Innovation moves toward investment. In 2023, many of the major innovations in the smart home space were security related. Putting aside what that says about society as a hole, the solutions are welcome. There’s nothing wrong with peace of mind.
The best new security tech products all have a few things in common: easy installation, intuitive interfaces, and a clear purpose.
Ring Solar Pathlight
Ring has encircled the home security market with its extensive line of security cameras. The company is now expanding with other offerings, notably smart lights that incorporate motion sensors.
Everything that is true of other Ring products – intuitive, easy to install, well made – is true of the Solar Ringlight, which keeps a wary eye via a sensor and sheds a soft light onto outdoor spaces. What makes the pathlight remarkable is the resilience of the battery, which holds a charge the way a Jim Brown used to hold a football. The light gives some peace of mind if you’re worried about prowlers or animals or idiots climbing the fire escape, but it’s ultimately a nightlight for the outdoors, perfect for anyone with a deck or balcony.
Why the Ring Solar Pathlight Stood Out in Testing: After 30 days of usage, the battery life is still at a ripe 100% before sunset each day.
Eufy S120 Solar Wall Light Cam
The Eufy S120 Solar Wall Light Cam can be installed anywhere incredibly fast. No wires. No muss. No fuss. Then it’s all “Lights! Camera! Action!” (Though the action is sold separately.)
The integration of a great solar light and a high-quality security cam into an attractive package is, if not groundbreaking, groundcracking. The Eufy S120 looks smart and offers both a welcoming glow and a deterrent against strangers.
Why the Eufy S120 Solar Wall Light Cam Stood Out in Testing: The quality of the light is remarkable. It’s ambient. It’s pleasant. It makes everyone 15% more attractive.
Ring Car Cam
Dash cams are, in theory at least, great for capturing footage of the road, the intersection, the bumber, the crash, the ensuing fistfight… what have you. But actually getting access to said footage can feel like pulling the black box out of a downed jet. The Ring Car Cam solves that problem by connecting to smartphones via 4G LTE. Run the app. Get the feed. Download clips. Figure out who scratched the hood. (The quality’s pretty good too, offering wide views for both the car’s interior and what’s in front.)
We’re also talking about Ring here, one of the pioneers in the DIY home security space. The Ring Car Cam is more than just another dash cam, it’s a security camera as well that can react to movements when our car is parked and alert us.
Why the Ring Car Cam Stood Out in Testing: Unsurprisingly, the Ring Car Cam is functions well as a security camera, reacting to movements even the car is parked.
Govee Smart Air Quality Monitor
There are a lot of indoor air quality monitors and the number is bound to go up as demand rises to meet the smog. Unfortunately, very few monitors are intuitive, much less glanceable. The Govee Smart Air Quality Monitor is both.It is also incredibly at sniffing out dangerous components within household products. Is it bad that smoke from Canada is blanketing America? Yes. Is it also bad that cooling oil and disinfectant sprays contain irritants that can hang in the living room like an angry cloud? Also yes. The Govee Smart Air Quality Monitor provides particulate matter levels in an easy to understand way and integrates with both Alexa and Google home, allowing smart users to set up notifications.
Why the Govee Smart Air Quality Monitor Stood Out in Testing: No need to check the phone for yet another data point.
Lorex 2K Wireless Doorbell
Video doorbells are a nightmare to install. The Lorex 2K Wireless Doorbell isn’t. Unlike traditional doorbells that are wired to a power source, this one’s battery powered. No wires turn out to be a very smart turn on the knob product category.
The Wireless Doorbell is specifically good for anyone living in an apartment. The super isn’t going to get pissed and no one will have to find the circuit breaker. Also, it captures crisp 2K images of the neighbors stealing Amazon packages (that’s normal, right?).
Why the Lorex 2K Wireless Doorbell Stood Out in Testing: Simple installation. That’s the whole deal.
Ring Battery Doorbell Plus
Ring made video doorbells a thing when their first model dropped in 2014. The company has since been sold to Amazon, but its focus on delivering a stellar product has remained as iteration has led to advancement. That’s particularly true in regards to lenses. Other doorbells with 16:9 aspect ratios provide significantly less coverage than the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus does with its 1536p camera.
The other standout feature here is the removable battery pack, which saves a lot of time and nails the dismount (so to speak), allowing the actual doorbell to remain on its plate.
Why the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus Stood Out in Testing: Head-to-toe coverage keeps packages left by the front door in full view.
Aqara Vibration Sensor
The Aqara Vibration Sensor is a funny piece of tech in that it’s something no one living a safe distance from the San Andreas Fault particular needs, but that absolutely everyone can use. Think of the sensor as, well, a sensor. Put it wherever you are worried about disruptions or incursions. Cat’s litter box? Sure. Medicine cabinet before a party? Sure. Garbage can/trash panda buffet? Absolutely. Essentially, the Aqare is a tool for sensing vibrations. It just turns out that vibes are everything.
Why the Aqara Vibration Sensor Stood Out in Testing: The sensitivity of the thing is off the charts, which makes it pretty fun to play with TBH.
Symnelec Security Camera Light Bulb
Serving double duty as a security guard outside and a source of light, the Symynelec Security Camera Light Bulb pans and tilts to follow the movements of passersby then sends alerts and stores footage on a microSD card.
Unlike traditional outdoor security cameras that may need to be recharged, the Symynelec Security Camera Light Bulb can be installed in any light bulb socket and takes all the power it needs so we never have to physically interact with it post installation. It also doesn’t require a subscription to keep the footage, which is a huge plus from a pricing standpoint.
Why the Symnelec Security Camera Light Bulb Stood Out in Testing: No electrician. No subscription.
Eufy s220 SoloCam
Battery powered security cameras make it convenient for any homeowner to have eyeballs on every part of their property, but at some point they need to be taken offline to recharge. There’s none of that with the Eufy s220 SoloCam because of the integrated solar panel that recharges its battery on bright sunny days.
When it came to keeping tabs on the happenings of our home, we really how its 135-degree field of view offered extra coverage — and it helped that its 2K video capture was clear and detailed. On those days with inclement weather, its IP67 construction held up, along with enough battery power to get through the next sunny day when it would recharge again.
Speaking of battery life, this is the single most important feature of the Eufy s220 SoloCam because we may never have to recharge it. Other security cameras require a separate solar panel to achieve this limitless supply of power, but this one is integrated into the security camera and makes for a more cohesive package.
Why the Eufy s220 SoloCam Stood Out in Testing: Never having to remove this security camera from its outdoor mount to recharge.
Schlage Encode Plus
Schlage has been making locks as far back as 1920, so you can rest easy knowing its deadbolts offer superior reliability. Even with the changing times, Schlage adapted to keep pace with the rapidly evolving smart home — and the Schlage Encode Plus proved that to us.
Most smart locks look clunky. Back door of a pawn shop vibes. The Schlage Encode Plus isn’t gorgeous, but it’s thoughtful and domestic. It looks like something one might find outside, say, a nice apartment. And the satin matte finish on the keypad actually feels nice.
Why the Schlage Encode Plus Stood Out in Testing: Instant unlocking with Apple products.
Lockly Flex Touch Pro
Lockly’s Flex Touch Pro is great because it’s invisible. It converts existing deadbolt locks into smart locks. That’s it.
Now, that’s no small trick and there is an installation process. But it’s… really not bad at all. And there’s no need for new keys, just the addition of a convenient fingerprint pad, which actually looks pretty cool. It’s subtle and simple. That’s why it works.
Why the Lockly Flex Touch Pro Stood Out in Testing: No need to pat down the pants in search of keys. It’s hard (though not impossible) to lose your fingerprints.