Articles by Michael L Hicks

Still our favorite

Nest Thermostat E

$135 at Walmart

Pros

Learns and adjusts schedule automatically
More pixels per inch in LCD display
Ships with trim plate
Saves energy when you’re away from home
HVAC monitoring

Cons

Only comes in white
May no longer be commercially available
No remote sensors
Must set up in Nest app

The Nest Thermostat E is one of the smartest thermostats you can buy, with the ability to track your temperature changes and build you a customized, automated heating schedule that will save you energy. That said, it’s a relatively old device with an average LCD display.

Colorful and revitalized

Nest Thermostat

$130 at Amazon

Pros

Better color options
Larger mirrored lens with IPS
Soli motion tracking and geofencing
Savings Finder and HVAC monitoring

Cons

No remote sensors
No schedule learning capabilities
Trim plate sold separately
Low resolution display

The new Nest Thermostat is a simpler device that puts all of its smarts in the Goo…

With the launch of the Zigbee-compatible Amazon Echo (4th Gen), we’re listing the best Amazon Echo Zigbee devices available today. The Echo has 64 compatible Zigbee devices — 40 smart light bulbs, 22 smart locks and two smart switches — but many of these devices aren’t helpful or reliable enough that Alexa compatibility makes them worth buying. We’ve narrowed the list down to the six products built to smarten up your smart home that we can fully recommend.

Let there be (smart) light

Philips Hue White 2-Count A19 LED Smart Bulb

Staff Pick

Philips Hue is the definitive choice for LED light bulbs for your smart home, and this simple two-pack is an excellent starter set. With these smart bulbs installed, you can use your Echo to turn out or dim the lights. Beyond voice controls, these bulbs also let you set automated lighting schedules or track when you leave home and turn off or on automatically.

$30 at Amazon

Motion, temperature and humidity

Centralite Micro Door Sen…

Still the smartest

Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd Gen)

$250 at Amazon

Pros

Learns and adjusts schedule automatically
Farsight LCD display with high PPI
Compatible with 95% of HVAC systems
Works with remote sensors
Ships with trim plate

Cons

Much more expensive
Must set up in Nest app

The Nest Learning Thermostat has a classic metallic ring exterior for easily changing the temperature and a bright display that makes the numbers larger when you’re further away. This is a system that’s compatible with most HVAC systems and it’ll learn your preferences to keep you comfortable while lowering your energy bill.

Affordably efficient

Nest Thermostat

$130 at Amazon

Pros

New touch-strip temperature controls
Soli motion sensing
Smaller design with larger lens
Mirrored IPS display
Nearly half the price of Learning Thermostat

Cons

No learning capabilities
No remote sensor support
Trim kit sold separately
Only one-year warranty

The newest Nest Thermostat was built fo…

Bargain indoor/outdoor tech

Wyze Cam

$26 at Amazon (v2 cam)
$26 at Walmart (v2 cam)
$20 at Wyze (pre-order v3 cam)

Pros

IR or color night vision
Indoor or outdoor compatible
Free 14-day cloud + local storage
New Starlight CMOS sensor
130-degree field of view
Absurdly cheap

Cons

12-second clip recordings aren’t enough
Some AI smarts locked behind subscription
No HomeKit support

The new Wyze Cam v3 took an already reliable, budget-priced camera and squeezed in even better tech without raising the price. Widened field-of-view, IP65 water protection, separate indoor and outdoor IR sensors, and a new color night vision mode with an improved camera sensor are just some of the improvements.

High res, no contract

Eufy Security Indoor Cam 2K

$40 at Amazon
$40 at Walmart

Pros

2K resolution
Free person/pet detection
Up to 128GB microSD storage
HomeKit integration enables 24 FPS
Lets you record motion-triggered messages

Cons

2FA not available in all countries
Indoo…

Accurate multi-room tracking

Ecobee4 Smart Thermostat

$227 at Amazon
$208 at Walmart

Pros

SmartSensors for temperature / occupancy tracking
LCD Touchscreen
Built-in smart speaker for commands
Works with Alexa, Google Home and HomeKit
Provided PEK for non-C wire installation
Three-year warranty

Cons

No learning schedule or suggested energy savings
Mics, speakers aren’t very receptive or loud
Boring design
Mostly refurbished units available
Geofencing only tracks one phone

The Ecobee4 is a versatile machine that works with multiple apps, speakers, smart homes, and sensors, giving you all the methods you need to schedule, control, and track your home temperatures through all the rooms in your home. Unfortunately, Ecobee isn’t manufacturing more of them, so grab new units while you can.

Colorful but stripped down

Nest Thermostat

$130 at Best Buy
$130 at B&H

Pros

Multiple color options for IPS mirror display
Unique touch strip temperature controls
Soli motio…

Accurate multi-room tracking

Ecobee4 Smart Thermostat

$227 at Amazon
$208 at Walmart

Pros

SmartSensors for temperature / occupancy tracking
LCD Touchscreen
Built-in smart speaker for commands
Works with Alexa, Google Home and HomeKit
Provided PEK for non-C wire installation
Three-year warranty

Cons

No learning schedule or suggested energy savings
Mics, speakers aren’t very receptive or loud
Boring design
Mostly refurbished units available
Geofencing only tracks one phone

The Ecobee4 is a versatile machine that works with multiple apps, speakers, smart homes, and sensors, giving you all the methods you need to schedule, control, and track your home temperatures through all the rooms in your home. Unfortunately, Ecobee isn’t manufacturing more of them, so grab new units while you can.

Colorful but stripped down

Nest Thermostat

$130 at Best Buy
$130 at B&H

Pros

Multiple color options for IPS mirror display
Unique touch strip temperature controls
Soli motio…

The quality of the best streaming devices has drastically grown in recent weeks, as one tech company after another launches new streaming dongles with superlative specs and shockingly low prices. Devices like the Chromecast with Google TV have shifted consumers’ expectations, with Google proving that Dolby streaming and innovative AI tech doesn’t need to cost you a ton of money. With so many fresh and affordable streaming devices to choose from, we’re breaking down which fits your needs best.

Best Overall: Chromecast with Google TV

When Chromecast dongles could only cast content from your devices to the TV, many people reserved one HDMI slot for their Chromecast and another for a traditional streaming stick. Now, Chromecast with Google TV bundles both casting and Google TV streaming into one cheap dongle that will serve the needs of most streaming addicts.

For starters, the Chromecast with Google TV is disproportionately powerful for its size and price. It can stream 4K, HDR, HD…

Wide soundstage

Roku Streambar

$130 at Amazon
$130 at Best Buy
$130 at B&H

Pros

Optional wired Ethernet connection
Bluetooth 5.0 support
Cheaper price
Side-firing drivers
Built-in Streaming Stick+
Alexa, Google Assistant support

Cons

Smaller speakers
Ethernet adaptor sold separately
Weaker sound than Smart Soundbar

The new Roku Streambar is a compact, 14-inch-long soundbar with two front- and side-firing drivers (four total) designed for a wider audio presence that will permeate through your entire living room. Roku added better connectivity options to your router and smartphone, but it’s not a major upgrade if you already own the Roku Smart Soundbar.

Larger speakers

Roku Smart Soundbar

$180 at Amazon
$180 at Best Buy
$180 at B&H

Pros

Larger speakers for stronger sound
More traditional soundbar size
Built-in Streaming Stick+
Alexa, Google Assistant support

Cons

More expensive
No Ethernet option

The Roku Smart Soundbar justifies its higher pric…

Tube full of tricks

NVIDIA Shield TV

$150 at Amazon
$150 at Best Buy
$150 at Walmart

Pros

AI upscaling to non-4K content
Gigabit ethernet port
Support for GeForce Now, Android TV gaming
Google Assistant button on remote
Compact tube design

Cons

More expensive
Doesn’t ship with HDMI cable

NVIDIA offers the best streaming quality at all ends of the resolution spectrum, from Dolby Vision and 4K to 1080p and lower, thanks to its AI upscaling technology. Add in its premium Tegra X1+ chip, fast ethernet speeds, Android TV library and GeForce Now support, and you have an elite streaming device for almost any buyer.

Cheaper Dolby Vision & Atmos

Roku Ultra

$100 at Amazon
$100 at Best Buy

Pros

Cheaper than NVIDIA Shield TV
Future AirPlay 2, HomeKit support
USB slot for storage, local play
Custom shortcuts, headphone jack on remote

Cons

No built-in assistant
Minimal gaming options

The revamped Roku Ultra 2020 brings back its easy-to-search library of apps an…

To judge the best home security systems with cameras, we considered which ones had the full range of indoor, outdoor and doorbell cams, had useful features like motion tracking, and how much those cameras, video storage and video monitoring will cost. The Vivint Home Security System checks every camera box we could think of for reliable home surveillance, but for those who’d prefer bargain-priced, DIY camera security, we’ve laid out all of the best options on the market today.

Best Overall Home Security System with Cameras: Vivint Home Security System

It’s no surprise that the best professionally installed home security system overall delivers great camera specs. With Vivint, your pro-installed cams will record 20–90 second motion-triggered clips stored in the cloud, or you can pay for a 1TB DVR that enables continuous recording for up to four cameras.

The Vivint Ping Camera is expensive for an indoor camera, but it justifies the price with genuinely useful and unique security…