Best home automation systems | TechRadar

The rise of wireless technology and connectivity means that there are now more and more opportunities to create a home automation system, controlling everything from lighting, heating to the centers. Entertainment. By using only voice commands, a visual interface or a mobile application, you can use automation to create a truly intelligent home.

Thanks to wireless broadband protocols, Bluetooth, ZigBee, z-wave and others, different devices can now be connected together from a central hub. Due to the market's interest in opening up the home automation market, most smart home products nowadays work with different home hub automation systems, but be sure to check before you buy.

The smart product line continues to grow. There are video doorbells, home security systems, thermostats, smart lights, smart cards, smoke and flood detectors and even locks for the front door of your home. There are also smart TVs, home music systems and other audio-visual entertainment products, as well as robots for vacuuming floors or mowing the lawn, all now available to be controlled by intelligent wireless technology.

The modern house is becoming more and more automated. The modern house becomes intelligent.

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1. Amazon Echo

Easy installation

Voice commands

Multiple characteristics

Good compatibility

Amazon Echo is a leading hub for home automation, using Amazon's exclusive voice-activated Alexa technology. Echo can operate as a standalone device, connecting to a cloud-based service to stream music, make calls, set alerts and schedule schedules, ask questions, or even request weather and weather reports. traffic. The echo has several omnidirectional microphones that make it easy to take voice commands in a room, and includes multiple speakers for easy listening.

In addition, Amazon now offers a range of product variants. While the original echo costs $ 99, Amazon has released a smaller version called Echo Dot, which costs half the price and offers similar functionality. There's also the Echo Spot, Echo Show, which acts like a small portable TV and even an Echo Auto for your car, as well as the Echo Plus and Fire TV Cube media players, all of which come with built-in Alexa and use the same intelligent technology.

Regardless of the type of echo you use, it should be compatible with most smart devices. Better yet, connecting them is as simple as saying "Alexa, find my devices".

Overall, Amazon has been very focused on Alexa devices to make them as accessible as possible. Also watch out for slippery year-round specials that show off the discounts on all or part of the Echo range.

2. Google Home Hub

Visual interface

Google Services

Voice commands

Good compatibility

Small screen

Privacy issues

The Google Home Hub is another common system for setting up a home automation system. It uses Google Assistant to perform tasks using voice commands, but works primarily as a visual interface, actually acting as a voice-activated tablet. It can display local weather information, events and reviews, daily schedules, as well as play music and videos from YouTube and other services. When it's not used, it can display a clock on its screen or serve as a digital photo frame by displaying images from your Google Photo account.

Of course, it also functions as a central home automation hub and connects easily to many other smart devices. You can control lighting, heating, security and typical smart home range via voice commands or the user interface by swiping or tapping on the screen options as needed.

The Google Home Welcome Center truly excels with its integration with Google Services, including Web Search, which is even more advanced than most competitors, although it is somewhat out of date with ads and Google's personal promotion.

However, Google Home Hub is not a complete multimedia device, so you can not access digital subscriptions as you can with Chromecast. In addition, although the display is ideal for close interactions, the small 7 "screen means it is not as usable in a room.

Overall, the Google Home Hub is a great little kit that works well with other smart devices. In addition, the visual element can sometimes be user-friendly. However, Google continues to face privacy issues, including the zeal of the business to store as much user data as possible.

3. Wink Hub 2

polyvalent

Mobile app

Automate settings

Some limited controls

The Wink 2 Concentrator is one of the most versatile hubs for home automation. The hub itself can be configured wirelessly or connected to your router with an Ethernet cable. Then you download the Wink app to your Android or iOS device, and then control everything from the app. From there, you can select the other smart devices you want to connect to and control their settings accordingly.

This means that orders are usually placed via a visual interface, similar to the Google Home Hub. However, as everything is handled by a device that you are likely to carry, such as your smartphone or even a smart watch, you do not have to worry about finding information in a room. However, Wink 2 does not use default voice commands, but you can use any voice assistant built into your device, such as Google Assistant or Siri, or even use Alexa.

Wink Hub really excels in the ability to set the default conditions for your other smart devices, making it the center of your home automation system. Using IFTTT – SI protocols, then, this – you can configure your smart devices to activate and perform specific actions when certain conditions are met. For example, you can set your smart lights to turn on automatically at specific times, or have the heater or air conditioner light up at set temperatures, or have the security cameras record the door sensor activated. In this way, your home can not only be connected but also automatically controlled. The disadvantage is that the application Wink 2 may not offer the same settings as dedicated applications for smart devices, such as ordering a smart thermostat for that purpose. it is activated / deactivated during the holidays.

Overall, however, Wink offers a decent system with more options than some other automation hubs. This includes allowing your controls to be more personalized by using IFTTT as the default built-in setting, which other hubs often need third-party software to enable.

4. Smasung SmartThings

Mobile app

Automate settings

Backup battery

Limited user experience

The Samsung SmartThings hub aims to associate the smart home system with a single home automation hub, operated via a mobile application. Samsung also manufactures a number of peripherals that work directly with it, including motion sensors, versatile sensors, and smart buttons. The Samsung SmartThings hub also works well with most third-party smart devices, though it does not have as many connectivity options as some, being mostly limited to Z-Wave and Zigbee protocols. What it does offer, though, are simple IFTTT customizations to make a house truly smart.

A notable feature of the Samsung SmartThings hub is that it incorporates a battery-powered option, which allows the system to continue running in the event of a power outage, unlike some stand-alone hubs. It is also relatively simple and painless for other smart devices to connect to the hub, at least initially. However, although Samsung is renowned for its hardware quality, it has not yet established its identity information with software, as the SmartThings application shows, because it is not as user-friendly as other home automation systems based on an application.

If you find the app restrictive, you can still set up voice commands by logging in to Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to be able to use it, but it's not configured to provide the same multimedia experience than other voice-activated home automation systems unless you plan to connect to existing smart AV devices.

Overall, the SmartThings hub may be suitable for people who simply want to install a smart home automation system, but it is actually designed to work with a lot of different hardware, rather than providing an immediate experience that some rivals can.

5. Apple Homekit

Good customizations

Good material support

Apple devices only

Apple HomeKit is a home automation system specifically designed for Apple device users using an iOS or macOS application to remotely control a range of smart devices at home, with the help of a smartphone. touch screen or voice commands with the help of Siri.

Although HomeKit has been available for a number of years, Apple's stringent hardware security requirements meant that few third-party products were originally developed by Apple. is that Apple HomeKit now supports a wide range of different smart devices.

However, the Home application used to control the HomeKit still suffers from minor usability issues. The connection of new smart devices is not as automated as with other home automation systems because they have to be added manually by scanning the printed codes. This operation can only be performed on an iPhone or iPad, not from a Mac. In addition, the family application is sometimes unable to manage smart devices, as well as dedicated applications for these smart devices.

Even so, there is now a good range of additional hardware available in terms of audio / video, lighting, thermostats, sensors and cameras similar to other hubs. In addition, Siri voice commands remain highly developed and are often more nuanced than other voice assistants, allowing you to speak with a more natural and less artificial voice. There are also some interesting configuration settings for parts and areas, so that any intelligent experience may seem more personalized than others.

Overall, while HomeKit may seem a bit more limited in some ways than other home automation systems, it can still offer a very intelligent experience.