The best new smart home technology of 2016

In many ways, 2016 was the year the “smart” house finally became a home.

While the concept of intercommunication between domestic devices - and the broader Internet of Things - is nothing new, the last year saw major advances in smart technology and how it's put to use throughout modern residences.

The integration of voice-recognition and self-learning programming into everything from your lights and your home security system to your coffee maker and television set, as well as the continued push for energy efficiency, has resulted in the development of flexible, innovative and increasingly cost-effective technology for better living.

It's been a good year to be “smart,” and if you'd like to give your home an IQ boost, you'd do well to consider a few of the best smart home products that arrived on the scene in 2016.

Digital assistants have been in the works for some time now, but it took the Amazon Echo and its brilliant AI assistant, Alexa, to show us their true potential. Nominally a compact wireless speaker, the Echo's real appeal is its sophisticated, steadily improving artificial intelligence and above-average voice recognition capabilities.

These features allow the Echo, now in its third generation, to serve as the hub of a modern smart home, responding to questions and supplying useful information, connecting with and controlling a broad assortment of smart devices and generally making life easier in ways that you may not have realized you needed.

Far-field voice recognition means that the Echo excels at picking up commands even from a considerable distance, and Alexa has been imbued with sufficiently impressive intelligence to handle most any request. Whether you want to play some music, set a timer, check the weather, unlock your front door or hear a corny joke, Alexa and the Amazon Echo have you covered.

Another device now in its third generation, the Nest Learning Thermostat continues to set the pace for smart thermostats thanks to excellent performance, an attractive design and a handful of useful new features. It's compatible with a host of other popular smart gadgets, save for Apple HomeKit, and the ability to integrate seamlessly into existing smart home systems opens up a range of exciting possibilities.

The Nest Learning Thermostat is perhaps the smartest thermostat on the market, using various sensors to track your typical movements, schedules, temperature preferences and more to deliver a highly customized experience intended to save you money without sacrificing convenience or comfort. Voice commands are fully supported thanks to Alexa integration, and the ability to set IFTTT triggers makes for a delightfully robust and powerful feature set. If you're looking to update your home's heating and cooling, there's no smarter way than the Nest Learning Thermostat.

Nest is also responsible for one of the best smart cameras of 2016 in the form of the Nest Cam Outdoor. The Nest Cam has been an excellent camera option since its inception, but it was limited strictly to indoor applications. The Nest Cam Outdoor, as the name suggests, takes the same versatile, feature-rich platform and transforms it into a rugged piece of tech that's fit to handle the great outdoors with ease.

With a waterproof body, a heavy-duty power cable that can be plugged in outside and a sturdy magnetic base, the newest Nest camera is an ideal solution for injecting some smarts into your home security. Its features include two-way speakers, 1080p video and an infrared night vision mode, and the optional Nest Aware subscription package adds constant recording with cloud-based storage, motion and sound alerts and even facial recognition that can discern people from animals, vehicles and other objects.

If you've been on the fence about smart lighting, the LIFX Color 1000 smart light bulb may just be the nudge you need. Though it lacks Apple HomeKit integration, its rich set of features and outstanding performance more than compensate. The Color 1000 is among the brightest smart bulbs around, yet it draws a measly 11 watts of power during operation. It also offers quick, responsive colour changing, and the colours it produces are brilliant and accurate across the full spectrum.

Amazon's Alexa is fully supported, but the bulbs are also easily controllable via Wi-Fi and IFTTT triggers. Whether you're a seasoned smart home pro or you're just dipping your toes in the smart light waters, the LIFX Color 1000 offers a blend of powerful features and ease of use that makes it hard to beat.

Finally, a solution for ensuring that your smart home is also a secure home. The August Smart Lock is a simple, highly functional piece of tech, and the Apple HomeKit integration introduced in the most recent generation only adds to its appeal. Because it's both responsible for protecting your security and likely to be used quite often, a smart lock must be easy to use and exceedingly reliable. That's exactly what you get with the August Smart Lock.

The device is easy to install on all supported deadbolts, and it provides quick and consistent performance. It also boasts an impressive feature list, including integration with many other smart products and platforms, customizable permission settings, lock monitoring, geofencing and more.

Staying smart about security

While smart home technology has come a long way in the last year, there are still kinks to be ironed out. In particular, security and privacy remain valid concerns. A tremendous amount of data is collected and analyzed in order to deliver some of the most intriguing features a smarter home has to offer, and the gradual move toward smart light bulbs, locks, cameras and security systems raises issues regarding hacking and security exploits.

However, many of these threats can be minimized by taking a few basic safety precautions. Always change the default password on any smart device you purchase and take some time to familiarize yourself with the available security and privacy settings before you install a new device. While tech companies are always hard at work to create more secure products for your smart home, practicing good safety habits is always your best line of defense.

A smarter future

The past year may have seen an explosion in the popularity and power of smart home devices, but the technology remains in its early stages. In 2017, smart tech appears ready to work its way into even more facets of the modern home.

Companies including Samsung, LG, Belkin and more have plans in motion to imbue everything from ovens to slow cookers to refrigerators with smart technologies and interconnectivity. Tech giants like Google, Apple and IBM are hard at work on the next generation of artificial intelligence, powered by advanced machine learning capabilities and building on an increasingly diverse and powerful ecosystem of smart devices. If 2016 was the year the smart home arrived, 2017 will be the year it proves that it's here to stay.

By Emma Bailey