I Spent a Year Testing Smart Home Devices and This Is What I’d Buy Today for Black Friday
These smart devices are among the millions of products on sale on Black Friday this year. If you’re interested in the best tech on sale today, check out our Best Black Friday Tech Deals page for a broader look at all the best discounts you can get right now. Prices are correct at the time of writing, but you can expect them to fluctuate and stock to sell out, so don’t hesitate if you see a sale that interests you.
I love smart technology. With smart cameras, sensors, robots and everything else, these machines can save time and effort. However, they are often expensive, so Black Friday is the perfect time to invest in them. Some of my favorite smart tech devices I’ve been testing this year are on sale today, so if you’ve been thinking about getting a robotic lawnmower or a smart security camera system, now is the time.
The best robotic lawn mowers on sale
After testing several robotic lawn mowers, I realized that the Luba 2’s simplicity and reliability make it my favorite. ( Read my full review . ) Loaded with features from video monitoring to GPS location when removed from the yard, the Luba now even has lawn printing capabilities. (I wasn’t impressed, but by the Fourth of July I had a bunch of stars printed on my lawn.) The only reason to choose a different lawn mower is if your lawn is too small or has a lot of obstacles to mow. The Luba 2 is durable and can handle everything from a medium-sized yard to a field with ease. Bots come in different capacities, each with their own Prime Day discount.
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LUBA 2 AWD 3000 (up to 0.75 yards) : Normally $2,499, now $2,149.
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LUBA 2 AWD 3000 (up to 1.25 yards) : Normally $2,899, now $2,249.
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LUBA 2 AWD 3000 (up to 2.5 yards) : Normally $4,099, now $3,649.
If your lawn is smaller, you may want to consider the Segway Navimow. ( Read my full review .) The difference I make between the Luba 2 and the Navimow is that the Luba is really solid, but it lacks the grace to turn around or navigate obstacles neatly. For small yards, Navimow is a great option because it is incredibly reliable. He doesn’t like to dive in the yard or on a hill, so you need to make sure the terrain is fairly level, but he can handle inclines without issue.
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Navimow i105N: normally $999, now $799
Best Outdoor Surveillance Cameras on Sale
There are many good outdoor cameras out there, but whenever I finish testing the others, I turn my Eufy Solocams back on. There’s a lot to like here, including the extraordinary viewing range that’s achieved thanks to a spherical pan-tilt mechanism that allows the camera to rotate nearly 360 degrees. In fact, each has two cameras – one for a macro view, the other for a micro view. The microview is impressively detailed: I can actually look at individual plants in my yard in detail while I’m away. I like that you don’t need a monthly plan if you have an Eufy hub to store clips locally, and that live viewing happens reliably and with minimal latency every time. The two cameras on sale are wired spotlights – the S330 and E340 . I have both as we speak, but also be sure to check out the solar powered s340 , which is out of stock but still worth it to use in places where you don’t have the option to hardwire.
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eufy Security Floodlight Cam S330 : Normally $299.99, now $169.98.
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eufy Security Floodlight E340 Camera : Normally $219.99, now $149.98.
Best Indoor Security Cameras on Sale
I firmly believe that all security cameras should have pan and tilt capabilities. The ability to move focus around the room and find what you need is very important, especially for an indoor camera. It’s too frustrating to be far away and have something out of reach. For this reason, I really liked the Aqara 2K E1 indoor security camera. It’s durable, low profile, impossible to tip over, and allows you to sweep the room to find exactly what you need.
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Aqara 2K Indoor Security Camera E1 , Pan Tilt: Normally $59.99, now $39.99.
The best robot vacuum cleaners on sale.
I’d like to say that all robot vacuums, especially the expensive ones, are comparable and that you’ll probably get a good one if you just spend enough. Unfortunately, this is not my experience. Even within a brand, differences between models can be stark. However, Roborock models have consistently remained my favorites over the past year. If I were going to buy a robot vacuum cleaner tomorrow, it would be the Roborock S8 line. The S8 Pro Ultra excels on both carpets and hard floors. It has the fewest problems in terms of rollers getting lost, getting stuck, or having to be cleaned. The mopping function is more than just an add-on: it effectively cleans the floor.
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Roborock S8 Pro Ultra: Normally $1,599.99, now $899.99.
If you have a small house, apartment, or just a dedicated space where you want to add a robot vacuum, my hands-down favorite is the Switchbot k10+. Its miniature size allows it to get closer to walls and chair legs than typical bots of its type. Although it’s technically a vacuum cleaner and mop, there’s no need to worry about the floor-cleaning function—if you just focus on it as a vacuum cleaner, you’ll be impressed.
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Switchbot K10+ Robot Vacuum Cleaner : Normally $399.99, now $279.99.
The best smart diffusers on sale
This clever aroma diffuser, which I thought would be fun but not much else, turned out to be one of my favorite finds of the year. Two aspects I like: you can turn it on and off or schedule it from your phone so it doesn’t overwhelm you, and you can upload two different scents and it will display them in the phone app. The diffuser ($34.99) is currently 30% off, but that doesn’t matter. What will hit you are the gas stations, many of which are currently 30% off, so stock up.
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2-Pack, Lavender Fields : Normally $27.98, now $19.59.
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2-Pack Salt: Normally $31.98, now $22.39.