Best Smart Home Devices of 2025: Home Upgrades for Anyone

From smart lighting to doorbells , there are countless smart home devices out there, and it can be difficult to choose. You also have to decide which platform to use for your smart home -- options include Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa or sticking with a home security brand. CNET's reviewers are always on the watch for new home gadgets that are worth the setup and money, so you can find the right tech answers. Our Picks Read more : Best Smart Home Gifts for 2025 Now, we're rounding up some of our favorite picks, from lighting to thermostats , that we've used in our own homes. Take a look to see what your home may need and what features these connected devices can add, even to the most unlikely places. Pros Latest in room-filling sound from Amazon Alexa Plus capabilities Sensors to customize volume Cons Alexa Plus costs $20 if you aren't a Prime subscriber The Death Star-like design is a little weird Amazon's newest smart speakers come with spatial audio and other sound enhancements, which are especially noticeable in the powerful Echo Studio. With the Alexa app, this smart speaker can connect to a wide variety of services, from your favorite music streaming option to Uber, food delivery apps and more. Alexa can also connect with many smart home devices and control them with a voice command, including lights, locks and smart plugs. You can even pair two Studios and connect them to a compatible TV for theater sound. One of the big highlights of this new speaker is Alexa Plus, a more advanced AI version of the voice assistant that's free for Prime users, but otherwise costs $20 per month. Alexa Plus is a cheerier and generally more informative voice assistant with expanded capabilities, a generally strong upgrade compared to past versions of Alexa, so if you've been looking for a voice assistant to help out around the home, this is a good time to jump in. Pros Decent sound from small speaker Wall-mountable Fun color choices Cons No aux port Google's Nest Mini smart speaker isn't as powerful as the new Echo, but it's a great budget-friendly option for Google users. The audio quality in the Nest Mini is respectable, given its price and profile. It also has a wall-mounting notch on the underside, if that's what you're into. An interesting presence detection method that uses the speaker and microphone to determine your proximity to the Nest Mini helps it trigger LED indicators that help you make better sense of the otherwise obscured physical volume controls. And with Google's Gemini for Home upgrades, these Nest speakers are getting even better with a subscription. Think of this speaker as an excellent desk companion, especially if you prefer using Google Home as a control app for your smart home. Pros Quick gesture support Sleep tracking Improved audio quality Cons Sleep tracking will cost at some point No camera for video calling Amazon may have introduced the smart...

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