Readers Choice Awards 2025: Your favorite smart home brands
In recent years, the smart home landscape has evolved significantly, with Statista projecting that smart home penetration in the U.S. will soar to an astonishing 89.5% by 2025, and nearly 99% by 2029. This marks a dramatic shift from earlier technologies like The Clapper, showcasing how far home automation has come. Smart home devices promise enhanced convenience, but with so many options available, it raises the question of which devices truly deserve the “smart” label. To find out, Mashable conducted its inaugural Readers’ Choice Awards, inviting readers to share their experiences and preferences across various smart home categories.
The survey revealed interesting insights into the best smart home products, starting with security cameras. According to U.S. News & World Report, 62% of participants utilize outdoor cameras, while 36% have indoor models. Blink emerged as the top choice for overall satisfaction with a score of 7.8 out of 10, closely followed by Ring and Wyze, both at 7.7. Users appreciated Blink’s affordability, ease of setup, and free cloud storage, while Wyze was noted for its cost-effectiveness despite lower ratings in audio quality and motion detection. Ring users praised its user-friendly setup, although privacy concerns have led Mashable to refrain from endorsing the brand. The survey also highlighted the importance of recording capabilities, as many users felt that the cameras did not capture enough footage before motion was detected.
In the realm of smart home assistants, Google Assistant took the lead, with Amazon Alexa trailing closely behind. Survey respondents noted the convenience of voice control for managing various smart devices, but also shared frustrations with miscommunication and syncing issues. For smart lighting, TP-Link emerged as the favorite due to its affordability and ease of use, while Philips Hue was recognized for its premium quality, albeit at a higher price point. Lastly, in the vacuum category, iRobot stood out for its diverse range of models, catering to both budget-conscious users and those seeking advanced features. The survey results underscore the growing reliance on smart home technology, as well as the importance of user feedback in identifying the most effective and user-friendly devices. As the smart home market continues to expand, Mashable plans to conduct further surveys to keep readers informed about the best products available.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iKeZWk4I68
Home products have gotten much “smarter” in recent years. According to
Statista
, smart home penetration will reach 89.5 percent in 2025, and will hit 99 percent by 2029. That means virtually every household in the U.S. is using some form of smart home device. We’ve come a long way since the days of The Clapper.
Smart home devices can add a level of convenience to daily life, assuming that they’re set up correctly and genuinely offer seamless integration and a user-friendly experience.
But that leads us to question: Which home devices are actually worthy of being smart?
Instead of simply answering that ourselves, we put it out to you, our readers. In our first-ever Readers’ Choice Awards, we asked you which smart home brands you use and love across different smart home categories.
Best home security cameras in 2025
First up is security cameras. In a
survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report
, 62 percent of respondents use outdoor security cameras, while 36 percent use indoor security cameras. Home security cameras can obviously be great for some peace of mind and a sense of safety, or monitoring porch pirates. But your privacy is also an important factor to consider in a device that captures constant footage of you, your home, and your neighborhood.
Blink was the winner here in overall satisfaction with a score of 7.8 out of 10, narrowly beating out Ring and Wyze, which both secured a 7.7 rating.
A note from us: We don’t endorse Ring in our
product recommendations
because of a
host of privacy issues
.
(Make sure to click the arrows on the chart below to cycle through each of the categories from our survey results.)
The three brands were pretty even across the board, but each stood out in some areas. Blink users appreciated the ease of setup and use, budget-friendly pricing, and free cloud storage.
Wyze was rated the best for cost, but rated lowest in audio quality and motion detection, so that could be a potential trade-off. Price was definitely a big factor with survey respondents, with comments such as, “Great products. Reasonably priced,” “The cameras work good and the price was within budget,” and “Wyze security cameras are decent for the price.”
Our readers lauded Ring for its easy setup, with two respondents writing, “I’ve owned several generations of cameras over 20 years and Ring are the easiest to set up and use,” and “I’ve had security cameras in the past. None were as easy to set up and use as Ring.”
A common complaint across all three brands was that the cameras don’t record enough time before motion is detected.
Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera
$39.99
at Amazon
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Blink Outdoor 4
$27.99
at Amazon
$79.99
Save $52
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Credit: Ring
Ring Spotlight Cam Plus
$149.99
at Amazon
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Credit: Wyze
Wyze Cam OG Indoor/Outdoor
$29.60
at Amazon
Shop Now
Best smart home assistants in 2025
Smart assistants are like the brain of a smart home. They act as a hub to control other devices via voice, schedule, or other triggers. Smart assistant devices can range from small speakers that take up very little room to large screens that sit on your countertop or mount to the wall. Apple’s Siri is arguably the most popular among smartphones, while Google Assistant and
Amazon Alexa
are the big names in smart home devices.
Google was our winner across the board, though Amazon Alexa was a close second. One survey respondent said, “I like Alexa for routine items and integrations, but Google Assistant [is] better [at] answering questions.”
Some survey takers had similar experiences in that they like the convenience provided by their smart assistant, but they’ve had frustrating interactions as well.
One wrote: “I’ve had a pretty good experience with Amazon Alexa. One of the best moments was when I set up my smart home with Alexa and connected everything from lights to thermostats to smart plugs. It was so easy to control everything with just my voice. For example, I could tell Alexa to turn off the lights or set the temperature, which made life a lot more convenient, especially when my hands were full. However, I did run into some issues. There were times when Alexa misunderstood my commands, especially if there was background noise or if I wasn’t very clear. It was a bit frustrating when it didn’t respond properly. Sometimes, Alexa also didn’t sync correctly with certain smart devices, which required troubleshooting. Overall, though, I’ve found Alexa to be helpful and a great addition to my home automation.”
And a Google user wrote: “Our whole house has Google displays, speakers, TVs integrated with Google TV, and third-party plugs, bulbs, and the like. Just recently, I upgraded to a Google Mesh router. The third-party devices can occasionally be a bit tricky to set up, but once everything is working, it’s nice to be able to control everything right in the Google Home app.”
Amazon Echo Dot
$49.99
at Amazon
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Credit: Google
Google Nest Mini
$49
at Google Store
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Amazon Echo Show 8
$149.99
at Amazon
Shop Now at Amazon
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Credit: Google
Google Nest Hub
$99.99
at Google Store
Shop Now
Best smart lights in 2025
Smart bulbs
and smart plugs are some of the most accessible smart home devices in terms of price and ease of use. Philips Hue, Govee, and TP-Link (Kasa) are some of the big names in smart lights. Each has a smattering of product offerings from basic dimmable white light bulbs to programmable outdoor string lights or TV backlights.
Philips Hue is a more premium brand with a higher price point, and that was apparent in our survey results.
Just a note: TP-Link has been under investigation for
security vulnerabilities
with its routers and
predatory pricing
.
TP-Link took the cake for most of our survey categories; although, both TP-Link and Philips Hue were rated the same for likelihood to recommend.
One reader wrote, “The only reason I am not ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Philips Hue is they are relatively expensive compared to other brands.” And we saw that reflected in TP-Link users’ comments, with one person writing, “I had another brand before and found them so frustrating. I was glad to find these worked to my liking at a lower cost.”
TP-Link Kasa color-changing smart bulbs (4-pack)
$26.99
at Amazon
$31.99
Save $5
Shop Now at Amazon
Philips Hue A19 white and color bulbs (3-pack)
$99
at Amazon
$147.99
Save $48.99
Shop Now at Amazon
Shop Now at Best Buy
Best smart vacuum brands in 2025
Our
resident vacuum expert
, Leah Stodart, says, “Actual cleaning performance plays a huge role in how spotless your floors will be, of course. But if your vacuum is a pain to clean with, you won’t feel like using it — whether it’s an upright vacuum that’s too clunky to get out of the closet or a robot vacuum that gets stuck more often than not.” And these are the types of functions we wanted to ask you all about.
Only two brands made the cut for our readers, but Stodart tests upright vacuums and robot vacuums in her apartment and has some
great recommendations
from other brands.
iRobot offers different price points, ranging from basic and budget-friendly to high-tech and downright expensive. Our survey participants had some newer models as well as older, simpler models that get the job done without any extras. One wrote, “It’s an easy-to-use, simple feature, low-end smart vacuum robot; however, that makes it desirable for a lot of people like me because it’s easier to use than complicated systems.”
Roomba Combo 10 Max + AutoWash Dock
$598.96
at Walmart
$599.99
Save $1.03
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Roomba 105 Vac
$249.99
at Amazon
$279
Save $29.01
Shop Now at Amazon
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Dyson V12 Detect Slim Cordless Vacuum
$399.99
at Walmart
$549
Save $149.01
Shop Now at Walmart
Shop Now at Amazon
Shop Now at Best Buy
Dyson 360 Vis Nav Robot Vacuum
$399.99
at Amazon
$999.99
Save $600
Shop Now at Amazon
Shop Now at Walmart
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Mashable’s Readers’ Choice: Smartest Home survey ran from Nov. 16, 2024, to March 20, 2025. Stay tuned for our
next survey
.
