$1 vs. $10,000 Smart Home Gadgets

Introduction

You can get a smart yard robot that costs nearly $10,000. You can also pay $330 for a smart lock. Or, you could pay $1 for a smart plug.

I’m going to look at some of the cheapest and most expensive smart home gadgets money can buy, and see what sets them apart.

Main Points

I’m going to compare the price of the cheapest and most expensive device across eight categories:

1. Thermostats
2. Switches
3. Vacuums
4. Locks
5. Bulbs
6. Lawn mowers
7. Plugs
8. Cameras

As I go through them, the price difference between the cheapest and most expensive devices in each category will continue to increase. Note that the prices listed here are as of the time of recording the YouTube video.

Let’s kick if off with smart thermostats. You can get a Wyze Thermostat for $80…or an ecobee Premium for $250, making it 3 times more expensive.

The Wyze Thermostat is mostly plastic, and compatible with Amazon and Google voice assistants. It lets you set schedules, and track energy usage.

For 3 times more, the ecobee is made from metal and glass. It has Amazon and Apple voice assistants built-in, and is compatible with all smart home platforms. This thermostat doubles as a home security base station and keypad, and an air quality monitor. It also has a built-in radar for occupancy sensing. And, it includes a standalone sensor to detect occupied rooms that tend to be hot or cold spots, and will automatically adjust the temperature accordingly.

Next up is smart light switches. You can pick-up the Amazon Basics Smart Switch for $18, or a Lutron Diva for $74, or 4 times more.

The Amazon Basics is a single-pole switch that works exclusively with Amazon’s voice assistant. It requires a neutral wire to install, and is not a dimmer.

For 4 times more, the Lutron Diva works across all smart home platforms, though a hub is required. It does not require a neutral wire for installation, and it includes a built-in dimmer. It can be purchased as a single-pole or 3-way switch. While I don’t have the Diva, I do have several Lutron Caseta smart light switches, and they are fantastic.

But maybe you want a smart home device that goes to work for you. If you’re looking for a robot vacuum, you can get the iRobot Roomba i7+ that I own for $350…or the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra for $1,800, which is 5 times more expensive.

The Roomba will auto-empty itself after vacuuming, and includes smart mapping so you can send it on cleaning jobs to specific rooms or zones in your house. It has around 1,700 pa of suction power, and uses a camera for navigation. The Roomba works with Amazon and Google smart home platforms, and you can use your voice to start or stop a cleaning mission.

For 5 times more, the Roborock can vacuum and mop your floors, with intelligent dirt detection to clean an area over and over until it’s clean. Its dock is self-cleaning, and can automatically empty the dustbin, refill the tank, and dispense detergent. The Roborock has a whopping 10,000 pa of suction power. It uses both a camera and LiDAR for navigation, has a built-in voice assistant, and works across smart home platforms. You can even schedule off-peak charging to reduce your electricity bill.

Next up is smart locks. You can get a TEEHO Smart Deadbolt for $60, or a Level Lock+ for $330, which is 6 times more expensive.

The TEEHO allows you to program 20 access codes, or a single-use, one-time code. It comes in three colors, and can auto-lock itself after a specified time interval, but does not integrate with any smart home platforms. This is arguably not a smart home device, but they’re positioning it as one thanks to the auto-lock feature.

For 6 times more, you can pick up the Level Lock+. This positions itself as invisible technology, since it looks just like a traditional deadbolt. It comes in two colors, and is compatible with Apple Home Key, which allows you to unlock your door by tapping the lock with a compatible iPhone or Apple Watch. You can use it in Apple HomeKit automations, or lock or unlock using your voice.

Perhaps the most popular smart home device is a smart light bulb. You can get a Sengled bulb for $10, or a Philips Hue bulb for $65, which is nearly 7 times more.

The Sengled is a 60-watt equivalent, soft white that pairs with Amazon’s voice assistant using Bluetooth. This was one of the first smart bulbs that I ever used, and the setup and ongoing reliability were…frustrating.

For 7 times more, you can pick up the Philip Hue white and color ambiance, 100-watt equivalent. It works across all smart home platforms, and it can connect via Bluetooth or Zigbee. The Philips Hue app is best-in-class, and makes it easy to control lights and create scenes for the perfect ambiance. Pairing it with the Hue Bridge unlocks all features, including timers, remote access, wake up and sleep lighting, and color sync with movies and games. I have Philips Hue bulbs throughout my house. They are easy and quick to setup, and work 100% of the time.

Are you ready to let a robot take of your yard? You can get a Husqvarna for $600, or a Yarbo for $9,700, or 16 times the cost.

The Husqvarna can mow up to 0.4 acres, handle a 30% slope, and cut grass up to 3.6” tall. You must install a boundary wire to determine where it can mow, and it does so in a randomized pattern. It will automatically charge itself on a dock, and can be controlled via an app.

For 16 times more money, you can get the Yarbo, which is built like a tank — in fact, I think it looks like one. It can mow up to 6 acres, traverse a 70% slope, cut up to 4 inches, and tow 3,500 pounds — which is the same as our mini van — that’s nuts! It has stereo vision, which is a binocular-style camera setup, and 360-degree obstacle detection. It uses AI mapping to understand the boundaries of your yard — no boundary wire required. You can control it with a video game style controller if you desire, and it can print words in your lawn. It can mow in straight lines, and auto-charge itself, and skip yard work if the weather is bad. The Yarbo consists of a core device with add-on modules for lawn mowing, snow blowing, and leaf blowing. You can even add trimmer and edger attachments. This thing can basically go anywhere and do anything.

Moving all the way down in price, let’s look at smart plugs. You can get a generic WiFi smart plug for $1-$2, or an Eve Energy smart plug for $40, or 20 to 40 times the price.

The generic smart plug connects to your home network via WiFi. It supposedly works with Amazon and Google smart home platforms, and allows you to set schedules and view energy usage. But I find everything about this device suspicious, and you just shouldn’t buy it.

For 20 to 40 times more money, you can get the Eve Energy smart plug. It uses Matter over Thread to connect, and works across all smart home platforms. This device operates locally, so no cloud connection is required making it more private, unlike whatever may be going on with that generic, cheap smart plug. With the Eve, you can monitor power consumption to understand device-level impact on your electricity usage.

And finally, security cameras. You can get a TP-Link Tapo for $25, or a UniFi AI Pro for $2,500, making it 100 times more expensive.

The TP-Link Tapo is a 1080p indoor camera with motion detection and 2-way audio. It has night vision up to 30 feet, and can save footage continuously to an SD card, or you can subscribe to Tapo Care for cloud storage with 30-day history. It works with Amazon and Google smart home platforms, and uses the Tapo app to view and manage the camera.

For 100 times more money, you can get the UniFi AI Pro. It comes in two colors, and boasts a 4K, 8 megapixel video resolution with 3 times optical zoom. It works indoors and outdoors, has IR night vision up to 82 feet, and a far-field mic array for two-way audio. It joins your network via power over ethernet, or PoE, for the fastest, most reliable connection. Video and audio streams can be recorded continuously to a local network video recorder, or NVR, allowing you to control and expand the storage as you desire. And, given the name, it has AI detection capabilities, including facial and license plate recognition, and person, vehicle, and animal detections.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes, it can be tough to find the sweet spot between price and quality, and other times it’s pretty clear.

Watch on YouTube

Featured Tech

Wyze Thermostat: https://amzn.to/3VGAYZW
ecobee Premium Thermostat: https://amzn.to/3KQJSxv
Amazon Basics Light Switch: https://amzn.to/3zeeoig
Lutron Diva Light Switch: https://amzn.to/3KLQHAC
iRobot Rooma i7: https://amzn.to/3xjsQVI
Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra: https://amzn.to/3RwaRCy
TEEHO Smart Deadbolt: https://amzn.to/4cnNDpY
Level Lock+: https://amzn.to/3VGqNEH
Sengled Bluetooth Soft White 60-watt: https://amzn.to/4ck8ydJ
Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance 100-watt: https://amzn.to/4ck9sGV
Husqvarna Robot Lawn Mower: https://amzn.to/45sHvdK
Yarbo Yard Robot: https://tinyurl.com/4usckk2v
Generic Smart Plug: https://amzn.to/4bY6s3x
Eve Energy Matter Smart Plug: https://amzn.to/3VrLm6h
TP-Link Tapo 1080p Indoor Security Camera: https://amzn.to/4b1Q8gF
UniFi AI DSLR (Pro) Security Camera: https://amzn.to/3Vqp1X1