11 smart home gadgets that automate chores you still do yourself
Remember when “smart home” meant a single voice assistant that half-heard your requests? Those days are gone. Today, your house can vacuum itself, remotely unlock the door, water the lawn only when it’s needed, and even warn you about leaks before water destroys everything.
If you’re a level one smart home owner (i.e., you have the basics like a smart speaker, some smart bulbs, maybe a simple robot vacuum) and you want to take your home to the next level—or maybe even over the top—then here are some really cool smart home gadgets to snag.
Robot vacuum and mop
roborock
Here’s a party trick you won’t believe until you see it with your own eyes: the Roborock Saros 20 Robot Vacuum and Mop can climb stairs—okay, maybe not full steps, but it can clear 3.46 inches in one go, hoisting its body over double-layer steps and thick carpets. That means no room and no floor is off-limits. It also packs up to 36,000 Pa of suction, a slim 3.13-inch profile that slides under sofas, flexible brushes that reach into corners, and a dock that runs hands-free for up to 65 days. We gave it 4 stars in our review, with the only thing we didn’t like being its steep price (but if you’re going for premium robot cleaning, you’ll have to pay up).
Get the Roborock Saros 20 at Amazon
Robot lawn mower
Mammotion
If you’ve already automated your lights, your vacuum, and your coffee, then mowing is the last chore that’s begging for a robot— and the Mammotion Luba 3 Robot Lawn Mower is that robot. It combines LiDAR, NetRTK, and AI Vision to map your yard and avoid over 300 types of obstacles, and it has four-wheel-drive motors to climb slopes up to 80%. It handles the lawn while you relax, and isn’t that the kind of convenience smart homes were meant to provide? We gave it 4.5 stars in our review, and it’s worth every dollar despite its price tag.
Get the Mammotion Luba 3 at Amazon
Smart sprinklers
Aiper
I already suggested a robot lawn mower, so why not finish automating your entire lawn with smart sprinklers as well? The Aiper IrriSense 2 Smart Sprinklers is an all-in-one controller, sprinkler, valve, and nutrient feeder. You can set it up in just 15 minutes, then map up to 10 zones so your garden, your grass, and your flowers each get exactly the amount of water they need to flourish. Best of all, with built-in rain detection, it pauses the moment it drizzles and cuts down water use by up to 40%.
Get the Aiper IrriSense 2 at Amazon
Smart window blinds
SwitchBot
Why bother getting up from your bed and pulling up the blinds? What if the blinds were smart enough to adjust themselves based on the amount of sunlight coming through? The SwitchBot Smart Electric Blinds Kit can do that—and the best part is, you don’t have to rip out your existing blinds. This kit comes with clips that attach to your tilt rods (diameters 0.25 to 0.5 inches), and each clip has a solar panel so you don’t have to worry about recharging. They also have light sensors for automatic adjustments, or you can manually adjust the blinds via the app.
Get the SwitchBot Smart Electric Blinds Kit at Amazon
Mesh Wi-Fi system
Amazon Eero
If your smart home has more gadgets than a spy movie, you should upgrade your home Wi-Fi from a single router to a smart mesh system—and the Amazon eero Pro 7 (3-pack) is a great option. With three mesh nodes, you can cover up to 6,000 square feet and juggle 600+ devices without breaking a sweat. Wi-Fi 7’s multi-link operation keeps everything going at the right speed, and the two 5GbE ports future-proof your setup. My favorite part? TrueMesh software quietly routes every device onto the best connection, so dead spots in your home vanish.
Get the Amazon eero Pro 7 (3-pack) at Amazon
NAS box
Ugreen
A NAS box is a device that holds data drives and connects to your home network. Think of it like an external drive, except instead of plugging it into a port on your laptop, you can access it with any device via Wi-Fi. The Ugreen DXP4800 Plus NAS is great because it can provide up to 144TB of network-attached storage via six drives (4x SATA and 2x M.2 NVMe). That makes it ideal for streaming digital videos and backing up tons of data (like from your security cameras). Of course, you’ll still have to buy those drives separately—start with one and add more when you can.
Get the Ugreen DXP4800 Plus 4-Bay NAS at Amazon
Automatic pet feeder
Petlibro
Taking care of a pet is no easy task. Whether you’ve got a dog or a cat, you need to keep it fed with daily meals—and that’s not easy if you have an unpredictable schedule, or if you want to spend a night away from home. With the Petlibro Automatic Pet Feeder, you can schedule up to 10 meals per day with specific portion sizes. You can also check in on the device and change its settings remotely, and you can record 10-second “meal call” voice messages to let your pet know it’s time to chow.
Get the Petlibro Automatic Cat Feeder at Amazon
Smart door lock
Yale
Fumbling for keys feels ancient once you’ve switched to a smart lock like this Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus. Add your home key to Apple Wallet, flip on Express Mode, and a quick tap of your iPhone or Apple Watch pops the door right open. Pair it with Apple HomeKit and you can even use Siri commands, and it also supports keyless entry codes that you can share with family, dog walkers, contractors, etc. And you don’t have to worry about a dead phone locking you out—with its Power Reserve feature, you can still unlock for up to 5 hours post-dead-iPhone.
Get the Yale Assure Lock 2 Plus at Amazon
Water leak sensors
Aqara
If there’s one thing you want to avoid in any home no matter what, it’s water damage. These Aqara Water Leak Sensors will save your bacon in case of leaks, whether behind the bathroom sink, the dishwasher, or the washing machine—even if the water level is as shallow as 0.5mm. They’re wireless, compact, and require no screws for setup. They’re compatible with Apple HomeKit, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa, too. The only downside is you’ll also need an Aqara Hub (sold separately).
Get the Aqara Water Leak Sensors at Amazon
Smart outdoor lights
Govee
If you want to be permanently ready for Halloween, Christmas, and your favorite sports team winning games, then these Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights 2 are perfect. You get 16 million RGBIC colors to choose from, 100 preset scenes for various holidays and events, and IP67 waterproofing for all weather conditions. Tie it into Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant and your whole facade lights up with a single word. The coolest part is the AI lighting bot in Govee’s app: just speak, type, or snap a photo and it’ll whip up a custom lighting effect to match.
Get the Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights 2 at Amazon
Smart switch pusher
Switchbot
To cap off this list, how about a fun little gadget that won’t break the bank? If you’re like me and you have a light switch that can’t be smartened up or automated in any other way, you might benefit from this Switchbot Smart Switch Button Pusher. No rewiring, no electrician, no drilling needed—just stick it on with the included adhesive. I used it for the light switch in my kid’s room, controlling it via Bluetooth and Google Home voice commands, but it also supports timers for automation. Use it with coffee machines, window ACs, lamps, fans, and more.
Get the SwitchBot Smart Switch Button Pusher at Amazon
