Smart home tech that makes great gifts

There are many smart home products and devices that make excellent gifts for your friends and family members. In today’s blog I’m going to run down a few of these items (by category) to help you find some good gift giving ideas. If you think that smart home devices are wonderfully helpful tech, but you’re not quite sure which items make the best gifts to give, read on for the full smart home gift ideas list!

Smart plugs

When it comes to the perfect smart home gift idea, I personally favour things that are small and unobtrusive. And if I’m giving something to someone who’s new to smart home products, I also want to find them something that’s not too intimidating or difficult to install and set up. One great example of just such an item is the category of smart plugs. Not only are smart plugs small and easy for anyone to use, but they’re also super handy devices that, once acquired, many people simply can’t imagine living without.In fact, people of all ages can use and appreciate smart plugs. Whether one wants to be able to turn out the lights at night from the comfort of their bed or manipulate their electronics via a smart phone app from half way around the world, smart plugs make it all possible. And, as you can see from the photo above, there are even outdoor smart plugs available now.

Smart plugs are also super easy to use. They simply plug into a standard wall outlet and make those outlets smart. To my way of thinking, this makes smart plugs an ideal gift for just about anyone. As long as your recipient has a smart phone and something that plugs into the wall, a smart plug is something they’ll be able to make use of.

Smart speakers & displays

Undoubtedly one of the best smart home categories from which to uncover an amazing gift for someone is Smart Speakers, Displays, & Accessories. These devices are chock full of amazing features and functionality, and they make a great gift idea for just about anybody!

There’s also a lot to choose from today, with devices that feature built-in smart assistants like the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. This means that your gift recipient will have anytime access to a wealth of useful information from the world wide web, including everything from weather forecasts and lasts night’s sports scores to more vital information like the latest news and whatever’s happening in the world’s financial markets.

Not only that—these devices also allow users to control a multitude of other smart home devices with noting more than their very own voice. They’ll be able to turn lights on and off, lock and unlock their doors, adjust their thermostat, and many other handy things—all with simple voice based commands. What a great gift idea!

Item tracking devices

Another fun example of a smart home item that makes a great gift idea is the Item Tracking Device. Item trackers like the Tile Mate Bluetooth Item Tracker and the Chipolo ONE Bluetooth Item Tracker are prime examples of a gift that keeps on giving, and that’s because they keep on returning your lost and misplaced possessions to you over and over again.

In other words, if you occasionally lose something important like your keys, wallet or purse, laptop, an important book, or anything else, one of these tiny trackers can easily help you to find it—provided you attached a tracker to the item before it went missing.

These unobtrusive trackers work via a free companion app to help users easily locate missing items, so long as they’re within Bluetooth range (up to about 200 feet). This means that if something goes missing—a set of keys for example, all you need to do is open the associated app on your smart phone and have it locate the item for you.

These apps can tell you the last known location of your keys, or even have the tracker itself play a sound that will lead you directly to those pesky missing keys. If you have a friend or loved one who’s always misplacing their things, a gift like this could really save them a lot of time and aggravation. And there are various different brands and models available for you to choose from as well.

Safety sensors & detectors

Alternatively, if the person you’re shopping for is concerned about silent and deadly dangers in and around their home (as in things like smoke and carbon monoxide gas), there’s sure to be something for them in the smart home category of Safety Sensors & Detectors, like the First Alert Carbon Monoxide Detector, which I actually have myself reviewed right here on the Best Buy Blog a few months ago.

And I’ve been extremely satisfied with this product throughout the time that I’ve had it. It gives me tremendous peace of mind knowing that if deadly CO gas were ever to invade our home (whether through some kind of a furnace leak or by any other means), a life saving alarm would sound and warn us of the danger so we could immediately escape.

This particular model not only has an electrochemical sensor that detects dangerous levels of CO gas in your home, but it warns you about that gas with an 85dB alarm. It also has a digital display that shows you the current temperature at all times, a sealed-in (as in can’t be replaced) Lithium battery with a 10 year life span, and an end of life warning so you’ll know when it’s time to replace it.

Of course, there are many other equally great sensors and detectors at Best Buy. Some detect smoke, some detect radon gas, and some detect carbon monoxide—but all can save your life, which is definitely a gift worth giving!

Additional items

Best Buy carries a variety of Smart Home items that make great gifts for your family members and friends! Other possibilities include things like Smart Security Cameras, Smart Locks & Door Bells, Smart Security Systems & Motion Sensors, and even Smart Thermostats—all of which have a ton of useful benefits going for them.

Shop smart home gifts and more online at Bestbuy.ca