Smart Home Purchase Checklist

Here are some important things to consider before making that Smart Home purchase:

1. Will this device fit in with my family? (Is this something they'll benefit from? Be indifferent about? Hate?

2. Does this device work with my "ecosystem" (Google Home, Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Home Assistant, etc.?)

3. Do I have the right radios in my "ecosystem" to support this device? (Usually WiFi, but some devices require different radios to work with your ecosystem.)

4. Does this device require a cloud connection to do it's job? (The answer always used to be yes, but now there are many great options for controlling your device without relying on the cloud. It's always frustrating when you set your device to turn on at sunset, but some cloud somewhere forgets when sunset it for you.)

5. Do I have to download an app for this device on top of the one that manages my "ecosystem"? (Unfortunately, even if a device says it works with Apple Home for example, many of the more advanced features like timers could be locked away behind a dedicated app provided by the manufacture, and if they don't keep that app updated after a few years, you could get locked out.)

Obviously that's a a lot to consider for something that's supposed to make your life easier, but if you plan ahead a bit, you could buy a device that does its job for 10 years, instead of 2 years.