There are any number of reasons for one to upgrade their Smart Home technology. In today’s blog, I’ll explore a few of these scenarios while sprinkling in a few smart home products that you may want to upgrade to (or from) either now or in the future. So, when is it time to upgrade your Smart Home Tech?

 

When it’s time to replace your old, outdated stuff

One of the more obvious times/reasons to upgrade your smart home tech is when products become old and/or outdated. With smart technology seemingly moving at the speed of light these days, replacement time can come around quicker than one might expect. For instance, just a couple of years ago, many smart home products didn’t have built-in voice control, but now nearly everything does.

upgrade your Smart Home

A more specific example comes in the form of Smart Security Cameras, which have improved greatly in speed and resolution over the last few years—not to mention the advancements that have been made in recording after dark (i.e., night vision). While many of yesterday’s cameras suffered from significant lagging and various other issues, with each new generation of camera, these problems have been more and more overcome.

In fact, I’ve seen it myself with cameras I’ve personally tested. Even just 5-6 years ago the lag was often such that if an event happened quickly to trigger a motion-activated recording, the camera would often miss it entirely. The most recent smart camera I reviewed here on the blog only had a couple seconds of lag when looking at the live feed on my phone, and the image it provided was crystal clear. That camera was the Arlo Essential Spotlight Wire-Free Indoor/Outdoor 1080p Security Camera if you’re curious.

 

When it’s time to add more tech

One of the biggest reasons to upgrade your smart home tech is simply that eventually the time is right to expand your existing system. For instance, you might find that having a Smart Video Doorbell leads you to realize the value of video surveillance at your front door, thus prompting you to consider adding more security cameras elsewhere around your home and property. You may also be compelled to add a Smart Lock, which makes an excellent companion to a smart doorbell.

upgrade your Smart Home

Similarly, products like Smart Lights and Smart Plugs & Switches tend to encourage expansion as people try them out and learn what they like. In other words, one smart light, plug, or switch simply isn’t enough.

And if you’ve got something like a Smart Thermostat installed in your home, you could really get thrust down the smart home rabbit hole as you learn how many other smart devices your thermostat can talk to and control. This may not apply to every smart thermostat, but it certainly goes for the Google Nest Wi-Fi Smart Learning Thermostat 3rd Generation, which uses your home’s Wi-Fi network to communicate with and manage a variety of other smart home devices—and not just heating and cooling ones either!

 

When something breaks down

One of the most disappointing reasons to replace or upgrade products is when something eventually breaks down or wears out. While nobody enjoys this happening, it’s an inevitability with pretty much any material goods acquired in this life. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing—particularly when it comes to devices you should always keep fresh and up to date like Safety Sensors & Detectors.

upgrade your Smart Home

For instance, something like the First Alert Carbon Monixide Detector was specifically designed to have a finite lifespan. As the battery cannot be replaced, the entire unit should be thrown out after 10 years and replaced with a brand new one. Handily, it comes with an end-of-life warning that will let you know when the time for replacement has come.

And that’s a good thing, because having a working CO detector in your home (or, even better, a few of them) could potentially save your life and the lives of your family members. This odourless and colourless gas feels to your lungs just like oxygen, but it’s actually deadly poison, which is exactly why I keep one of these detectors in the room where I sleep—just in case we ever need its life-saving alert.

 

As you learn more about your smart home needs

Everyone’s smart home journey is different, but we all learn more and more about these devices as we travel along that road. At some point you may find that you know considerably more about smart home products now than you did when you first started, and that is likely to reveal many new areas of need.

One area where this is particularly borne out is the category of Smart Speakers, Displays, & Accessories. When burgeoning smart home enthusiasts begin to realize just how many different smart devices they can control with their voice thanks to smart speaker technology, some folks tend to want to quickly add more and more devices just to take advantage of the convenience.

After all, you can tell your smart lights to come on or go off, ask your smart thermostat to adjust the temperature, have your smart plugs power your coffee maker for a fresh pot in the morning, and perform numerous other functions—all with just your voice.

In fact, most smart speakers and displays today can control thousands of other smart home devices from hundreds of different brand names, to say nothing of what they can do for you that doesn’t even involve other smart products. For instance, they can give you the news, weather, and traffic report, find you any factual information you may need from the Internet, and even set timers and helpful reminders of things you might otherwise forget.

 

When the tech improves substantially

Some smart tech improvements are incremental, while others are truly explosive. One never quite knows when a major development might happen, but incremental ones are happening all the time. And in either case, at some point you’ll need to upgrade your tech to take advantage of these useful new features. While some of these improvements could be life-changing, others are just plain fun. In either case, when the tech improves substantially, the time for an upgrade has most likely arrived along with it.

As you can see, there’s no shortage of scenarios wherein upgrading your Smart Home tech is appropriate. If and when that time arrives for you, visit Best Buy Canada to find everything you may ever need or want!

Leonard Bond
Leo enjoys writing about everything from secret agents to tech toys and gadgets to professional hockey. Find his reviews and other product related commentary right here on the Best Buy Blog and his latest hockey rants at www.hockeycontroversial.com.

1 COMMENT

  1. We have Google Home in every room now, two Logitech cameras, another solar wireless camera that I plan to use to cover our driveway when we move soon, and we’ll be adding a doorbell camera in due time when the budget allows for it.

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