HOW TO CHOOSE...
First things first: if you’re starting from scratch, here’s how to find the smart home system that’s best for you
There are four main smart home platforms: Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s HomeKit, Google Home and Samsung SmartThings. Many smart home devices will work with multiple platforms, but some won’t – and there are important differences between the platforms, the prices and the products available.
Smart home products typically fall into one of three categories: entertainment(speakers, TVs, streaming devices etc), home automation (lighting, heating and fun things like robot vacuum cleaners) and home security (cameras, video doorbells and other sensors). In the latter category, don’t just look at the pricing of the devices: check the cost of their data storage too. You’ll usually find that security cameras only offer basic features and limited storage if you don’t subscribe to a cloud storage plan.