---
title: '30 Cool Smart Home Devices You''ll Actually Want!'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=ekMuWyUEfhU'
video_id: 'ekMuWyUEfhU'
date: 2026-08-06
duration_sec: 1038
---

# 30 Cool Smart Home Devices You'll Actually Want!

> Source: [30 Cool Smart Home Devices You'll Actually Want!](https://youtube.com/watch?v=ekMuWyUEfhU)

## Summary

This video showcases 30 smart home devices that the creator personally recommends, covering everything from universal remotes and plant sensors to robot vacuums and smart locks. Each device is presented with its key features, integration capabilities with platforms like Home Assistant, and practical use cases, making it a comprehensive guide for smart home enthusiasts.

### Key Points

- **Smart Universal Remote** [00:01] — Sofa Baton remote controls all home theater devices (amplifier, Xbox, Apple TV, projector) and can trigger on/off buttons in Home Assistant.
- **Plant Sensor** [00:42] — Apollo PLT-1 sensor measures humidity, temperature, light, UV, and soil moisture. Connects to Home Assistant via ESPHome, with RGB light automation for watering alerts.
- **Bathroom Speaker** [01:23] — Sonos Era 100 replaces HomePod mini; louder, better sound, works with iOS and Android, built-in mic for voice commands.
- **Fire Detection Sensor** [02:06] — Eye Detect sensor recognizes flames, detects fire from ~20 ft away within 2 seconds, battery lasts over a year, but no Home Assistant integration yet.
- **Hue Wireless Switch** [02:46] — Philips Hue switch uses Zigbee, can control any smart lights with a Zigbee USB stick, not just Hue. Wireless with magnetic mounting plate.
- **Smart Door Lock** [03:25] — Aara U300 premium lock with fingerprint sensor, hidden keyhole, keypad, integrates with Home Assistant for automations. Minor issue: must press button to stay unlocked.
- **Electric Screwdriver** [04:07] — Compact electric screwdriver ideal for installing smart home devices; arrow direction controls tightening/loosening, built-in light, USB-C rechargeable.
- **Motion Sensor with RGB** [04:32] — Motion sensor that wires into wall (no batteries), has RGB light, works as Zigbee repeater, inexpensive.
- **Home Assistant Green** [05:01] — Plug-and-play device for Home Assistant, available on Amazon, makes home automation accessible to everyone.
- **Outdoor Wi-Fi Lights** [05:30] — Nova Stella outdoor lights, up to 1700 lumens, warm/cool white and RGB, automations with camera detection to turn on at night.
- **CO2 Monitor** [06:10] — Aranet4 detects CO2 levels, e-ink display, battery lasts up to 4 years, Bluetooth connectivity.
- **ESP32 Bluetooth Proxy** [06:36] — ESP32 devices (~$5) extend Bluetooth range, used for room presence detection by detecting phone/smartwatch, enabling automations based on room occupancy.
- **Pixel Tablet with Speaker Dock** [07:02] — Favorite way to display smart home dashboard; camera auto-displays custom Home Assistant dashboard when someone walks in, good speaker and voice detection.
- **Bond Bridge** [07:28] — Connects RF devices to smart home; controls dumb ceiling fans and backyard shades, compatible with most systems, reliable for 6+ years.
- **Robot Vacuum (Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra)** [08:07] — Flagship robot vacuum with flexi arm side brush, edge mopping, hot water mop washing, detergent dispenser, 10,000 Pa suction, object avoidance. On sale for Black Friday.
- **Smart Power Strip** [09:14] — Casa smart power strip automates multiple devices; used in garage for ceiling lights and laser parking guide, reliable Wi-Fi integration with Home Assistant.
- **Smart Bird Feeder** [09:40] — Bird Buddy 2.0 with camera, improved audio and HDR, solar panel for charging, easy setup with kids.
- **Outdoor Speaker** [10:08] — JBL Wi-Fi speaker, weatherproof, works with iOS and Android, plenty loud for outdoor use.
- **Garage Door Controllers** [10:22] — Ratgdo and Meos controllers work locally, reliable, automations for open/close status, phone control.
- **Budget Tablet for Dashboard** [11:04] — Lenovo Tab M9 (~$100) used for smart home dashboards, stays between 60-80% battery when plugged in, ideal for theater room and desk.
- **Multicolor Light Bulb** [11:30] — Lifx bulb can display multiple colors at once, E12 base, used in IKEA Symfonisk lamp, looks amazing.
- **COB Light Strips** [11:57] — BTF Lighting COB strips, no visible LEDs, multiple colors, controlled with WLED, DIY but highly customizable.
- **Pressure Sensor Mat** [12:24] — Trample Tech Blue mat detects pressure, adjustable sensitivity, used under kitchen mat to trigger automations when standing at sink.
- **Hue Motion Sensor** [13:03] — Philips Hue motion sensor detects motion, light, temperature; battery lasts 2-3 years, responsive, reliable Zigbee.
- **Lutron Motion Switches** [13:31] — Motion sensor built into light switch, auto on/off, no internet needed, ideal for pantry, closet, bathroom, laundry room.
- **Gaming Controller** [14:13] — Controller with USB-C connector for phone, great for emulating old games on Android, fun alternative to doomscrolling.
- **Face Recognition Smart Lock** [14:25] — Lockly Visage Zeno unlocks with Apple Home Key, fingerprint, keypad, or face scan; first smart lock with face recognition, quiet, integrates with Home Assistant via Homebridge.
- **Smart Sprinkler Controller** [15:05] — Rachio controller alerted to bad solenoid, saving plants; not flashy but essential for automated watering.
- **Kindle Scribe** [15:19] — E-reader with writing capability, useful for note-taking and daily planner templates, feels like pen and paper, easy on eyes at night.
- **Philips Hue Bulbs and Strips** [15:56] — Classic choice; reliability outweighs cost, never disconnect, filament bulbs available, worth including.
- **Bonus: Gerber Dime Multitool** [16:25] — Tiny multitool with package opener, carried daily, great stocking stuffer.

### Conclusion

The video provides a curated list of 30 smart home devices that offer practical value, reliability, and integration with platforms like Home Assistant. From essential sensors to premium locks, these devices enhance convenience, security, and entertainment in a modern smart home.

## Transcript

for years and today I'm going to show you 30 devices that are worth it I try holidays coming up so you can find a gift for others or let's be real yourself this video is going to move quickly and everything is linked in the
description starting off first with a smart universal remote from sofa baton it controls everything in my home theater room the amplifier Xbox Apple TV and projector not only that but it's super easy to use even Ali can use it
oh that that came out wrong plus get this I can trigger those onoff buttons this I can trigger those onoff buttons in home assistant now this remote isn't perfect but it does basically everything I need it to and I was thinking about
depth about that so if you'd be interested in it let me know in the comments you know how many plants Ali and I have accidentally killed we could probably be labeled as plant serial killers at this point but this new plant
sensor from Apollo will hopefully change that it's the PLT one and it's packed full of sensors humidity temperature light UV and most importantly soil moisture built all into this little device it's actually really accurate and
updated instantly when I was watering the plant I can even change the RGB light on it with an automation if my plant needs to be watered it connects directly to home assistant using ESP home and I absolutely love what Apollo
is doing they're making a lot of unique inexpensive sensors for home assistant out you know where the best place to have a speaker in your house is your bathroom sing along in the shower or Blast away while you're getting ready
and I used to use a homepod mini in here until one day it just died so I bought this Sonos ARA 100 and wow this thing is so much better than the homepod mini it's way louder sounds amazing and works with both IOS and Android not only that
I can use the built-in mic for the Sonos voice commands to change the song or volume while in the shower heos next
or try to sell me something it's the complete package smoke detectors in the house are great but you know what's faster detecting a fire right when it starts this hot new addition to my smart home is called eye detect it has special
sensors that can recognize Flames what we have it set up in our garage and our studio and it's perfect because there should never be a fire in either of these places this sensor spots fire from around 20 ft away within 2 seconds and
around 20 ft away within 2 seconds and it the battery life is supposed to last over a year we'll see hopefully I don't
get burned I don't think it works with home assistant yet but it is keeping us safer and that's great there might be a time in your life when you're adding smart light bulbs and your family says I just
want to switch to turn the light on and off sometimes the family is so demanding but you didn't get a Philips hue light bulb so you can't use a hue wireless light switch right wrong you still can the Hue switch just uses zigby so if you
have home assistant with a zigby USB stick you can use this to control any stick you can use this to control any smart lights not just Hue nice and it's wireless with a magnetic mounting plate so you can install this anywhere now
your family can be happy again I have affordable fingerprint door locks throughout my home and they work great I'll link them down below but they don't connect to my smart home but this one is smart it's the new aara u300 it's the
more premium option and it still keeps the Rascals out of my office the lock is also really high quality with a fingerprint sensor hidden Keyhole and I like that anyone can use a keypad it is a little expensive since it's built for
have it connected with home assistant now I can run automations to lock the door or unlock it without getting up the only problem with this lock is if I want it to stay unlocked I have to physically
press this button on the back I really wish aaro would change this but if you want a really nice fingerprint lock with a lever this is a solid pick oh and I use this little electric screwdriver when I was installing the lock I've been
using it for about a year now and I love this for installing smart home devices it's not as bulky as a traditional power drill and it's super easy to use the arrow toward the screw tightens it and the arrow away loosens it there's a
built-in light and it recharges with USBC it's great this motion sensor from straight into the wall so you don't need to worry about batteries it's not expensive and it has a built-in RGB light on it I love using a small RGB
warm lights look pretty decent for a nightlight you will need a zigg hub to use this but what's cool is it works as a zigg repeater to extend your network it is a little bulky but for how inex ensive it is I think it's worth it
speaking of needing a zigg hub this next device makes it way easier so you free and open-source software for automating your home well this device is called home assistant green and it makes it so anyone can get up and running
since it's plug-and playay plus you can get it from Amazon now and I'd say home assistant is the best home automation platform out there all that it costs is your time your sanity and your relationships sorry Ally and I just made
check it out if you're getting started heading outside another smart home product that's worth buying are these outdoor Wi-Fi Lights by Nova Stella that work with most smart home platforms I mounted them near my roof and they're
very bright up to 1,700 lumens they also have good warm and cool white colors and yes RGB for the kids definitely not for me I'm too grown up for that but I set up a cool automation for these when the camera detects a person and the sun is
down the lights turn on so no false alerts from birds or anything and it's really convenient since we never have to turn the lights on and off and it's a good security automation too sometimes when we hear bad air quality we only
think about outside but inside it can be bad too especially when CO2 levels are high it can make my brain feel foggy and I can think slower that's why I'm loving the aeronet 4 and it's great at
detecting CO2 levels the display is easy to read and it's e in so the battery to read and it's e in so the battery life lasts up to 4 years crazy it also Bluetooth but what if you're at a Bluetooth range well that's where the
esp32 comes in it can be used for Bluetooth proxy to extend the Bluetooth range in your house they're very small and really inexpensive like some are only $5 each which is insane and I use it for all sorts of things like room
presence detection since it can detect the Bluetooth on my phone or my SmartWatch and tell my smart home which room I'm in and this opens the door to all sorts of autom based on who's in the room I love these and I think they're
totally worth it for how inexpensive they are now something that cost a 100 times more than the esp32 is the pixel tablet with speaker dock and this is my favorite way to display my smart home dashboard here in
the kitchen because I still get many of the Google display benefits like a good speaker on the magnetic charging dock great voice detection and timers that are easy to see but I can also use the camera on the tablet to automatically
display my own custom home assistant dashboard when someone walks in the room Best of Both Worlds this is the bond Bridge while it doesn't look flashy it's one of the most reliable smart home devices I own I've had it for over 6
years which is longer than I've had two of my children and that's crazy to say out loud here's what bond does it connects RF devices to your smart home this means I can control my dumb ceiling fans and home assistant it's compatible
with basically every smart home system out there and I only need one bridge to control my entire house plus I'm also automating my backyard shades with this definitely one of the best things you can get for your smart home all right
next I want to show you an essential part of our smart home our Robot vacuum and shout out to Roo Rock for sponsoring this portion of the video robot vacuums are absolutely worth it we haven't even needed to think about cleaning our
floors in years people love Robo Rock's high-tech robot vacuums because they're reliable and integrate well with your smart home and this is the S8 maxv Ultra their Flagship and let me tell you it's amazing it cleans the corners really
well since its flexi arm side brush extends out and mopping those spots is also no problem since it has extra Edge mopping I also like how the dock is low maintenance since it washes the mop with hot water and has a detergent dispenser
plus it can clean across different types of floors by lifting up its brushes and mop add in 10,000 pascals of powerful suction and object avoidance and seriously this is an incredible vacuum you can catch it on sale right now for
$700 off for Black Friday and the Q Revo line also has some really great options check out the link in the description to see Robo Rock's Black Friday sale next up is a very useful smart home device it's the casa smart power strip I have
two of these in my garage on the ceiling to automate multiple devices one is I can turn the ceiling lights on and off since the lights are just dumb lights plugged into the smart outlet another is a laser to help me Park perfectly which
the cost of power strip will kill power to the laser when I'm not pulling in my car that way the laser doesn't shine in anybody's eyes I don't need my smart home blinding my kids I also use this at my desk so I can turn on and off my
speakers for my dashboard so much easier for a Wi-Fi device they're extremely reliable and integrate nicely in a home assistant this is a fun one it's a smart bird feeder 2.0 from bird buddy that just launched basically it's a bird
feeder with a camera buletin that captures amazing footage of all the cool is that this new version has improved audio and HDR and it was super easy to set up with my kids the product is really high quality and I love all
solar panel on the roof to keep the camera charged and the water feeder the kids love it while we're outside I want to show you this outdoor speaker that's exactly what I've been looking for a weatherproof wi-fi speaker that I can
always leave out here this is the JBL wi-fi speaker and it fits the bill perfectly it's plenty loud and and works with both IOS and Android the only listening to good music out here but somehow the Frozen soundtrack is always
what we end up playing all right next up are the two garage door controllers from rat Gio and meos these are so nice to have in my smart home and I use them all the time like automations to know if the garage door is open or not or to quickly
open it with my phone when I'm riding on my bike a while back I was very upset when evil cour blocked API access for their garage doors but luckily these options are even better both rat gdio and meos work locally so they're super
reliable and I don't have to worry about my garage automations breaking if you want a smart home dashboard that doesn't break the bank this inexpensive Lenovo tab M9 might be the one it's usually a little over $100 but sometimes you can
catch it on sale like right now during Black Friday I like how this stays between 60 and 80% battery so always keeping it plugged in is fine I use one in our theater room to quickly run lighting scenes and another at my desk
that I put it on so it doesn't take up any desk space one of my favorite lights the one right here in this lamp this lifx bulb can do multiple colors at once
I haven't seen any other light bulb that can do this sure light strips but not a bulb it's a smaller E12 bulb base and I have it in the Ikea symphonics Sonos slamp I don't think Ikea makes this style anymore but the multicolor bulb in
here looks amazing another smart home device that's worth buying are these light strips in the corner from BTF lighting seriously these are the most eyes on that's because they're cob style and I can't see the individual LEDs even
and I can't see the individual LEDs even up close look it blends perfectly plus it can do multiple colors at once and I could write a love letter about how nice they look I'm using wled to control them and it's extremely customizable but it
is DIY so it takes a little more work in tinkering to get it up and running did a full video about these and I'll link that down below I'm excited about this next device it's a new pressure sensor mat called trample Tech blue you can
automate this so if someone steps on it or sits on it certain actions happen there aren't many devices like this since it's already assembled and easy to use look how fast it is at detecting if I'm putting pressure on it or not
extremely accurate and I can adjust the sensitivity very cool and because you can adjust the sensitivity you can put it underneath a couch cushion a mattress or we have ours underneath this kitchen mat that way we can run automations when
we're standing here doing dishes at the kitchen sink it's made by a small startup but it works great you guys are always asking which motion sensor to get and my answer may surprise you is this one from Philips Hue not only can It
detect light and temperature as well as motion but the battery life it's incredible all of mine easily last two or 3 years before I need to replace the batteries which are two aaa's so I always have some on hand not only that
it's extremely responsive and has very fast cooldown times in between detecting motion it uses zigby and it's very reliable this one it's a keeper okay sometimes a separate motion sensor and smart light might be overkill for like a
pantry or closet that's where these Lutron motion switches come in with a motion sensor right there on the light switch they're extremely convenient since the light automatically turns on when you walk in and turns off at after
doesn't connect to the internet but it doesn't have to I have them in my laundry room Pantry bathroom and closet they're perfect you can even get them in a three-way light configuration and they're easy to install now if you're
looking for a good gift for yourself this gaming controller is super fun it has a USBC connector to plug straight into your phone I've been loving this playing old school games on my Android phone using an emulator it's been great
to take on trips and instead of Doom scrolling on social media I can play my favorite childhood games and they're just as fun and difficult as I remember no it's cheating come on this is a really cool new smart home lock called
the lockley VIS Zeno sure it unlocks with apple home key your fingerprint or the keypad but what's really impressive is that it can scan your face and unlock from that this is the first Smart Lock that can do that and I think it's
awesome it's very responsive no matter how you unlock it and it's really quiet comes with an extra one so you can directly to home assistant but I'm using the homebridge integration to know if
the lock is open or not so it works well for me it's obvious that a smart convenient to control everything with your phone but I didn't realize how it would save all my plants from dying one day out of the blue Rio alerted me that
I had a bad solenoid sure enough the solenoid failed so the valve couldn't turn on to water our plants if I had a dumb sprinkler controller I would have had no idea something was wrong and it wasn't running so this isn't flashy but
it's definitely worth it I'm a big fan of e-readers but I wasn't sure if I would need to write on them well when the Kindle scribe first came out I immediately bought it and I found the writing part extremely useful of course
I take notes on what I'm reading about but I can do more than just that there are daily planner templates that make it really easy to plan out the day plus it feels very good right on it feels like I'm using a pen and paper it's a nice
break from the bright screens of phones and tablets especially at night because it doesn't keep me up and now wrapping up with a classic that might be a little controversial Philips H bulbs and light strips and I know I know it's not the
best bang for your buck but the reliability makes up for it my Hue bulbs and light strips never disconnect and I've had them for years plus they have filament bulbs I have in the kitchen that's why when it comes to Smart Home
Tech worth buying I can't leave Hue off the list before you go I have one last bonus item if you're ordering a bunch of smart home devices from this video well I have something that might help you out this is the Gerber dime and I carry it
with me all day because of its size it's Tiny But Mighty the main tool I use on it is the package opener and it's so useful I use a gerber dime way more than I thought I would it's not too expensive and it would be a great stocking stuffer
linked Down Below in the description thanks for watching thing no this is a Christmas present for the baby uh really no trust me she's
going to play with this box for hours [Music] [Applause] [Music]