Living room technology encompasses televisions and soundbars, which stand out as the clear stars. However, plenty of other gadgets exist to enhance your main living space’s ambiance, convenience, and security. Explore the best living room gadgets tips and discover the devices that make the living room a cozy and convenient place for entertainment and relaxation.
Living Room Gadgets Tips: Top 7 Techs for a Convenient Area!
Smart Speaker
A smart speaker is an indispensable addition to the living room. Beyond its capacity for playing music, our preferred models act as a central command center, enabling you to control nearly any other connected home device through voice commands. The initial consideration when selecting one is determining which voice assistance platform aligns best with your home: Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri. Each platform supports the most prominent smart home device brands, ensuring compatibility with your existing setup.
Once you’ve chosen a voice assistance platform, it’s time to select the specific smart speaker model. Factors to consider include the speaker’s sound quality, design aesthetic, and additional features such as built-in displays or smart home hub capabilities. Additionally, assess the ecosystem of compatible accessories and services each platform offers, which can influence your overall user experience. With the right smart speaker, you can effortlessly manage your connected devices and streamline your daily routines from the comfort of your living room.
Furthermore, smart speakers create a seamless and integrated smart home environment. By serving as a centralized hub for controlling various devices, they enhance convenience and accessibility for users. Whether adjusting the thermostat, dimming the lights, or obtaining weather forecasts, performing these tasks through simple voice commands adds a new efficiency level to everyday living. With their versatility and functionality, smart speakers elevate the living room experience and pave the way for a more connected and comfortable home environment.
Smart Speaker Recommendation:
If Alexa is your preferred voice assistant, consider the Echo Studio for its remarkable audio quality at a reasonable price, or opt for the more budget-friendly fourth-generation Amazon Echo. Google Assistant enthusiasts may prefer the Nest Audio, while Siri users can choose between the HomePod or the HomePod mini. When selecting devices compatible with Apple HomeKit or Matter, ensure compatibility with your chosen Siri-enabled device. Alternatively, the Sonos Era 300 and 100 support Alexa but not Google Assistant or Siri.
Smart Display
Consider incorporating an intelligent display as an alternative to or alongside a smart speaker. This feature provides hands-free voice assistant capabilities complemented by a practical touch screen. This feature allows you to seamlessly access live streams from your smart doorbell or security camera, engage in video calls, and manage connected devices with a simple tap. Moreover, during idle moments, your living room smart display can transition into a digital photo frame, showcasing cherished personal photos or curated artwork, adding a personalized touch to your space.
Smart displays offer a versatile solution for enhancing both functionality and aesthetics in your living room. Beyond serving as a hub for voice commands and device control, they provide an interactive platform for accessing multimedia content and staying connected with loved ones. Whether following along with a recipe, keeping abreast of current events, or indulging in a virtual gathering with friends and family, an intelligent display elevates the overall experience by combining convenience and entertainment in one sleek device.
Furthermore, the customizable nature of smart displays allows you to tailor the device to suit your unique preferences and lifestyle. From adjusting display settings and organizing widgets to selecting preferred photo albums or art collections, you can curate the visual experience in your living room according to your tastes. Whether you’re seeking productivity enhancements, entertainment options, or a stylish addition to your home decor, an intelligent display offers a versatile solution that seamlessly integrates into your daily routine.
Smart Display Recommendations:
Our top picks for living room smart displays include the Alexa-powered Amazon Echo Show 10 and the Google Assistant-powered Google Nest Hub Max. These larger models offer comprehensive features and a spacious display, making them ideal for the living room environment. Conversely, smaller smart display options may be better suited for spaces like the kitchen or bedroom, providing convenient access to information and entertainment in more compact settings.
Smart Light Bulbs
Enhancing your living room’s ambiance and functionality can be effortlessly achieved by replacing conventional incandescent bulbs with smart bulbs that support app and voice control. This simple and cost-effective upgrade eliminates the need to physically toggle light switches, providing unparalleled convenience from the comfort of your couch. In addition to their superior convenience, bright lights boast energy-efficient properties and extended lifespans compared to traditional bulbs, resulting in long-term cost savings.
Integrating smart light bulbs into your living room setup gives you greater flexibility and control over your lighting environment. By adjusting brightness levels, color temperatures, and lighting schedules through a smartphone app or voice commands, you can customize the lighting to accommodate different activities and atmospheres. Whether hosting a movie night, enjoying a cozy evening, or entertaining guests, smart lights allow you to create the perfect ambiance with a few taps or voice prompts.
Furthermore, smart light bulbs’ energy-saving capabilities contribute to eco-conscious living while reducing electricity bills over time. By optimizing energy usage min, minimizing unnecessary lighting, and reducing your environmental impact, you can play a role in fostering a more sustainable lifestyle. With their seamless integration into modern smart home ecosystems, smart light bulbs offer a hassle-free and cost-effective solution for transforming your living room into a more comfortable, energy-efficient, and technologically advanced space.
Smart Light Bulbs Recommendations:
The Wyze Bulb Color is the epitome of value-packed smart color bulbs we’ve tested, featuring Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity for app control without needing a hub. It seamlessly connects with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, enabling effortless voice commands. It offers intelligence surpassing standard light bulbs yet remains budget-friendly enough to outfit every fixture in your home. With the ability to emit virtually any color, a variety of warm to cool white shades, and adjustable brightness levels, it provides ample versatility to create the perfect ambiance for your next movie night or any occasion.
Smart Thermostats
A connected thermostat represents a valuable addition to any smart living room setup, offering enhanced convenience and potential energy savings. Our preferred models enable seamless monitoring and control of your home’s heating and cooling system via smartphone app or voice commands, allowing for effortless temperature adjustments from anywhere. Additionally, these advanced thermostats empower users to create personalized temperature schedules tailored to their lifestyle, optimizing comfort while minimizing energy consumption.
One of the standout features of these smart thermostats is their energy-saving capabilities, resulting in considerable reductions in utility bills over time. By leveraging innovative technologies such as occupancy sensors and adaptive learning algorithms, these devices intelligently regulate temperature settings to maximize efficiency without compromising comfort. Moreover, remotely monitoring and adjusting heating and cooling settings ensures that energy is not wasted when the home is unoccupied, contributing to cost savings and environmental sustainability.
Furthermore, integrating smart thermostats into a connected home ecosystem offers comprehensive control and automation capabilities. With seamless compatibility with popular smart home platforms such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit, users can effortlessly incorporate their thermostats into existing routines and automation sequences. Whether you’re looking to optimize comfort, save on energy costs, or enhance overall convenience, a connected thermostat is a wise investment that elevates the functionality and efficiency of your living room environment.
Smart Thermostat Recommendations:
Our top choice, the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium, includes a remote sensor that can be placed in another room to maintain a uniform temperature throughout the house. For those seeking a more economical option, the Wyze Thermostat is the top pick among sub-$100 models, offering exceptional value and functionality.
Smart Plug
A smart plug provides the convenience of remotely controlling any household device that plugs into a wall outlet, whether a lamp, space heater, humidifier, or even a festive Christmas tree. With this versatile device, you can effortlessly transform traditional appliances and electronics into connected gadgets that can be managed remotely using your smartphone. Whether you’re looking to schedule the operation of your devices, conserve energy by remotely powering them off, or enjoy the convenience of controlling them from anywhere, a smart plug offers a simple and effective solution for enhancing your home automation setup.
Smart Plug Recommendations:
The TP-Link Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Slim With Energy Monitoring, our current top choice in this category, offers comprehensive features, including power usage monitoring, voice command compatibility, and seamless integration with numerous third-party platforms, all at an affordable price point. On the other hand, while lacking HomeKit support and power usage reporting, the Wyze Plug presents an excellent budget-friendly alternative.
Wi-Fi-connected Indoor Security Camera
Given the proliferation of smart devices in your living room, it’s prudent to consider investing in a Wi-Fi-connected indoor home security camera. These sophisticated devices offer additional protection and peace of mind, allowing you to monitor your home remotely and deter potential intruders. Modern indoor security cameras provide comprehensive surveillance capabilities, encompassing live streaming, motion detection, and bidirectional audio communication. Moreover, many models boast advanced functionalities like facial recognition, night vision, and cloud storage options, guaranteeing adequate protection for your home and possessions. Integrating a Wi-Fi-connected indoor security camera into your smart home ecosystem gives you enhanced control and visibility over your living space, empowering you to respond promptly to any security concerns or incidents.
Wi-Fi-connected Indoor Security Camera Recommendations:
The Eufy S220 Indoor Cam is a top choice, offering crisp, high-resolution video and an array of features usually associated with higher-priced models. These include local and cloud storage options, automatic motion tracking functionality, and compatibility with all major voice assistance platforms.
Pet Camera
A pet camera is essential to any smart living room, especially for pet owners. Offering features like live streaming, two-way audio communication, and motion detection, these devices provide continuous monitoring and interaction with pets regardless of the owner’s whereabouts. With capabilities such as treat dispensing and built-in laser pointers, pet cameras facilitate engaging interactions that enhance the connection between pet owners and their furry friends.
Additionally, they serve as practical training tools, allowing owners to observe their pets’ behavior remotely and provide reinforcement or guidance as needed, enhancing their training and development even when owners are away. With pet cameras, owners can enjoy peace of mind knowing that their pets are always safe, happy, and well cared for.
Pet Camera Recommendations:
The Furbo 360 Dog Camera is a delightful combination of functionality and enjoyment, featuring barking notifications and a remote treat-tossing feature that you and your canine companion will appreciate. Similarly, for cat owners seeking to please their feline roommates, the Furbo 360 Cat Camera offers a comparable experience explicitly tailored to cats. Customized sound effects and notifications, along with a dangly feather toy atop the camera, ensure a perfectly engaging experience for pets and owners alike.
Conclusion:
When it comes to decking out your living room with the latest tech, the options are vast. These gadgets, from smart speakers and displays to lighting and thermostats, enhance convenience and energy efficiency. Adding indoor cameras and pet cams ensures security and peace of mind. With these technologies seamlessly integrated, your living space becomes an intelligent haven for relaxation and enjoyment.
