10 of My Favorite Smart Devices I Tested This Year
I review a lot of smart home technology, and my house is often full of robots rolling around on the floor, talking voice assistants, and notifications from my phone. Most smart home devices have a short lifespan in my home—once they’re tested, they’re out the door—but the ones I really like, I hang on to. These are the ones that impressed me so much that I kept coming back to them.
The Brisk It grill is my favorite smoker.
I spent the summer with six smart grills on my patio and used them frequently with friends. Some of them really impressed me (Kamado Konnected Joe, The Masterbuilt Auto Ignite 545 Digital Charcoal Grill), but I only kept Brisk It Origin. More of a smart smoker than a smart grill, it smoked flawlessly and without much effort on my part. You simply select what you want to cook on your phone, send the recipe to the grill, and place the food on the grill as directed. The grill takes over most of the time, raising and lowering the temperature and adjusting the smoke level. I’ve never been much of a smoker (or griller, to be honest), but Brisk It requires so little effort that I often use it as an easy oven alternative. It turns out that almost anything can be smoked.
BedJet 3 is my favorite luxury
BedJet is a smart bed climate control that blows air into a wavy top sheet that hangs over you like a cloud. You choose how cold, hot and powerful the air is, and can use it on hot nights to cool you down, or on cold nights to warm you and your sheets. My favorite BedJet setting is “turbo,” which gives me a blast of 110-degree air, and I find nothing more luxurious when I crawl into bed on a cold night. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing technology—essentially an air hose hanging off the edge of your bed—but I like it.
“Smart chicken coop” helped me get my first chickens
This year I finally got chickens, and I did it at least in part thanks to Smart Coop: a fully functioning chicken coop with smart cameras . These cameras have artificial intelligence that can count your chickens, identify intruders, and spot an egg from a nesting box (and I love watching my sleeping chickens on video feedback). The double-walled coop provides insulation to protect my chickens from extreme weather conditions, and the run size is large enough for my flock of four.
I still use the PlusLife molecular test for COVID.
I’m still using the at-home rapid PCR COVID test , and if you have vulnerable friends or family members, the PlusLife NAAT test device is a real treat. This is the easiest way to quickly and reliably find out if I have COVID or just an allergy. As an interesting bonus, this particular test connects via Bluetooth to virus.sucks and shows a real-time graph of the test analysis – so instead of just a “positive” or “negative” test result, I can see how much virus was detected. I find this both fascinating and reassuring.
Dreo – my favorite smart fans
I tried four Dreo smart fans this year, including ceiling fans , standing fans , and table fans, and they turned out to be some of the best fans I’ve ever used. You can easily adjust the strength and direction of the Dreo fan using the app, and it’s easy to disassemble for cleaning. However, its single best feature is the “natural” setting, which changes the power of the fan so it feels less like artificial wind and more like a breeze. If you’re going to start with Dreo, I recommend Polyfan.
Oura Ring is my favorite fitness tracker
Oura 4 is out now, but since I put the Oura 3 on my arm a few months ago, it has almost become an addiction. It tracks my sleep, steps, and energy levels, and I can transfer the data to other health apps I use, like Guava . I especially use my sleep data to assess whether I need to adjust my sleep conditions. Wearing the Oura ring has become a habit of mine and I use it so much that after losing mine last month I know I’ll have to replace it.
The K10+ Pro is my favorite robot vacuum cleaner.
I have my favorite vacuum cleaners , and you’ll often hear me talk about Roborock, but my favorite is the K10 from Switchbot. This year, the K10+ Pro improves by ditching the mop function and allowing the K10 to shine as an inexpensive super vacuum small enough to get around small-radius obstacles—like an M&M that moves across the floor. If you’re in the market for a robot vacuum and mop, you should still consider splurging on the Roborock, but for any small home, office, or room that just needs a great vacuum at a great price, the K10+ Pro is the way to go. this is a great way to go.
The Terra Kaffe TK-02 is my favorite smart espresso maker.
I’ve tested every smart coffee machine on the market and the one I was most reluctant to send back was the Terra Kaffe TK-02 . It makes very good coffee and crema and is easy to use via the app or touch screen. I especially liked the fact that I could preload the beans occasionally and change the water every few days, but otherwise let the machine do the job from start to finish.
Bird Buddy is my favorite bird feeder.
What can I say, I love bird watching, particularly my hummingbirds. Unlike previous Bird Buddies that don’t hold the solar charge well, the Hummingbird Feeder is fantastic. The videos and images are stunning and made to be shared, plus it makes a fantastic gift (for you, if not anyone else). The new Bird Buddy subscription even lets you name your favorite birds.
The Mammotion Luba is my favorite robotic lawnmower.
In my neighborhood, I tested robotic lawnmowers on everyone’s lawns who would let me. For me, the clear winner was the robotic mower: the Mammotion Luba. He confidently left the dock, mowed the lawn regardless of the light or weather conditions, and returned to the dock. “Luba” didn’t care about dips in the lawn or hills, she took on rocky trails and anything else I threw at her. At almost $3,000, it’s obviously expensive, but it may be worth the investment if you want the best robotic lawn mower for your lawn.