Who hasn’t driven off to work and wondered if the heater or the straightener is still on, or left the house without their keys? Life is busy and while there are no medals for just getting through the day, sometimes a little help to tick off all of the boring life admin list is reward enough—bonus points for not burning down the house or being locked out. Investing in smart home devices may be your key to a carefree existence—and you wouldn’t be the only one.
“Australian homes are getting smarter,” Jeremy Senior, Vice President Consumer Electronics at Samsung Australia, explains, pointing to Samsung-commissioned Nature research that shows “as of 2023, Australians have an average of 10.9 connected devices in the household.”
Rather than completely taking over every aspect of our daily lives, smart home technology feels more like a helpful delegation of tasks. This is how we should think about smart homes—tech that allows us to assign routine responsibilities to intelligent systems—like a virtual assistant—freeing us to focus on more meaningful or enjoyable activities while maintaining control over our home environment.
Why not streamline the details without surrendering what can easily overwhelm us, making our homes work smarter, not harder? Such magic is now available. The stuff we have dreamt about for years is finally coming true. Here are three ways to hack your life with smart home helpers—right at your fingertips and without a hint of back chat.
1. Turn appliances on and off remotely
With smart power plugs, you can check if an appliance is still on from your smartphone. Apps like Samsung SmartThings go a step further using a 3D map of your entire home to monitor, adjust or switch off any appliances connected to a smart plug anytime, from anywhere. Better still, (wo)man the controls from your Family Hub refrigerator when you’re in the kitchen with smart home apps. Call out items for your shopping list when standing in front of the pantry or adjust the room temperature as the evening cool sets in without leaving your seat.
“By seamlessly connecting users to their appliances, SmartThings not only promotes efficiency but also helps Australians make more eco-conscious decisions,” Senior explains.
“A popular feature is SmartThings Energy, which allows users to set energy usage goals and receive notifications when limits are reached, helping them save on electricity. This is particularly valuable as over half of Australians (51%) report high energy consumption as their top appliance-related frustration, and almost all (94%) are making accommodations to save energy, according to the Australians@Home Report: 2024 Smart Living Edition.”
This is particularly helpful when using specific appliances, such as Samsung’s Bespoke AI Heat Pump Combo.
“Appliances like Samsung’s Bespoke AI Heat Pump Combo, for example, can reduce energy consumption by up to 60% during the wash cycle and 20% during the dry cycle with AI Energy Mode, offering an efficient solution to combat rising energy costs while maintaining a stylish, modern home,” Senior says.
Set your smart devices to turn off automatically when you leave the house, or turn on at a certain time of day. This is an easy way to reduce power consumption, stay on top of refills and replace bulbs and filters.
2. Watch your pets at play
Find out what your furry friends get up to when you’re not at home, with the installation of a HD camera, or simply spy on them with your robot vacuum cleaner. You can even talk to them when you’re away or adjust settings on home appliances to suit your pet’s needs; room temperature, pet feeder levels, automatic blinds. If they want some company, turn the radio on remotely!
3. Forgot your door key? You can still get in…
A smart door lock allows keyless entry with coded or fingerprint touchpads, so offers a perfect solution for families who tend to lock themselves out, or lose and forget keys. You can use it to monitor the times your kids are going and coming home from school by setting up alerts when the front door is opening. Combining a smart lock with a smart doorbell, security cameras or other home automation devices like motion sensors will provide a fully secure, connected experience.
4. Smart speakers
Perhaps the most readily adopted smart home device is a smart speaker. Now you can even pair your wall art to your TV audio with products like the Samsung Music Frame to play music and boost sound to every corner of the room. Elsewhere in the home, the simple step from speaker to receiver has embraced technology advances, to see these little wonders act as a hub for home automation and often an extension of other smart home tech. Synced to the family calendar, the ability to set alarms and reminders, double as a baby monitor or respond to commands and learn as they go has made life-changing improvements at home for people with disabilities or mobility issues, making everyday tasks much easier to manage.
Smart home devices to make your life easier
Music frame
$499, Samsung
Best for: secret sound
The latest addition to Samsung’s surround sound suite, the new, award-winning Music Frame is a brilliant solution for those looking to hide their tech in favour of aesthetic appeal. Like the The Frame TV, it doubles as a picture frame, cleverly hiding 6 Dolby Atmos 3-way speakers that deliver powerful, adaptive sound from behind an artwork of your choice, positioned wherever you need it in your home. Customised with your own photos or a custom artwork, wall mount it, use it as a standalone speaker, or pair it with your TV for seamless, stylish surround sound that is visually seamless.
Size: W35 x H36 x D14cm.
Colour: Black.
Key features:
- Wireless TV connection
- Compatible with Samsung SmartThings App
- Wall mount kit included
- Play music from your Samsung phone
- Works with Amazon Alexa, Apple Airplay, Google Home and more
Deebot T30 Omni vacuum and mop
$1199 (usually $1749), Ecovacs
Best for: fuss-free remote cleaning
A smart robot is about as close as it gets to the dream helper around the house. Set up this little whiz to run automatically every few days when you’re not home and you’ll have clean, mopped floors every day of the week. Once you’ve mapped your home —in just 6 minutes— and saved a couple of cleaning sequences for it to clean regularly, all you need to do is occasionally empty the dust bag and give the unit a little TLC from time to time. Any spot cleaning or an extra pass through the kitchen after a messy cooking session can be cleaned up, hands-free, on (voice) command.
Size: Robot: Diameter 35 x H9cm; Station W41 x H49 x D48cm.
Colour: Black or White
Key features:
- Tangle-free bristles
- Powerful 11000Pa suction
- Obstacle avoidance using 3D technology
- Maps up to 100 square meters in just 6 minutes
- Compact storage station for water storage, dust emptying and charging
Ring wired video doorbell pro
$229, The Good Guys
Best for: smart security
Is it just me who simply can’t get to the door in time for the delivery person? Set up a video doorbell and you can respond to alerts and detect any motion at your front door with a bird’s eye view as it happens, day or night. A connection to your Amazon Alexa suite means you can talk to visitors at the front door via your smart speaker or remotely via app and be able to tell the difference between a passing cat and a parcel delivery.
Colour: Satin nickel
Key features:
- 3D motion detection with bird’s eye view
- Night vision
- Hardwired or plug-in power
- Two-way talk function with noise cancellation
- Works with Ring app via your smart phone
This article originally appeared on Home Beautiful and is republished here with permission.
