The smart home gifts people actually set up are the ones that plug in, join the Wi-Fi and run from a phone app. A speaker, a pair of plugs, two packs of bulbs and two cameras all pass that test. Each plugs into an outlet or a lamp socket, so nobody touches a wire. Those are the six smart home gift ideas below. For each, you’ll see who it’s for and what it still needs. Other smart home tech gifts, such as doorbells and thermostats, depend on the house. Those come with checks.
| Product | What it is | Works with | Wi-Fi | Also needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Echo Dot Smart Speaker | Smart speaker | Alexa, plus Matter devices | 2.4 and 5 GHz | The Alexa app and an Amazon account |
| Kasa EP10P2 Smart Plug Ultra Mini | Two indoor plugs | Alexa, Google Assistant | 2.4 GHz only | The Kasa app |
| Govee A19 Smart Light Bulbs (6-Pack) | Six color bulbs | Matter, Alexa, Google | 2.4 GHz only | The Govee Home app |
| LIFX Color A19 Smart Light Bulbs (2-Pack) | Two color bulbs | Alexa, Google, Apple HomeKit | 2.4 GHz only | The LIFX app, or Apple Home |
| Tapo C100 1080p Indoor Security Camera | Fixed indoor camera | Alexa, Google Assistant | 2.4 GHz | A microSD card or Tapo Care |
| Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Indoor Security Camera | Pan and tilt indoor camera | Alexa | 2.4 GHz, with 2 Mbps upload | A Blink plan, or a Sync Module 2 with a USB drive |
Before you choose among these smart home gifts, match the Works with column to the assistant they already use. Then read the Also needs column, because that’s what you might add to the box. Buying for a desk or a stocking instead? Try our gifts for remote workers or tech stocking stuffers.
Start with the assistant their smart home runs on
Ask which one they use, or notice which speaker they talk to. Then match it here:
- Alexa: all six work with it.
- Google: the Kasa plugs, both bulb packs and the Tapo camera.
- Apple Home: the LIFX bulbs, and the Govee bulbs through Matter, as the last question below explains.
If you still can’t tell, the plugs and bulb packs are the safest smart home gift ideas, because they run from their own apps with no assistant at all. Then voice control can come later.
The same question settles a smart display, which is a speaker with a screen. Amazon’s Echo Show runs Alexa. Google’s Nest Hub (2nd gen) shipped with Google Assistant built in, and it’s on Google’s list for the newer Gemini for Home assistant. Next, think about the room. The Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen) has a camera with a built-in shutter, while Google lists no camera at all for the Nest Hub (2nd gen). So if a camera by the bed would bother them, give the Nest Hub.
Six smart home gift ideas and who each one is for
Amazon Echo Dot: for someone starting out
The Amazon Echo Dot Smart Speaker is for someone with no smart devices yet. It controls compatible smart home devices by voice. It can also run routines off the room’s temperature, or off Presence Detection, which senses someone in the room with ultrasound. For privacy, it has a microphone off button.
Mention Amazon Sidewalk when you hand it over. The Echo Dot is a Sidewalk Bridge, and Amazon says bridges “share a small portion of your internet bandwidth.” Sidewalk is optional, though, and the owner can switch it off in the Alexa app whenever they like. The bigger catch is the assistant itself. It’s an Alexa speaker. Skip it for a home that runs on Google or Apple.
Kasa EP10P2 plugs: the easiest gift to get right
The Kasa EP10P2 Smart Plug Ultra Mini is two plugs that put a desk lamp or a tower fan on a schedule. Of these smart home tech gifts, a plug asks the least of the person who gets it. Each plug handles up to 15A and 1,800W, and the pair can stack in one outlet. Away Mode is built in, too. It flips whatever’s plugged in on and off at varying times, so the home looks lived in.
They’re indoor plugs, though. The EP10 user guide marks them for indoor use only. Kasa also doesn’t list Apple Home for these plugs, so skip them for someone who runs everything from Apple’s Home app. Our guide to what you can plug into a smart plug shows which appliances can go on one.
Govee A19 bulbs: color for a whole room
The Govee A19 Smart Light Bulbs (6-Pack) is for someone who wants color more than plain white light. With six bulbs, a whole room can change at once, across 16 million colors. The bulbs can also follow music through your phone’s microphone, or brighten and dim on Sunrise and Sunset modes.
They’re certified for Matter by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, too. Still, the catch is on the wall. Govee says this bulb “cannot be used with smart switches,” so skip it for a home that has them.
LIFX Color A19 bulbs: warm to cool white, plus color
The LIFX Color A19 Smart Light Bulbs (2-Pack) is for someone who wants more than color. LIFX now sells it as LIFX SuperColor. Each bulb gives 800 lumens, with white light from a warm 1500K to a cool 9000K.
There are two catches, though. LIFX bulbs don’t work with hardware dimmer switches, for one. Also, LIFX lists this bulb’s Matter support as “LCM4 Edition Only,” and its Matter products carry the Matter badge. Want Matter? Check the box for that badge. And you get two bulbs, not six.
Tapo C100: a camera that records to a card
The Tapo C100 1080p Indoor Security Camera is for someone who wants to look in on one room from their phone. It records in 1080p, with infrared night vision and two-way audio. Both cameras here are smart home gifts that need something extra to save video. For the Tapo, that’s a microSD card of up to 512 GB, sold separately, or TP-Link’s Tapo Care cloud subscription.
The view doesn’t move, though, since Tapo lists no pan or tilt, so skip it for someone who wants to sweep a whole room.
Blink Mini Pan-Tilt: a camera that looks around
The Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Indoor Security Camera is a first-generation Blink Mini on Blink’s Pan-Tilt Mount. Blink’s mount turns it 350° side to side and 125° up and down. It won’t follow motion on its own, though. Instead, you steer it with the controls in the Blink app’s Live View. The camera has 1080p video, infrared night vision, two-way audio and motion alerts.
Saved video is the catch. Blink starts a 30-day trial of its plus ai plan with each new eligible device. After that, saving clips takes a Blink plan, a Sync Module 2 with a USB drive, or a Sync Module XR with a microSD card. Live view and motion alerts work with no plan at all. For voice, Alexa can show the live view on an Echo Show, but the mount doesn’t respond to Alexa commands. On an iPhone, Blink works with Siri Shortcuts. Since Blink lists no Google Assistant support, look at the other smart home gift ideas for a Google home.
Smart home tech gifts to check first
Ask before you buy any of these.
A video doorbell depends on the door. The Ring Battery Doorbell 2K runs on a built-in rechargeable battery, and Ring says you can “Set up your new doorbell in minutes.” But Ring also says reviewing recorded video takes a subscription. Our wired vs battery video doorbell guide covers the rest.
Outdoor cameras are smart home gift ideas that depend on the spot outside. Blink’s Outdoor 2K+ runs on two lithium AA batteries, which Blink rates at up to two years with its battery efficiency settings at 1080p. But it joins 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and needs a Sync Module to work at all, and Blink’s mounting guide says to keep the camera within range of it. Check that their Wi-Fi reaches that wall.
A smart thermostat has to work with the heating system. ENERGY STAR says, “Make sure the smart thermostat you purchase is compatible with your heating and cooling system.” For example, Google’s Nest help says “High voltage systems, such as electric baseboard heaters, aren’t compatible with Nest thermostats.”
Similarly, a smart lock depends on the lock that’s already there. August says its smart locks “are only compatible with single cylinder deadbolts.”
A robot vacuum depends on the room and the router. Roborock’s robots connect only to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. They’ll still clean without it, but scheduled cleaning and suction settings need the connection. The dock also needs a wall with at least 0.5 m (about 20 inches) clear on each side and 1.5 m (about 5 feet) in front, so measure that spot.
If you can’t check these smart home tech gifts first, give a plug or a bulb instead.
Who will set it up?
Usually the person who opens it, because each of these smart home tech gifts runs from an app on their phone. So check the phone first. The Alexa app needs iOS 17, Android 10 or Fire OS 7 or later. Blink’s app asks for iOS 17 or Android 10, or Fire OS 8 only. That means a phone stuck on iOS 16 can run neither.
Accounts come next. The Echo Dot needs an Amazon account, and the Tapo camera needs a TP-Link ID. TP-Link puts setup at about five minutes, counted from power-on until the live view appears.
If you order the Echo Dot from Amazon, don’t link it to your account at checkout. Amazon offers that link so setup can start as soon as the device powers on, but on a gift it puts the speaker on your account, not theirs. If it arrives linked to you anyway, deregister it from your Amazon Devices page. Then they can sign in with their own Amazon account during setup.
Smart home gift questions
Do smart home gifts need a hub?
Most smart home gifts in this guide need no hub. The Kasa plugs and the LIFX bulbs connect straight to Wi-Fi, and the Blink Mini works without a Sync Module. Matter changes that. For Matter control away from home, LIFX bulbs need a Matter-enabled hub, and Govee’s need a Matter hub or controller.
How do Govee bulbs join Apple Home?
Govee’s A19 bulbs join Apple Home through Matter. Govee’s Matter FAQ names the hubs: a HomePod mini, a HomePod (2nd generation), or a 2nd-generation or Wi-Fi + Ethernet 3rd-generation Apple TV 4K, on iOS 16.2 or later. The network also needs IPv6, and setup must finish within 15 minutes of first power-on.