The best smart home hubs of 2022
The best smart home hubs of 2022
Included in this guide:
The more you add together smart home devices to your home, the more you're going to need one of the all-time smart domicile hubs. A smart home hub acts as a centralized spot from which you can control all of your diverse devices, be information technology lights, locks, garage door openers, thermostats, cameras, and more.
More importantly, a smart home hub lets you lot connect all those smart home devices together. For instance, when you lock your smart lock, a smart home hub can tell your lights to turn off, and your thermostat to go into eco mode. It's a key gadget for creating an automatic smart home.
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That's just 1 of the things a good smart abode hub tin do, merely some are more capable than others. That's why we've tested the smart domicile hubs on the market to let y'all know which is best.
What are the all-time smart habitation hubs?
For years, our favorite smart domicile hub has been the Samsung SmartThings Hub, non and so much for the hardware, merely for Samsung's SmartThings platform, which makes it piece of cake to connect Zigbee, Z-Wave, and other devices. It even has a dwelling monitoring component, which can send you an alarm, record video, turn on lights, play sounds, and unlock your doors in the event of a smoke or fire warning. And, information technology at present works with Nest products, something it's been missing for years. However, Samsung has discontinued making its own hardware; we recommend the Aeotec Smart Dwelling house Hub ($134, Amazon) as a proficient alternative, only it'due south often sold out.
The 4th-generation Amazon Echo volition probably appeal to more people, as it doubles equally a smart speaker. It lacks Z-Wave, but has Zigbee, Bluetooth and Amazon Sidewalk. Amazon'south Alexa app allows you to create routines that can actuate your smart home devices through triggers, such equally yous leaving or arriving home. Alexa Guard can also turn on smart domicile devices if your Echo hears a burn down alarm or a window breaking. And, considering the Echo is a smart speaker, you can too control your smart habitation devices past talking to Alexa.
At CES 2022, Samsung announced the Samsung Dwelling Hub, a new tablet-like device that can be used to control SmartThings products. Still, pricing and release data has even so to be revealed, but nosotros're hopeful that it will arrive sometime this year.
The Homey Hub is also at present available, which works with Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Moving ridge, 433 Mhz and Infrared devices; you can buy either the Homey Bridge ($69, merely requires a beta invite) or the Homey Pro ($399); however, if you opt for the Homey Bridge, you lot'll need to pay $two.99/month to get all of the smart home features that come with the Homey Pro.
Read on for all the best smart home hubs.
The best smart home hubs you can buy today
With Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Zigbee, the Amazon Echo (fourth generation) is the all-time smart domicile hub for most people. Thanks to its multiple radios, it can connect to a huge number of depression-power smart home devices, and Alexa's routines are pretty sophisticated, letting y'all use a number of triggers to automatically activate other smart domicile devices. It too works with Alexa Guard, which will heed for drinking glass breaking and fume alarms, and can turn on your lights and notify you lot in the event of an emergency.
The fourth-generation Echo likewise supports Amazon Sidewalk, a very new low-power, long-range networking protocol, which volition work with things such as Tile trackers and smart lights over much greater distances.
Read our full Amazon Repeat review .
The third-generation Samsung SmartThings hub is one of the all-time smart dwelling house hubs because it has both Zigbee and Z-Wave inside, so yous tin can connect to hundreds of devices, more than most other hubs. What's more, the SmartThings app is loaded with functionality, which lets you create a wide range of different scenarios for all of the gadgets in your abode. Best of all, SmartThings now works with Nest products, making it a truly complete smart abode hub.
However, Samsung is no longer making its SmartThings Hub, so to use its SmartThings platform, you'll need the Aeotec Smart Dwelling Hub ($134 on Amazon) or another SmartThings-compatible hub. The functionality should remain the aforementioned, however.
Read our full Samsung SmartThings review .
We actually think that Apple tree'southward HomeKit smart home platform is better than Google'due south. Even though HomeKit supports fewer devices, it allows for greater complexity when creating smart home routines. And, we don't have to worry as much what Apple is doing with our data.
The HomePod mini is non merely an affordable smart speaker, merely it also acts as a HomeKit hub, letting you lot connect locks, lights, and other depression-power devices directly to it. The HomePod mini also has Thread built in; while in that location are relatively few smart abode gadgets that have this technology, we expect it to increase in popularity, every bit it'due south supported past both Apple tree and Google.
Read our full Apple tree HomePod mini review .
At merely $49, the Repeat Dot is half the price of most of the other best smart domicile hubs, making it an inexpensive investment for those merely getting into smart home automation. While it lacks Zigbee or Z-Wave, if your smart home devices accept Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, this shouldn't be a problem.
And, via the Alexa app, you can create some surprisingly powerful routines; nosotros especially similar Alexa Guard, which can activate smart home devices if it hears burn alarms or glass breaking.
You can purchase the Amazon Repeat Dot in a few flavors: The fourth-generation Echo Dot costs $49, the 4th-generation Repeat Dot with Clock (our personal favorite) is $59, or the older (and flatter) 3rd-generation Echo Dot, which now costs $49.
Read our full Amazon Echo Dot review .
The Starling Home Hub does ane affair, and does 1 thing well: Information technology connects Nest devices — such as the Nest Learning Thermostat and the Nest Protect — to Apple's HomeKit smart dwelling house platform. (Sadly, Apple and Nest have never played well together). This means if yous're using Apple's smart home platform, yous tin can use some of the best smart thermostats and all-time smart smoke detectors.
Even amend — the Starling Hub besides lets yous view your Nest security cameras in the Apple tree Home app, though you'll demand to utilize the Nest app if y'all want to see whatsoever saved videos. A recent update added support for the new Nest Doorbell (battery) and the new Nest Cam (battery).
Read our total Starling Dwelling Hub review .
Because of its steep learning curve but incredibly granular controls, the Hubitat Tiptop is the all-time smart home hub for power users. Homeowners who desire to create incredibly specific rules and situations for when their smart home devices activate will appreciate all that you can do from inside Hubitat's web interface.
The Hubitat Elevation itself is very small — the size of a thick coaster — but packs in both Zigbee and Z-Moving ridge antennas. Notwithstanding, it lacks Wi-Fi, so you'll have to plug information technology into your router in order to use it. When we first reviewed the Hubitat Elevation, information technology lacked a smartphone app, so you had to control everything through a web interface. Since then, the company added a mobile app for both Android and iPhones, making it easier to monitor your smart home on the become.
Read our total Hubitat Elevation review .
One of the best smart home hubs and smart displays in i device, the 3rd-generation Amazon Echo Show 10 tin at present plough to face up whoever is request Alexa questions. It ensures that yous get the best view of the screen, but as a effect, requires a lot more room than previous models.
Similar the Amazon Echo Plus, the Echo Prove has Zigbee built in, and then you can connect smart home devices directly to the Show. It also has Amazon Sidewalk, a new networking technology that connects low-power devices to the Internet at greater distances. However, at $249, it's one of the more expensive smart home speakers around. We'd recommend purchasing it for its other features before because it as a smart home hub.
Read our total Amazon Echo Testify ten review .
Apple'south HomeKit smart home platform isn't as popular as Google's or Amazon'southward, but it is very powerful for what it offers, namely, a fairly sophisticated setup of interactions between your smart domicile devices. Yet, these devices all have to be connected through a smart dwelling house hub.
While y'all can employ a variety of Apple products equally a HomeKit hub—an iPad and the HomePod also work—the Apple Tv 4K is the least expensive method. Plus, it'southward one of the best streaming devices around, letting you watch 4K HDR content from a large number of sources via an easy-to-apply interface. Nosotros're not fans of its remote, though.
Read our full Apple Boob tube 4K review .
The Google Nest Hub Max is an excellent smart display: It has a spacious 10-inch screen which can exist used for watching YouTube and Netflix, looking upward recipes, news, and more; its dual speakers are powerful; and its six.5MP camera is great for Google Duo video calls, and will fifty-fifty "follow" you as yous move across the room.
Connectivity-wise, it has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread, a new smart home networking protocol that Google has been trying to popularize for a few years. The Nest Hub Max's display tin can be used to view live footage from Google Assistant-compatible home security cameras, video doorbells, and baby monitors, and on-screen controls allow you adjust smart light levels. Notwithstanding, as a smart domicile platform, Google Home doesn't have nearly the same sophistication equally Alexa or HomeKit.
Read our full Google Nest Hub Max review .
How to choose the best smart home hub for you
When choosing a smart home hub that'due south best for your needs, you lot starting time accept to ask yourself what you desire to do with it, and what yous desire to command. If all you have is one set of smart lights, then you probably don't need a smart home hub. But, if you have smart lights and a smart lock, and want the lights to turn on when the lock opens at nighttime, and so you lot might demand a smart habitation hub.
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, or Z-Wave?
Every smart home device will employ some sort of wireless technology to communicate with others. Smaller devices, such as door and window sensors and motion detectors, volition generally employ Zigbee or Z-Wave, equally they're low ability, and don't demand to transmit a lot of data. That'due south why these sensors tin can be built so small; however, they need to link to a bridge (such every bit a smart home hub) if you want to connect them to the internet. Traditionally, smart locks have too used this engineering science, but increasingly are switching over to Wi-Fi.
Larger devices, and those that can draw from a steady ability source, by and large utilize Wi-Fi, as it tin can transmit more than information, and doesn't require a bridge or a hub. Devices in this category include domicile security cameras, smart thermostats, and video doorbells.
Consider the products you want to connect. If they're all on Wi-Fi, then you can use a smart home hub similar the Amazon Echo Dot, and use the Alexa app to control everything. If you accept other types of devices — Zigbee and Z-Wave, for instance — you'll need to purchase a smart abode hub that tin receive those signals.
How we test smart home hubs
Testing smart home hubs involves u.s. installing the hubs in a existent-earth scenario, and seeing how well they perform. How easy is it to set up, both in terms of the hardware and the software? How simple is it to connect other smart home devices to the hub?
After that, they cardinal to any smart abode hub is determining how complex you can make the interactions between various smart home devices. For instance, if a hub simply lets you lot create rules based on the time of twenty-four hour period or when y'all speak a command, then that'southward pretty limited. The best smart dwelling house hubs will let you exercise much more, such as changing their status based on your location or what happens when another smart home device turns on or off.
Nosotros look to see how sophisticated nosotros can brand these rules and routines, and the ease with which nosotros can create them. Lastly, we test the routines nosotros create to run into how well they piece of work.
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Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-smart-home-hubs,review-3200.html
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