We’ve all been there: you’re watching a movie and suddenly realize that the lights are still on, or your thermostat is set to an inconvenient temperature. With all these smart home devices, it can be tough to keep track of what’s on and off. Thankfully, there are plenty of apps out there that make controlling your smart home devices easier than ever before. Let’s take a look at some of our favourites!
1. Amazon Alexa
Amazon Alexa is a virtual assistant that can control your smart home devices. It’s available on Echo devices, third-party hardware, and the Alexa app for iOS and Android.
You can use Amazon Alexa to play music, set alarms and timers, check the weather forecast, ask questions about the news or sports scores, order products from Amazon (including groceries), control lights in your home — basically anything you could do with an app on your phone. But because it’s voice-activated and always listening (even when not asked to), it makes things easier by allowing you to interact with it without ever having to pick up your phone or open an app at all!
2. Google Assistant
Google Assistant is Google’s voice assistant, available on all Android devices and iOS devices with the Google Assistant app installed. It can be used to control smart home devices such as lights, switches, thermostats and more. It’s also available in many languages!
3. SmartThings
SmartThings is a home automation system that lets you control and automate your lights, locks, thermostats, and other connected devices. It also has a hub that connects to your router and allows you to control your devices from anywhere.
Some of the best features include being able to create automated routines for different events or times of day like turning off lights when you go to bed at night or turning them on when it gets dark outside. You can keep track of things like water leaks in real-time through the app and even send an alert if someone breaks into a door lock while you’re away from home so they don’t have access to any valuables inside your house.
4. IFTTT (If This, Then That)
IFTTT (pronounced “if this, then that”) is a free app that lets you create rules and actions to automate your smart home devices. For example, you can use IFTTT to turn on your lights when you get home or turn them off when you leave.
One of the best things about IFTTT is its ability to connect with so many different kinds of devices—and there are more being added every day! It’s also super easy to use: just log into your account and choose what device(s) or service(s) you want IFTTT to control. The app will then walk through all the different settings for each one so that by the end all your smart home products are linked together seamlessly for maximum convenience. The apps are generally quite secure but will fail when the device breaks down. It just won’t have a link. It is very important to regularly change home appliance parts when you notice that the appliance has stopped working.
5. NEST
Nest is a smart thermostat that learns your behaviour and adjusts the temperature accordingly. It’s also one of the few devices that can be controlled by voice commands, which makes it an incredibly convenient way to control your home’s temperature without having to reach for your phone.
Nest also comes with a camera that can see inside your home, so if you’re away from home and want to know what’s going on while you’re gone, just check out Nest’s live feed on the app!
6. Wink
Wink is a smart home hub that allows you to control all your devices from one app. You can even control your devices from your phone when you’re not at home, which is useful for making sure the house is set up before you get home. You can also set up rules for your smart devices to automatically turn on and off based on whatever schedule works best for you.
7. Insteon
Insteon is a smart home hub that connects your devices to the internet. This allows you to control your home from anywhere and works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit. It’s also compatible with Nest Learning Thermostat, Ecobee Smart Thermostat and Honeywell Lyric T5 Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat. To use Insteon, simply download their app and connect it to your account (if you don’t already have one). It’s free!
8. Vivint Smart Home App
Vivint is a smart home provider that se
lls a variety of devices, including cameras and locks. Vivint’s mobile app allows you to control your connected security system, as well as any other devices in your home.
With the Vivint Smart Home App, you can use voice commands or touch panels to arm and disarm your system with just a tap on the screen. You can also get notifications if there’s an emergency at home—and access live video of what’s going on when there isn’t an alarm sounding.
If you have multiple smart home devices from Vivint or elsewhere, this app will help keep them all connected together so they work seamlessly within one interface.
All of these apps are great for controlling your smart home, but we think that the best app is the one you’re most familiar with. If you already use Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant on a daily basis, then these should be your go-to options for controlling your devices. If not, then try out one of our other recommended apps so that it becomes something you can use every day!
