Building a smart home is a constant work in progress. It starts with a smart speaker hub or smartphone app to link all your home gadgets to and control remotely via voice commands or other means.

Whether you have an older speaker or late starting your smart home journey, here are some of the latest gadgets you can buy or upgrade to.

Google Home Smart Hub Controller

Google’s Home Hub is more than a smart speaker with Google Assistant built-in. It features a 7-inch touchscreen with colour display so you can browse online content, control compatible smart gadgets, and connect it to other smart devices. It also has Bluetooth connectivity to stream music. The screen is useful for viewing footage from linked security cameras, and family photos as well as displaying search results. Plus, if you don't want the microphone to pick up your conversation, it has a physical mute button to turn it off.

Hobot Legee D7

There’s a new robovac in town and it's one of the best upgrades we’ve seen in automated cleaning. The new Hobot Legee D7, an upgrade to the 7, has a unique feature that allows it to clean both carpets and floors. It has a powerful suction reading of 2700Pa and, and has a function that eliminates the chance of large waste or pet hair getting stuck on the brush. It stores up to 5-floor maps, lets you create virtual block zones, and features various cleaning modes. It works with WiFi or via a smartphone hotspot. It can be used with voice controls like Google Assistant and Siri.

Ring Video Doorbell 4

Amazon-owned tech company Ring makes a variety of smart home security products that are easy to install and accessible from your smartphone. Its new Video Doorbell 4 supports enhanced WiFi, has a quick-release battery for easy charging and has ‘quick replies’ options for when you're busy. They also have pre-roll video, which allows you to see what happened even before the person at your door rings the doorbell or triggers the sensor, plus this is all in full colour, as opposed to previous models which had this in black and white. It supports HD video with night vision, two-way talk (accessible from anywhere), customisable privacy settings, real-time notifications and Live View. A Ring Protect plan subscription lets you record footage, share it with friends and set up a screenshot function that takes screenshots that you can go back to if you need to check what was going on in front of your door when you weren't looking. 

Sonoff Smart LED strip lights

There are many choices when it comes to LED strip lights but reputable brands like Sonoff make excellent products. The Sonoff L2 smart LED strip lights are available in 5m and can be used in any room, alongside your passage for ambient lighting or during the festive period to support your RGB colours. The lights are rated IP65 waterproof and you can add extra lights to extend it beyond the 5m. It supports Google Assistant and Alexa voice controls, plus more than 16 million colours, and has 21 recommended scene modes and support of up to 8 DIY scenes.

None Of This Works Without A Connection

Without the internet, all of these gadgets would just be dead wood. So make sure you have the best connection possible with one of these Vodacom fibre deals, before making the move, find out which fibre speed suits your needs.