comprehensive wireless security cam we’ve seen to date.

Blink Wired Floodlight Camera

Best floodlight camera

Blink makes plenty of great outdoor cameras, but few are as great as the Blink Wired Floodlight Camera. As one of the newest members of the Blink family, the Wired Floodlight Camera offers heaps of functionality despite its budget-friendly price of $99.

In case the name didn’t give it away, the Blink Wired Floodlight Camera isn’t just an outdoor camera – it’s also a floodlight. And a bright one at that, capable of producing 2,600 lumens of LED light. You’ll also benefit from motion detection, a wired connection that offers a constant power supply, and color night vision. Its design is a bit bulkier than others on this list, but that’s largely due to the massive floodlights that loom over the camera.

Anyone in the market for an outdoor camera that’s both affordable and powerful (and comes with shockingly bright floodlights) should give strong consideration to Blink’s new product. But if you’re looking for something with a more streamlined design, consider looking back at the Ring Spotlight Cam Pro mentioned above.

.Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

Ring Stick Up Cam Pro

Best indoor and outdoor security camera

Pros

• Easy installation process

• 1080p video with HDR support

• Can also double as an indoor cam

Cons

• Expensive

• No privacy shutter

It’s a bit expensive, but you’re getting a lot of value out of this investment. The Ring Stick Up Cam Pro is designed to work both indoors and outside – giving it plenty of versatility. Along with its weatherproofing, the camera offers HDR video and films in 1080p, supports two-way audio, and is easy to install thanks to its wire-free setup.

One minor sticking point is its lack of a built-in privacy shutter. That might be an issue if you’re using it indoors, though you can quickly toggle alerts off and disarm the camera from the Ring smartphone app. But if you have it installed outside, you likely won’t miss the feature. You’ll also want to spring for a monthly Ring subscription to unlock additional features such as cloud saves and smart alerts.

Beyond those minor quirks, there’s not much to dislike about this powerful outdoor camera. Homes with other Ring products already installed will love how easy it is to sync the device with the rest of their smart home, and Ring newcomers will enjoy its high-quality images, simple setup, and generous 155-degree viewing angle.

Ring Stick Up Cam Pro

Best indoor and outdoor security camera

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I place outdoor security cameras?

FBI crime data indicates that most (around 55%) home intruders try to get into homes through either the front or back door. So, you may want to have your security camera scoping out your doors. It’s also a good idea to cover other entry points, like back windows, that are hidden away where someone could break in without being seen.

Where exactly to mount your outdoor cameras, however, depends on your property and your individual needs. You may have a shed in the back that contains expensive lawn equipment, for instance, and you might want to place more focus on that area. Perhaps your neighborhood has experienced a few break-ins recently, and the intruders typically enter through the garage, so you want to cover your garage area.

How many security cameras do I need?

Typically, having at least two outdoor cameras is ideal, not including your video doorbell. If you have a video doorbell to watch your porch, combined with an outdoor security camera covering the front and back areas of your home, this should be sufficient. However, if you have a large property, live in an area where there’s a lot of property crime, or if you have vehicles or valuables stored on your property, you may want to add in an extra camera or two.

Can you use an indoor security camera outdoors?

No. An indoor camera does not have the necessary protection from the elements, so it won’t hold up outside. Some cameras are rated for indoor or outdoor use, and you can use those cameras outside. If you want to point your indoor camera out a window to watch the outdoors, you technically can do so. However, the camera’s features probably won’t work as well, and you’re better off just buying a cheap outdoor camera.

Can outdoor security cameras be used indoors?

Yes, although it’s not usually recommended because the cameras designed for outdoor use may not work optimally indoors. Again, you can opt for a camera that’s rated for both indoors and outdoors, like a dome camera.

Do all outdoor security cameras have two-way audio?

The short answer is no. Many wired outdoor cameras feature two-way audio, which allows you to speak back and forth with someone through the camera via an app on your phone, but not all outdoor cameras have this feature.

If two-way audio is something you’re interested in, consider doing research on which cameras have it, and of the ones that do, read up on which are better. Not all two-way audio is created equal — some companies do it well, while others do not. Keep in mind that cameras with two-way audio might cost a bit more than those that don’t feature the technology.

How well does night vision work on an outdoor security camera?

Night vision on cameras typically uses infrared light to illuminate dark images at night. Essentially, cameras with night vision use this technology to backlight images to help you see what’s happening in the field of view. Most outdoor security cameras feature night vision, but the quality varies from model to model.

If you’re looking for superior night vision, go for the Arlo camera listed above, or research night vision quality before making a purchase.

How well do outdoor security cameras detect motion?

Motion sensitivity in outdoor security cameras varies widely, but generally, the technology works well regardless of the model you choose. Most cameras, even inexpensive ones, do an excellent job of detecting motion, and, if the camera is connected to an app, it will send a motion alert to your phone. Most people find that motion settings on cameras are too sensitive, meaning that things like rain, bugs, or even bright sunlight can trigger an alert.

If you’re concerned about motion alerts, consider buying a camera that not only sends you motion alerts so you can monitor what’s happening on your property but also allows you to adjust the motion sensitivity so that small things aren’t triggering it all the time.

Can outdoor security cameras survive severe weather?

Most outdoor cameras have a rating of IP65 or higher, which means they are waterproof and can withstand someone spraying a hose on them. That usually (but not always) means that a camera with that rating can withstand extreme temperatures ranging from -40 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit or similar.

Cameras vary slightly in terms of survival in extreme weather, but anything with a rating of IP65 or higher will be fine for most climates. If you live in an extremely hot or extremely cold climate, you might want to consider a camera with a rating of IP66 or higher.

Do I have to pay for storage for an outdoor camera?

This depends a lot on the brand and the model. Generally, if a security cam has a memory card slot, you can use native storage without paying anything — it’s just a little trickier to manage. If you want video footage to be uploaded to the cloud for easier viewing and saving, you’ll often have to pay for it. Brands like Arlo and Ring only allow for free livestreaming video and require a plan if you want to save video for any length of time. Google is one of the best options here because its Nest cam offers a certain amount of free online storage without needing a subscription.

Is an outdoor security camera ever illegal?

It can be, although privacy laws haven’t entirely caught up with home security cams yet. Generally speaking, you can’t point a camera where people have the expectation of privacy. Pointing a cam at your porch and the street in front? Totally fine, it’s considered a public area. Pointing a camera so that it captures footage of your neighbor’s backyard or looks into their windows? Illegal, and you could get successfully sued for it.

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The best smart speakers for 2023

By admin December 20, 2023

The best smart speakers for 2023, Smart speakers are an integral part of any smart home, often serving as the brains of the entire operation. Beyond pumping out impressive audio or giving you updates on the morning news, smart speakers can listen to voice commands before passing out instructions to the rest of your gadgets. Functionality varies widely by product, making it important to find the best smart speaker for your setup.

Thankfully, it’s hard to pick a dud in today’s loaded marketplace. Whether you’re an Apple loyalist, a Google enthusiast, or an avid user of Amazon Alexa, just about every big tech company is churning out incredible smart speakers. But if you need some help narrowing down all your options, here’s a look at the best smart speakers of 2023.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Sonos Era 100

The best smart speaker

As the successor to the Sonos One (our previous best smart speaker), it should come as no surprise that the Era 100 is just as easy to recommend. Everything that made the Sonos One popular has been improved with the Era 100 – including sound quality, usability, and the addition of native Bluetooth support.

The Sonos Era 100 produces booming sound thanks to its twin angled tweeters, a woofer that’s 25% larger than the Sonos One, and custom waveguides that help send noise to all corners of your room. It also features a faster processor, which results in better performance when giving it commands.

Interacting with the device is more streamlined than it was on the Sonos One, which used gestures and touch controls on the top of the device. For the Era 100, you’ll get simple buttons for everything from volume controls to track selection.

It’s still expensive (typically retailing for $249), but there’s no doubt it’s a premium smart speaker that should appeal to even the most discerning audiophile.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Sonos One (Gen 2)

The best smart speaker (Runner-up)

The second-generation version of the Sonos One is even more user-friendly, with an updated design that adds touch controls and incorporates Bluetooth 5.0 for a variety of connection options. Its core features still remain, however, including the ability to choose between Alexa or Google Assistant and to link with other Sonos speakers through Wi-Fi to fill the room with even more sound.

The speaker’s far-field microphone array effortlessly hears voice commands from across a room, even when music is playing. If you have qualms about privacy, Sonos claims that muting the microphones is done via hardware, ensuring that when the mic indicator light is off, the speaker is definitely not listening. With AirPlay 2, you can stream any audio from an Apple device directly to the speaker or to any other Sonos speaker in your home.

But our favorite aspect of this model is simply the fact that it’s a Sonos speaker. The Sonos wireless whole-home music system remains the very best we’ve ever tested. It has support for almost every major music streaming service, and it’s all controlled from an app on your phone, tablet, or PC. Not only is the app full of great features like Apple Music playlist compatibility and the ability to group multiple speakers, but these features are also remarkably easy to use.

Thanks to Sonos’ partnership with Ikea, there’s also a growing ecosystem of cool third-party devices that can be used to control the Sonos One and any other Sonos speakers in your home. The Sonos One (Gen 2) is a fantastic speaker and a great way to smarten up your home.

The best smart speakers for 2023

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) with Clock

The best budget smart speaker

The 4th-gen Amazon Echo Dot already upgraded the design to an orb that matched the larger flagship Echo and greatly improved the sound of the speaker — but Amazon outdid itself with the 5th-gen model and the host of smart features it contains.

Alexa is fully supported, of course, and those little speakers do an incredible job of filling a small space with sound. The clock version (not necessary but nice) is especially well-suited for an office desk or a bedside table — and onboard controls include privacy switches among other benefits. Plus, as is tradition, there are kid versions of the speaker, this time with owl and dragon skins.

Amazon also added even more useful technology to the 5th-gen model, including a higher-resolution display, and new accelerometer and temperature sensors to provide more information about your surroundings. There’s a new chip also for tap-based controls (all the better for an alarm clock), and it now has Eero tech built in, allowing it to connect with an Eero router to help extend it

The most appealing part about the Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) with Clock is its price. At $60, it’s easy on just about any budget — meaning you can buy multiple units without forking over a huge sum of money! And who doesn’t like that?

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Amazon Echo (4th Gen)

The best smart speaker for Amazon Alexa

The larger, spherical design of the 4th-gen Echo doesn’t just look cool and modern. It also packs a set of speakers specializing in 360-degree sound designed for larger areas, filling spaces with tunes or other audio while listening for voice commands from across the room.

Of course, it’s a wonderful centerpiece in the living room if you’re planning to entertain guests, like a speaker in the kitchen for music, and so on. Other features like a 3.5mm auxiliary jack, Bluetooth, and stereo pairing round out its audio features. When it comes to controlling the smart home, the Amazon Echo (4th Gen) can be used to turn off lights, check up on calendar appointments, and order pizza.

Meanwhile, it can also monitor your home while you’re away by sending you notifications if it hears the sounds of smoke alarms with Alexa Guard. You’re getting a rich smart speaker in terms of performance, and features with the Amazon Echo (4th Gen).

John Velasco / Digital Trends

Google Nest Audio

The best smart speaker for Google Assistant

Google Nest Audio plays to a wide range of people because it brings that perfect mixture of intelligence and raw power.

What’s apparent is that it’s a substantially beefier speaker than the Google Home — aided by its 19mm tweeter and 75mm mid-woofer. The result is a Google Assistant-powered smart speaker that roars with incredible power. There’s no denying that it’s far more equipped at playing music than its successor, just because it’s 76% louder and has a 50% boost in bass.

You can also pair it with another Google Nest Audio for stereo sound, plus you can group multiple speakers in other rooms to play your tunes everywhere — while being harmoniously in sync. The best part of Nest Audio is that you’re not paying a fortune for premium audio with its $100 sticker price. It’s affordable, packs all the intelligence of Google Assistant, and even delivers impressive sound.

John Velasco / Digital Trends

Apple HomePod Mini

The best affordable smart speaker for HomeKit

Apple certainly learned how tough it can be to complete in the smart speaker space. While its HomePod faced stiff competition when it launched, its sibling in the HomePod Mini fared much better. Part of that reasoning is that the HomePod Mini was cheaper, while still offering excellent audio performance.

Apple users will appreciate the HomePod Mini in the home because Siri can be leveraged on the speaker to accomplish a number of things, such as turning on the lights, unlocking the door, and much more. When it comes to audio, there’s still a lot of power behind its compact design — but what’s impressive is its ability to adapt to whatever it’s playing. For example, if you’re watching a movie on your television and using the HomePod Mini as your audio source, it’ll tune the audio accordingly so that dialogue won’t be drowned out by the sound effects in the background.

Speaking of home theater experiences, you can achieve that by pairing two HomePod Mini speakers together. In fact, you’d be surprised by how well it sounds compared to a traditional soundbar.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Sonos Beam (Gen 2)

The best smart speaker for TV

Even the best TVs typically have lousy sound quality due to their tiny built-in speakers, which makes soundbars an attractive option for many. However, there are a lot of soundbars and not all of them are as smart as the modern home theater needs. That’s where this excellent iteration of the Sonos Beam steps up.

A compact and well-styled bar, it can easily fit under the smallest of TVs on either a console or on the wall using the optional bracket. Like every Sonos product, it has impressive sound quality for its size and can become part of a much larger multiroom audio system. The Gen 2 model is further improved with the addition of Dolby Atmos, an important part of home entertainment audio these days. The Sonos app lets you stream from virtually every music service on the planet and it does an excellent job managing your private music collection, too.

But the reason we’ve chosen the Beam for this roundup is its smart speaker chops. With the ability to run either Google Assistant or Alexa as its voice assistant, it can serve as the hub for a host of home automation commands. It can translate spoken commands for Google Assistant or Alexa into signals that control your TV. “Alexa, turn on Bedroom TV,” will do just that. Other commands, like “Alexa, turn the volume up on Bedroom TV,” work well too, as will similar commands for Google Assistant. You can also control the speaker with an app, or use it with Apple AirPlay 2.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Bose Portable Home Speaker

The best portable smart speaker

You already know that we love the Sonos One for its ability to let you choose your preferred voice assistant. The Bose Portable Home Speaker gives you that choice too, plus a built-in rechargeable battery, carry-handle, and Bluetooth so you can take it with you anywhere you go.

Though considerably more expensive than the Sonos One, the Bose is the ideal choice for people who demand absolute flexibility. When at home and connected to your Wi-Fi network, the Portable Home Speaker is a full-fledged smart speaker that lets you talk to Alexa or Google Assistant. Using your voice to control music playback via Spotify works like a charm, but the Bose app gives you additional options like multiple speaker groupings. The app isn’t as good as the one Sonos provides, but as long as you don’t intend to build a whole-home music system using Bose speakers, we doubt you’ll mind.

While you shouldn’t let it fall in the pool, the speaker is protected from small amounts of water thanks to its IPX4 rating, so you need not fear the occasional unexpected rain shower.

Apple users will love the AirPlay 2 integration which lets you stream any audio — be it music from your favorite streaming service, or the soundtrack from a Netflix movie — directly to the speaker when connected to Wi-Fi. When on the road (or if you’re an Android user) the Bose Portable Home Speaker’s Bluetooth connection lets you keep the tunes going. With 12 hours of battery life between charges, those tunes can go on for most of a day.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Amazon Echo Studio

The best smart speaker for 3D sound

Though it bears a resemblance to the Apple HomePod with its cylindrical shape, the Echo Studio is, in fact, an entirely new breed of smart speaker. It’s still an Amazon Echo, which means that you get all of the benefits of being able to issue voice commands to Alexa to control everything from your music to your thermostat. But when it comes to audio, the Echo Studio is in a class of its own.

With the launch of the Amazon Music HD streaming service, Amazon is now a leading source of top-quality music. The service offers CD-quality audio and hi-res audio, as well as immersive 3D music tracks via Dolby Atmos Music, and Sony 360 Reality Audio. And for now, the Echo Studio is the only speaker on the planet that works with all of them.

CD-quality and hi-res audio are fairly easy to understand: They’re the best versions of stereo audio you can get. Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio are different. These two new formats expand your music into something far wider, deeper, and immersive — which is why we refer to them as 3D. The Echo Studio not only projects these formats around a room the way they were meant to be heard, but it also reinforces the sound with a clean and powerful bass response we simply didn’t expect from a speaker at this price.

The Amazon Echo Studio may not please all audiophiles — it tends to muffle some midrange sounds for stereo sound — but it is nonetheless a superb value and (at the moment) a unique smart speaker that leads a growing movement. Also, note that Amazon announced an update for Echo Studio firmware in 2022 to give it Amazon’s own spatial audio processing, designed to improve clarity compared to standard audio. You’ll need Amazon Music Unlimited to use it, but it’s a notable upgrade to the Studio’s sound options.

Zeke Jones / Digital Trends

HomePod 2023

The best smart speaker for HomeKit

If you love HomeKit but need something with a bit more power than the HomePod mini, consider opting for the new Apple HomePod. It offers all the same functionality as its smaller sibling, but thanks to its larger footprint, the HomePod is capable of producing loud, room-filling sounds. Inside the device, you’ll find a high-excursion woofer and an array of beamforming tweeters, which is just a fancy way of saying the HomePod sounds fantastic.

Another perk of the HomePod is its ability to optimize its sound for any room. Using Room Sensing technology and Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, you can rest assured your smart speaker is pumping out the best possible sound at all times. And if you want to fill your entire home with great sound, HomePod supports multiroom audio through AirPlay. It’s not cheap at $300, but no doubt you’re getting your money’s worth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I buy an Alexa smart speaker or Google smart speaker?

That depends on which ecosystem you like and use most. Both have their benefits and drawbacks, and both work with the most popular streaming services. Alexa tends to work with more smart devices, but this is becoming less of a factor with time. If you’re undecided, pick a smart speaker that gives you a choice like the Sonos One.

Do smart speakers help the visually impaired?

Yes, they have a lot of functionality that doesn’t require buttons, making smart speakers great for visually impaired people. They are particularly useful when paired with smart devices around the home that can be controlled via voice. Even without smart devices, these speakers can help make schedules, read the news, look up information, plan events, provide recipes to cook meals, and lots more — really putting the “assistant” in voice assistant.

Do smart speakers have an AUX input?

Some smart speakers, like the Marshall Stanmore II Voice, have 3.5mm inputs. If you need an AUX input, we recommend making sure the speaker has one before purchasing.

Can I use smart speakers to listen to FM radio?

No, most smart speakers do not have an FM tuner. If you want to listen to the radio, your best bet is to play an internet radio station on these speakers. Some services do turn FM channels into internet stations you can listen to on smart devices, like myTuner Radio.

Do smart speakers usually have a battery?

It’s not common. Batteries are more common on simpler Bluetooth speakers designed more for portability. If you want to take your smart speaker with you on the go, we recommend making sure it has a built-in or add-on battery (like the Bose Portable Home Speaker).

Do smart speakers need Wi-Fi?

Yes, smart speakers generally need Wi-Fi to set up and use. You can access some features with Bluetooth, but a Wi-Fi connection is still needed for the smart speaker to operate.

Are smart speakers always listening to me?

Yes and no. After some initial hiccups, smart speakers typically work like this: The mics are always listening for their wake word, like, “Hey, Alexa.” But they don’t recognize or record anything else. Once they do hear the wake word, they listen to the speech after it to interpret the request. That command is typically recorded, but settings in apps like Alexa allow you to stop the speaker from storing the command in the cloud, or make sure it’s deleted soon afterward. Smart speakers also come with physical mute buttons that will shut down the mics entirely if you don’t want them on.

Can children use smart speakers?

Today’s smart speakers have voice profiles so each person in the family can create their own profile with their own preferences. You can also use apps to set controls, such as disabling any music with profanity, etc. That being said, there have been cases of kids using smart speakers to order things online (100 gallons of ice cream, etc.) or otherwise getting into trouble, so it’s a good idea to limit what they can do.

Can all my devices work with a smart speaker?

Compatibility has long been a problematic part of smart platforms that power smart speakers and other devices. In past years, it’s been a tug of war between brands to get third-party smart devices to support their own voice assistants and apps, so you may have a device that works on Alexa but not with Google Home, and so on. Alexa has generally done the best with third-party support, followed by Google, then Apple’s HomeKit and Home app.

That’s starting to change and change quickly. The big three smart brands, along with a wide variety of other tech companies, banded together and created a new smart home protocol to work on all their platforms, called Matter. These days, you can look for the Matter logo or check to see if your devices are backward compatible with Matter and rest easy. Older devices, however, may still have limited compatibility, so you may have to do some extra research.

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Smart Tech

The best Apple HomeKit devices 2023

By admin December 20, 2023

While not as widespread as Google Home or Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit remains one of the most popular smart home ecosystems of 2023. The software plays well with iOS devices, and several other gadgets such as smart lights, smart locks, thermostats, and cameras can be controlled using the fancy technology. If you’re looking to build your smart home around Apple’s ecosystem, here are the best HomeKit devices available today.

Locks

Image used with permission by copyright holder

HomeKit doesn’t have the largest selection of smart locks, but that doesn’t really matter when you have something as well-rounded as the Aqara Smart Lock U100. Not only does it offer full HomeKit support, but you’ll even gain access to Apple home keys — allowing you to unlock your door with your iPhone or Apple Watch. There’s also the standard keypad for entering a passcode, along with a fingerprint sensor that can store several dozen fingerprints (so your whole family can enter the home without worrying about forgetting their password or smartphone).

A physical key is included for emergency access, and the smart lock is designed to run for up to eight months before you’ll need to replace its batteries. Other standout features include “Do Not Disturb Mode,” auto-locking, and an IP65 rating to help it withstand whatever nature throws its way.

The Schlage Encode Plus is another solid option. This lock includes all of the latest HomeKit features, including Apple home key support. Of course, you still have access to a physical key lock and touchscreen support. The Encode Plus also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant while having full HomeKit and Siri support. The lock is pretty expensive at $299, but if you want a lock with all of Apple’s secure HomeKit features and a host of other features, Schlage’s Encode Plus is currently your only route.

The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock is still a great choice for one of the best smart locks and makes it possible for you to do things like track who is coming and going, give access to specific people, or lock and unlock your door remotely. Plus, it attaches to your existing deadbolt, so you don’t have to get a new set of house keys. In addition to being compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant, it’s also compatible with Apple HomeKit, too. You can check out our full review of the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock.

Don’t want to have to worry about a house key? Yale Assure Lock uses a touchscreen keypad. If you upgrade your Yale Assure Lock (models YRD246 or YRD256) with a Yale iM1 Network Module, it’ll be compatible with Apple HomeKit. The module typically costs somewhere in the $50 range, and it’ll let you control the lock with voice commands and more. Read more about the Yale Assure SL lock in our full review.

You could also spring for the Yale Assure Lock 2, which comes in a variety of designs — including a few models that give you remote access to your front door via Wi-Fi. Our review found it to be a premium smart lock that’s more than worth its hefty price tag. If you’re deep into the Apple ecosystem, consider springing for the Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus with Apple Home Keys, as it works not just with HomeKit, but also supports Home Keys — allowing you to unlock your door with a tap of your iPhone or Apple Watch.

The best Apple HomeKit devices 2023

Lighting

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Now your favorite Hue products work with your Apple devices. You can adjust dimming, change colors in certain rooms, sync your lights, set scenes, and more. The Philips Hue Starter Kit is a great way to get started with smart lighting.

Lifx A19 LED Bulbs are another great HomeKit-compatible option. Delivering 1,100 lumens, they’re about as bright as a 75-watt incandescent bulb. However, they’re energy-efficient at only 11 watts, and they have a 22-year lifespan. With 16 million color options and no hub required, Lifx A19s offers a lot in a compact-sized bulb, including the Candle Color, the first smart LED bulb that can emit multiple colors of light at once.

The Nanoleaf Essentials Matter A19 Smart Bulb boasts full HomeKit support, and it even works with Matter. It’ll give you access to millions of different colors, a simple smartphone app, and a quick setup process. Consider giving it a look if you need something that works not just with Apple HomeKit, but other smart home platforms you may have running in your house.

If you want something a little bit different, Nanoleaf’s Light Panels are triangular smart light panels you can shape into whatever design you like. Connect them to Apple HomeKit to activate different scenes. There’s even a rhythm add-on, so your panels and music will work in sync. If you’re looking for a less expensive way to add some color to your space, another great option is the Lifx Z, a HomeKit controllable Multi Color LED Light strip. The ribbon comes in at 6.6 feet, and additional extensions can be added on for greater flexibility.

Switches and smart plugs

Wemo

Don’t have a smart light but want to tell “Hey Siri, dim the bedroom light?” The WeMo Smart Light Switch lets you voice-control your lights, set your lights on a schedule, and optimize them based on the bulbs you’re using and prevent flickering. With Apple HomeKit, you can tell Siri to turn the lights off for bedtime, or you can have it set the lights to brighten in the morning. The Lutron Caseta Smart Lighting Dimmer Switch is also compatible with HomeKit, and you can even install the switch without a neutral wire.

Another option is to go with a smart plug, which lets you control devices you plug in (think lamps, holiday lights, or even appliances). The Wemo Smart Plug with Thread from Belkin lets you control a plugged-in device with your voice or phone when connecting it to Apple HomeKit. This edition with Thread support allows for a faster and more reliable connection.

For an even smaller version, you may prefer the Pure Gear PureSwitch, which offers app control, timers, and energy management options for anything you plug in. If you want to replace an entire outlet (both top and bottom) then check out the Connectsense Smart Outlet 2. You’ll also get a lot of information about how much energy your devices are using, through the Connectsense app. This plug also works with Alexa and Google Assistant.

Thermostats

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Ecobee released its Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium and Smart Thermostat Enhanced models in 2022. Seeing that the Ecobee 4 was our previous choice for the best thermostat, it’s easy to give the crown to the new generation. The model sports a new design and the Ecobee’s Smart Thermostat Premium has Siri fully built-in and is HomeKit-compatible. It still works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, as well. The new radar sensor and air quality monitor take the advancements and convenience up a level. If you want something a bit more affordable, the Ecobee Lite still has a lot to offer. The Lite works with HomeKit and other smart home systems, but it doesn’t have Alexa built into the thermostat.

Honeywell’s Lyric T6 Pro thermostat is HomeKit-compatible as well, and it’s a very cost-effective option. The T6 Pro is an upgrade to one of our old top choices, Honeywell’s Lyric T5. It has features like geofencing, scheduling, and smart alerts. Adaptive auto-recovery makes it so the thermostat knows how long it takes to heat or cool your home to your desired temperature at specific times, and the thermostat can also auto-change from heat to cool.

Otherwise, if you are more interested in a minimal approach — a thermostat that appears to disappear into your wall — you’ll want to take a look at the ; variations are available for both baseboard heating and in-floor heating. Minimal doesn’t mean simple, however, as the Mysa includes a smartphone app to monitor your energy usage and set up a heating schedule.

Cameras and security devices

Daven Mathies/Digital Trends

Logitech’s Circle View is a smart choice if you’re focused on personal privacy with features such as an electronic shutter. It’s weatherproof, easy to set up, and has some pretty decent free features, like 24-hour cloud storage and smart alerts with snapshots. It also has an impressive view radius of 180 degrees. Some of the more advanced features, like person detection and motion zones, require a paid subscription (after a 10-day free trial).

Eufy also has a range of affordable indoor and outdoor cameras that work flawlessly with HomeKit Secure Video. Another great part is that you don’t need a subscription to use these cameras either. Check out Eufy Indoor Cam 2K , Indoor Cam Pan & Tilt 2K, and Floodlight Cam 2 Pro to get the best of the company’s offerings. Keep in mind that if you want to stream a HomeKit-enabled camera remotely, you need a HomePod Mini, an Apple TV 4K, or Apple TV (4th generation).

Apple HomeKit supports other security devices outside of just cameras. Eve and Aqara create complete lines of various sensors to place around and monitor your home. For example, Eve has a door and window sensor, a motion sensor, and a room sensor that monitors temperature and air quality. Aqara also has low-cost sensors, including a water-leak sensor, temperature and humidity sensor, and a vibration sensor, to name a few. Sensors like those or the can add extra home security while also making it possible for you to do things like have the lights turn on when your door opens.

Your options for video doorbells are limited with HomeKit, but the Logitech Circle View Wired Doorbell is a solid option. It’s a bit pricey at $200, but it offers secure storage that’s encrypted before getting backed up to iCloud, rich notifications that alert you when an animal, vehicle, or person is detected, and it supports customizable motion zones. It’s also a rather sleek device, featuring a design that’s all black and with a footprint smaller than most other video doorbells on the market.

A/V devices

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Whether you’re a music fanatic or cinephile, you can use an Apple HomePod mini to expand your at-home A/V experience. For starters, the HomePod mini is an excellent way to listen to your favorite playlists. The speaker’s sound is surprisingly room-filling for its size and includes Thread connectivity to help with your other smart home accessories. Purchase multiple HomePod minis, and you can pair them together to create 360-degree stereo sound.

If you’re willing to drop a bit more cash, you can snag the new HomePod 2023 for $299. It offers everything found in the HomePod mini, although you’ll be treated to radically improved audio. Thanks to its larger footprint, the HomePod manages to pack in a high-excursion woofer, a beamforming array of five tweeters, and supports Spatial Audio and Room sensing to optimize its performance regardless of where you place it. In other words, the HomePod is a massive upgrade over the HomePod mini and is perfect for creating room-filling sound.

Alternatively, Sonos, has a plethora of products that all have Airplay 2 and are HomeKit-compatible. You can purchase the Sonos One, Sonos Beam, Sonos Amp, or the Sonos Ray soundbar and Sonos Roam portable speaker. The new Sonos Era 100 is another great option, as it’s built with support for AirPlay 2, and you can use Siri to play Apple Music through the Home app.

For home-theater hounds, the fourth-gen Apple TV 4K is a fantastic way to bring HomeKit to your media cave. The streaming device delivers crystal-clear 4K HDR and features Siri support. In cases where you may need a smart bridge to control your HomeKit devices, the Apple TV can do that.

Bridges

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Even though there aren’t a lot of smart home systems that require bridges, they can be crucial in some cases. As you might expect from their name, bridges connect the Home app and HomeKit with a particular brand’s devices, guaranteeing compatibility. They are essential for people who want to increase the functionality of their favorite brands.

For instance, let’s look at the Wemo Bridge. It links the Home app and the Belkin Wemo brand, increasing compatibility between devices such as the Wemo Switch, Insight Smart Plug, LightSwitch, and Dimmer.

The advantage of this is that your older Wemo devices will work with your system again. The Apple TV 4K is also a terrific, trustworthy bridge for HomeKit devices.

Stay tuned for Matter

CSA

Matter, a new interoperability standard for smart home gadgets, has already started rolling out to select devices — and more are expected to follow in the coming months. In fact, the company recently revealed the new HomePod — which comes with full Matter support. Apple is one of the biggest companies on board with the technology, meaning HomeKit devices should soon be compatible with any devices that support Matter. In other words, the small HomeKit catalog will grow much larger once Matter updates are pushed to some of today’s hottest devices. A variety of Google and Amazon products have already been updated, so keep your eyes peeled as more manufacturers jump on board throughout 2023.

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The best smart plugs of 2023

By admin December 14, 2023

The best smart plugs of 2023, Smart home devices have come a long way over the past few years. Walk into any home improvement store or supermarket, and you’re bound to find a wide variety of smart thermostats, and other “smart” gadgets. But one often overlooked category is smart plugs – tiny devices that plug into your electrical outlet and give your “dumb” electronics the versatility of a modern smart home device.

Beyond giving you remote control of your outlets, many smart plugs allow you to set timers or monitor your electricity usage. This makes them surprisingly versatile while still carrying an affordable price tag. Plenty of big names (like Amazon and Wyze) are producing smart plugs, but they’re far from your only option. Here’s a closer look at the best smart plugs of 2023.

Keep in mind that these products are designed for indoor use and are not intended to be placed outside. If you’re looking for something to use in the great outdoors, be sure to check out our list of the best outdoor smart plugs.

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Amazon Smart Plug

Best smart plug for Alexa

Amazon’s very own smart plug seamlessly works with Alexa, and its Certified for Humans ranking means setup is as simple as plugging it in and following a few basic directions. Its design is narrow, so it leaves the other outlet free for use. You can set up routines and schedules through the Alexa app, while the Alexa energy dashboard provides recommendations on how to save energy.

The best smart plugs of 2023

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Wemo Smart Plug with Thread

Most compact smart plug

Belkin’s latest smart plug is a big improvement from its last version. It’s a compact option that can fit nearly anywhere and sports built-in compatibility with Siri. Made with the Apple HomeKit in mind, this plug is a great pick for Apple fans and those who are already using the Apple Home app.

This smart plug also includes support for Thread, part of the smart home Matter standard, which helps establish a more secure connection. That feature is useful for those who may be worried about hacking or who want the most reliable connection.

Kasa / Kasa

TP-Link — Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Mini

Best budget smart plug

At about half the price of some of the other smart plugs on this list, the TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug is a solid choice if you’re on a budget. It’s compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, or you can just use the app. Use the app to create schedules for powering your devices on and off for up to a full week.

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Wyze Smart Plug

Best smart plug ecosystem

The Wyze Smart Plug is just slightly more expensive than the TP-Link WiFi Smart Plug, with a two-pack for just $20. On its own, the plug is just $12. It works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, allows custom scheduling, and offers a Vacation Mode that imitates the presence of people in the home by randomly turning lights on and off. The Wyze Sense feature means you can control appliances based on motion, and you can link up the Wyze Smart Plug to other devices through IFTTT.

Lutron

Lutron Caseta Plug-In Lamp Dimmer Switch

Best smart plug for lamps

The Lutron Caseta Plug-In Lamp Switch is great for keeping your electric bill low and home security high. Controllable with Alexa, Google Assistant, Serena shades, and Sonos, you can dim lights, set schedules, and create lighting routines with voice commands or the Lutron app. The switch is also seasonally savvy, meaning as the days grow shorter or longer, the switch adjusts lamp light based on how much sun a room is getting. The unit itself is a little bulky, so you’ll want to make sure it’s not going to interfere with power brick items.

Jon Bitner / Digital Trends

Emporia Smart Plug

Best smart plug for energy tracking

After suffering a recall, the Emporia Smart Plug is back in action. The company made a few tweaks to improve the plug’s safety, but it’s still packed with all the energy-tracking features that made it popular at launch. This includes an easy to use smartphone app and detailed energy reports – giving you a simple way to track your usage and cut down on your bills.

The plug itself is thoughtfully designed, with a slim profile that doesn’t intrude on nearby electrical outlets or look wildly out of place when plugged into your wall. And when you consider that a four-pack is typically available for just $35, it’s an affordable smart plug that’s easy to recommend.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a smart plug?

There are plenty of exciting innovations in the world of home automation, between virtual assistants that can control your smart devices, connected appliances, or smart thermostats. You can also upgrade a regular appliance and add it to your smart home system by using a smart plug.

Smart Plugs take a wired home to a new level. They plug into your outlets and let you run small home appliances through Alexa, another intelligent home device, or the sound of your voice. A smart plug turns a “dumb” device, like a coffee maker, room fan, or table lamp, into a smart device.

Exactly how a smart plug communicates will vary by brand. Wi-Fi is common enough, but you’ll also see Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Z-wave used to let smart plugs connect to the internet and your phone. Of course, you’ll need to ensure the router or other required hub is within range of the smart plugs that you’re connecting. Placement can be a challenge in bigger houses, but it’s nothing a Wi-Fi extender can’t fix.

How do smart plugs work?

Using smart plugs is super simple. First, you plug a smart plug into an outlet. Then you plug something else (like a lamp or appliance) into it. Finally, you connect the plug to your favorite home assistant, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, or the smart plug’s app. From there the smart plug turns the power supply to the item you plugged into it on and off using commands sent from an app or smart home hub and your Wi-Fi network.

What are smart plugs used for?

There are dozens of uses for smart plugs. Here are just a few to get your imagination turned on to all of the possibilities:

• Turn on your coffee pot while you’re still in bed.

• Control your window unit air conditioner or space heater without getting out of your chair.

• Turn on lamps while you’re away to deter would-be burglars.

• Turn off the oven, curling iron, or hair straightener you left on from your desk at work.

• Turn on your holiday lights using a voice command.

Can smart plugs save you money?

Smart plugs can potentially save you money. By being able to keep tabs on exactly how much power any given appliance is slurping up, you can identify the products in your home that are the biggest problem areas.

Smart plugs can also help save you power by turning off the power supply to devices that use it up even when they’re off. This will ultimately help to cut down on phantom power drain and save you a few bucks on your electrical bill. Over time, smart plugs can pay for themselves, provided you enact sufficient use of their features.

How to Choose a Smart Plug

There are several things to consider before getting a smart plug.

Voice assistant compatibility: First, make sure that the plug incorporates the type of command system you are more likely to use. For example, you shouldn’t get a plug that uses only its own app for commands if you strictly use Alexa. Not all plugs will be compatible with both Alexa and Google Assistant either, so make sure it supports your voice command preference. Note that voice assistants and other platforms that support multiple smart devices can create “scenes” that

Energy monitoring: By plugging an appliance into this type of smart plug, you can learn just how much electricity your appliance uses, which can be particularly useful if you’re trying to decide on upgrading to a more energy-efficient model. The plug monitors how much electricity is routed through it to your appliance. Then, it sends a report to the plug’s app.

Reports vary from app to app, but many let you see peak energy use hours and energy used over time. Quite a few smart plugs also give you the option to automatically turn on and off an appliance on a schedule so you can save electricity. Some good energy monitoring smart plugs include the WeMo Insight Switch, Elgato Eve and D-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug.

Scheduling ahead of time: Most smart plugs have options to set schedules for turning devices on or off at certain times. It’s a common feature, but you should still make sure your plug has it for convenience.

Surge protection: At a desk or entertainment center, a smart power strip with surge protection may be a better choice for you. Check out our list of the best surge protectors for a few great smart power strips that you can use here.

Additional outlets: If you’re short on outlets around the house, a smart plug with the ability to expand the number of ports on your outlet is a helpful choice.

Outdoor vs. indoor use: For outdoor use, some of our favorites include Maxcio, Kasa, and Meross (we have a list of the best outdoor smart plugs here). For indoor use, the ConnectSense Smart Outlet 2 provides the most flexibility in the smart plug world. It is compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple’s HomeKit and Siri, and Google Assistant. If none of those options suit you, it can work without any smart hub at all.

Dimming: You can use voice commands or your smartphone to get precise with your dimming. It’s just a matter of pairing a dimmable lamp with a smart plug that supports dimming, like this Leviton model.

The best outdoor smart plugs for 2023

Have you experienced the thrill of connecting your favorite devices to a smart plug? Made for home essentials like lamps, security cameras, toasters, coffee makers, dehumidifiers, and more, these programmable outlets are amazing additions to any smart home. With a compatible app, you can even power the plugs on and off remotely and set schedules. This is all well and good for the devices inside our homes, but what about our outdoor gear? Fortunately, there are now durable and weather-resistant outdoor smart plugs that are just as good as their indoor brethren.

Geeni

Geeni Indoor/Outdoor Smart Plug

Whether you’re powering pool lights, sprinklers, or other outdoor gear, the Geeni Indoor/Outdoor plug gets the job done every time. A hub-less setup, there’s no need to plug anything into the router for this guy. All you need to do is download the app and connect using Alexa, Google Assistant, or Cortana. Convenient and cheap, this is one of our favorites for pairing and sharing. Using a feature called Share Access, you can zone multiple Geenis through the app. This means you’re able to turn outlets on/off separately or all together.

We’re not the biggest fan of some of the app’s deeper menu functions, but the outlet itself works great, as do its voice command capabilities.

Meross

Meross Smart Outdoor Plug

This waterproof Meross two-outlet plug is ready for anything, with a solid design and the latest smart features for your garden, bathroom, porch, garage, laundry room, or wherever else you’d like to put it. It works not only with Google Assistant and Alexa, but is also compatible with IFTTT if you’d prefer to set up more complex routines. You can also control the plug via an app if you don’t care for voice commands. Schedules and timers are available for each socket independently.

The Meross plug also gets good marks for a strong Wi-Fi connection, which is great — smart plugs don’t work very well if they’re always dropping connections, which can be a problem in an outside environment. The one downside to this plug is that the cable itself is pretty short (a common choice for durability and protection), so you’ll need to keep it right by the outlet, and it may not work very well for wall outlets that are too high

Woods

Woods Outdoor/Indoor Wireless Remote Control Kit

If you’re looking for an inexpensive option to power your outdoor tools, the Woods kit is a great choice. It’s a single-grounded outlet that can stand up to weather and debris for comprehensive outdoor security. The wireless remote functions up to 100 feet away, so you can control the system from indoors. The Woods remote control kit is fairly simple and doesn’t have as many extra features as some of the other options in this list; however, it’s affordable, reliable, and easy to set up. If you need basic outdoor functionality on a budget, look no further.

Ring

Ring Outdoor Smart Plug

Ring might have become popular thanks to its lineup of video doorbells, but it also manufacturers one of the best outdoor smart plugs. You’ll need a Ring Bridge or similar device to access all its features (including mobile notifications), but that’s about the only drawback to this well-designed product. Standout features include two outlets, a compact footprint, and the option to program schedules or timers for your gadgets. It’s also easy to sync with the rest of your Alexa products.

Just imagine controlling your yard lights or seasonal decorations even when on vacation. You can do that and more right from your phone with these weather-resistant outdoor smart plugs. Many don’t even require a hub, as some are fully functional on their own, and others work with your current system.

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The best smart lamps of 2023

By admin December 8, 2023

The best smart lamps of 2023, Looking for an innovative way to light up your home office, living room, or bedroom? Consider adding a smart lamp to your shopping list. While these products will illuminate a dark space just like a traditional lamp, they’re packed with additional features – such as the option to set timers, change colors, or connect to the rest of your smart home.

The best smart lamps come from trusted brands like Philips, Govee, and Amazon, though you’ll also find lesser-known companies such as Moonside and Hatch churning out incredible products. If you need help searching for the right one, here’s a look at the best smart lamps for all types of rooms.

Once you’re done shopping for smart lamps, take a look at the best smart bulbs and best smart holiday lights to complete your collection.

Philips Hue Iris

Best smart lamp overall

Philips Hue is highly esteemed in the world of smart lights, offering one of the most robust lineups in the industry. The Philips Hue Iris is its latest smart lamp, which is notable for its unconventional design. Taking some of its design cues from the previous Philips Hue Bloom, the Iris sports a more spherical design that makes it perfect as a spotlight on a desk. It’s great for accenting wall art, and there’s a bit of residual glow around its translucent base, too.

It doesn’t disappoint in its performance, delivering strong light that can illuminate corners and small spaces easily, and the colors emit a deep, vibrant glow. That’s important when it comes to creating the right ambiance. Since it’s part of the Philips Hue family, it can be paired with other smart lights from the company to deliver some breathtaking light scenes.

The best smart lamps of 2023

Sharper Image Bonsai Bluetooth Speaker Lamp with Wireless Charging Pad

Best smart lamp for the bedroom

If style is your chief goal, you’ll love this little LED light inspired by bonsai trees. It’s also quite versatile — there’s a small Bluetooth speaker for playing soothing sounds from your mobile devices and a Qi standard wireless charger for charging your phone. Touch controls allow you to adjust the brightness of the LED light, or you can press and hold to active a sleep mode that shuts off after 30 minutes.

The Sharper Image Bonsai lamp is made of metal and cherry wood, and the LED light is a 20-watt equivalent, so you won’t be using it to light up a whole room, but rather as an accent or nightlight. Keep in mind that you may need to take thicker cases off of phones to successfully charge them wirelessly on the lamp.

Lepro Smart Table Lamp

Best smart lamp for the living room

This affordable smart lamp is an excellent starter model with a wealth of control options, including an app that makes it easy to adjust color, tune your white light temperature, and adjust brightness. For those who want to dive deeper, you can also set timers and schedules for how the lamp behaves throughout the day. Users who want to keep it simple can adjust the lamp with the onboard buttons. It’s even compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant if you prefer to give voice commands or tie it into a routine.

We also like that the Lepro Smart Table Lamp cover diffuses the light enough that you can put this lamp nearly anywhere on the higher brightness settings without worrying about it becoming distracting. The lamp plugs into outlets with a USB-C cable and adapter, but if you have a compatible power bank, you can also turn it into a portable unit.

Globe Electric

Globe Electric Smart Table Lamp

Best smart lamp for the office

This elegant lamp from Globe Electric will be at home on any desk in your home office, but it houses surprisingly smart features that make it a major upgrade from any traditional desk lamp. Using the app, you can turn the 7-watt, 400-lumen bulb into any color or any color temperature you want for the exact look you need. Full scheduling is also enabled, and you can even control the lamp with Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant. That also means it’s easy to set routines with those services if you want something beyond the modes that the app offers.

Note that the Globe Electric Smart Table Lamp is primarily downward-facing and designed to illuminate your desk activities. This model isn’t a good option for adding light to the entire room, just lighting your current work area. That’s a plus if there are other people in the room you don’t want to disturb, but it’s not a great pick for an accent light or greater illumination.

Amazon Echo Glow

Best smart lamp for kids

The Amazon Echo Glow provides a significant amount of entertainment and functionality. It connects with any Echo product, and it’s interactive. Its unique Rainbow Timer can be enacted through a simple “set a timer for” command, bringing a fun, colorful light show to your space.

You’ll know the time is winding down when the glow color transitions. It can work as a visual cue to inform you if something is almost done cooking or let kids know it’s time to get ready for bed. The lamp can mimic a flickering flame, create a dance party atmosphere with its disco lights feature, and more. You can also set specific settings to prevent your child from accidentally finding inappropriate content. A subscription to Amazon FreeTime can limit your Echo Glow to kid-friendly audiobook and music titles.

Note: This product is different than the interactive Amazon Glow device.

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Govee Lyra

Best stand-up smart lamp

Govee does a great job with a wide range of smart lights, and their stand-up Lyra lamp is no exception. Once it’s tucked into a corner, the mobile app provides a wealth of customization options. Set up different colors and animations, use the in-line mic to sync the light with music, and the Google Assistant and Alexa integration means you can pair it with your other smart lights. A weighted base keeps it a stable addition to wherever you want to place it.

Saturation and brightness are quite good and strong enough to flood an area with atmosphere. Individually-controlled LEDs allow for a smooth gradient to be produced along the length, so you aren’t stuck with just a single solid color at any given time.

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Hatch Restore 2

Best smart light with alarm clock

If you’re searching for a bedside lamp, it’s hard to beat the Hatch Restore 2. This sleek-looking device functions as both a lamp and alarm clock, offering dozens of customization settings that make it easy to personalize its performance. It’s not nearly as bright as some other options on this list, but it makes up for it with a robust app that lets you set schedules, change its color, or select from several unique sleep sounds to aid in your nighttime routine.

The biggest downside to the Hatch Restore 2 is its price tag. It clocks in at a hefty $200 – and you’ll want to join the monthly Hatch Sleep program to gain access to all its features. And at $5 per month, that can quickly add up. But if you don’t mind the cost and need a lamp that pulls double-duty as a smart alarm, the Restore 2 deserves a closer look.

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Moonside Lamp One

Best smart lamp for your gaming desk

Small, affordable, and with tons of customization options, the Moonside Lamp One is a great choice for a desktop smart lamp. Using an accompanying smartphone app, the Lamp One can produce a dazzling array of light shows. Whether you want dozens of colors to cascade across its surface or have a few colors pulse on and off, there’s almost no limit to what it can achieve.

Its construction is a bit less impressive than expected (instead of frosted glass or a squishy rubber, it’s composed largely of cheap plastic), but that’s a minor complaint about an otherwise versatile device. There’s also the option to connect your lamp with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, making it easy to sync with the rest of your smart home.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the advantages of smart lamps?

Smart lamps offer a lot of advantages over traditional lighting, the least of which is energy-saving. Smart LED lights use less power than halogen or fluorescent bulbs, and the scheduling features mean you can automatically turn the lights off at a certain time without lifting a finger.

You can also use smart lamps as security. If you can tie your lamp into the rest of your smart home and have it activate when a security system detects motion, you provide the illusion that someone is home even if the house is empty.

Smart lights can serve dedicated purposes that traditional lights can’t meet, such as the Glow Light helping you fall asleep or providing on-the-go illumination.

What should you consider when looking at smart lamps?

Smart lamps can become a staple product in your home. Many people are first exposed to smart products through smart lighting, and smart lamps are a direct extension of that. These lamps often feature equally as many (if not more) features than a standard smart bulb because they are designed from the ground up to serve a specific purpose.

When shopping for a smart lamp, first consider its use. Where do you want to place this lamp? Is it for reading, lighting up a room, or ambiance?

Consider whether the lamp needs to be plugged in at all times or if it can be placed after being charged. Lamps that don’t require a power connection provide more flexibility in placement throughout the room and are often best for ambiance instead of utilitarian lighting.

What features are included in the lamp? Some lamps can pulse the lights in time with music, while others can only cycle through colors on command. You should also consider how smart its smart features are. Does it work with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, or can it only be controlled via the app?

What is your budget? Smart lamps range in price from $30 all the way up to $200 or more. Lamps that provide ambiance often cost more, but lamps that can light up a room or that aren’t from as well-known a brand can be found for lower prices.

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Best robot mops of 2023

By admin December 5, 2023

Best robot mops of 2023, Smart robot mops aren’t quite as flashy as other smart home gadgets, but they can certainly help save you time. The goal of smart devices is to handle day-to-day activities for you without you having to think or worry about them. Robot mops, as well as their vacuum brethren, perform that task well.

There are plenty of great robot mops to choose from today, many of which also double as vacuums. Whether you want a frugal option or something with heaps of premium features, there’s bound to be a robot mop that fits your needs.

Here’s a look at the best robot mops of 2023, including products from iRobot, Roborock, and Ecovacs.

iRobot Braava Jet m6

Best overall

First on the list is our best overall smart mop, the iRobot Braava Jet m6. This appliance is our top-of-the-line option for all of its features, especially working in tandem with some of iRobot’s robot vacuums. Unfortunately, it’s also the most expensive.

The Braava Jet m6 will map out your kitchen or home after a few runs to make sure it’s cleaning in the most efficient way possible. You can also use the app to restrict areas the mop can enter, although it will avoid carpet by default. It also has an easy-to-remove and refill water tank.

The Braava Jet m6 will mop as much as it can before going back to the dock. If the battery dies before it finishes cleaning, it will return and recharge before going back out to finish the job. This mop is one of the only options that serves both smaller and larger areas.

Best robot mops of 2023

iLife V5s Pro

Best for small apartments

Next up is the iLife V5s Pro, which is actually a combo vacuum and mop. It takes the spot on our list as best for a small apartment, thanks to it being the quietest robot cleaner. It’s also a little smaller for its size, but not as small as the Braava Jet 240.

The V5s Pro doesn’t have a terribly huge number of features, but it does come with a simple remote if the app or your phone is out of reach. It will also run for about two hours before going back to the dock to charge.

To convert the V5s Pro from vacuum to mop, or vice versa, you’ll have to take the dustbin off the bottom and change it to a water tank.

Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni

Best self-cleaning mop

If you’re looking for a robot mop that doubles as a robot vacuum, the X2 Omni should be near the top of your list. Along with two rotating mopping pads, the X2 Omni packs in a staggering 8,000 Pa of suction – allowing it to easily suck up dirt and debris as it cleans your floors. Its mops will also retract when traveling on carpet to prevent it from getting wet.

Once it’s done cleaning, the X2 Omni will return to its dock to empty its dustbin, wash its mops, and then running a drying cycle. That means you won’t have to get your hands dirty to keep your floors clean. These drying cycles take a bit of time to perform, but it’s better than having to deal with them on your own.

Toss in great navigation skills, a simple-to-use smartphone app, and a sleek design, and it’s easy to see why the Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni is so popular. Many homeowners also love its square footprint, as it gives the robot better access to corners and crevices than the typical circular design. All these features come with a hefty price tag, but it’s worth adding to your home if you want a fully automated cleaning experience.

Roborock

Roborock S8 Pro Ultra

Best for carpet and hard floors

The Roborock S8 Pro Ultra offers many of the same features as the Deebot X2 Omni. This includes a self-washing and -drying mopping system, along with a self-emptying dustbin. However, it uses a single vibrating mopping pad to clean floors instead of two rotating mopping pads. Along with vibrations, the robot applies constant pressure while mopping to help clear up tough stains.

If you’re looking to keep your floors as clean as possible, you can mix in Roborock’s Floor Cleaning Solution. The S8 Pro Ultra also benefits from 6,000 Pa of suction for impressive vacuuming performance, though it’s the Duo Roller brushing system that really allows it to provide a superior clean.

Using your smartphone, you can program in different mopping schedules, set restricted zones, or enable Off-Peak Charging to help save on your energy bills. This makes it a great all-around robot that’s perfect for homes with both carpet and hard floors.

Best robot vacuum deals: save on Roomba, Shark, and others

It can be quite daunting to finish a full day of work and then have to face cleaning up a whole house. Luckily, robot vacuums can help quite a lot, and while they won’t be able to organize your closets and cupboards or put things away, they can help keep the floors clean. There are many types of robot vacuums you can pick, from budget-oriented ones that do the basics to fancier double units that can both vacuum and mop. There are a lot of great deals on them, so you can find something solid without breaking the bank.

Best Shark Robot Vacuum Deals

Shark

While a lot of folks may think of the Roomba when they think about robot vacuums, Shark is just as good a brand, and it actually makes some relatively well-priced products. That means you can get a bit better at the same price if you go with a Shark robot vacuum instead of a Roomba one. That said, the higher in price you go, the less difference you’ll see in terms of bang for your buck,

Best Roomba Robot Vacuum Deals

iRobot

On the other hand, if you’d prefer to go with the brand you’re more familiar with, then there are a lot of great deals for Roomba robot vacuums, too. There’s also a wider selection of robot vacuums, so you can really pick the features you want for the budget you have, rather than feeling like you’re missing out or have to add extra money to get what you really want.

More Robot Vacuum Deals We Like

Roborock

If you didn’t find anything you like in either the Roomba or Shark lineup, then there are a few other brands that you can take a look at that have some interesting options. All the picks below are from reputable brands, even if they aren’t as widely marketed, and there are often some great deals you can take advantage of.

How to Choose the Right Robot Vacuum

Probably one of the most important things to consider when it comes to Robot Vacuums is what sort of floor you will be using them on. While most modern robot vacuums are generally okay to be used on many different surfaces, it’s always good to check, especially if you have a lot of carpets or hardwood floors; you wouldn’t want to damage either of them. Similarly, if you have pets or long hair that sheds a lot, then you need to go for a vacuum that can handle hair because those that don’t could easily get tangled, and then you have to deal with that mess.

Another thing worth considering is whether you want it to be a self-emptying type or not. While it is much more convenient and will let you go 30-90 days, depending on capacity, without emptying it, self-emptying robot vacuums are considerably more expensive. Speaking of cost, you should also consider whether you want a vacuum that can both mop and dust, or maybe even going with a bundled set that includes a robot vacuum and a robot mop, which will make life a lot easier but will cost much, much more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Roombas work in small spaces?

Yes, Roombas work in small spaces just as well as in larger spaces. However, if your flooring is covered in items and furniture, spending the extra money on an intelligent mop may not make sense.

How much space do robot cleaners need?

There’s no minimum space that a smart cleaner needs to work in general. Some will require a few feet from the base to any walls, but as far as areas to clean, there’s no bottom limit. All cleaners have a specific battery life, so not all will be as effective in the most extensive areas.

From this list, the iRobot Braava Jet m6 would be our choice for first-time buyers in a small space. There are other options if you have more room to clean, a higher budget, or want more features.

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