A connected home is built one device at a time. A plug puts an appliance on a schedule, bulbs dim without a wall dimmer, a sensor tells you a door opened and a camera sends a clip when something moves. Each works on its own, and each gets more useful once several share one app.

Before ordering, settle three practical questions: which wireless standard the device speaks, what it does when power or internet drops away, and whether the plug moulded onto its cable fits your sockets. Those three decide whether a device becomes part of the house or a drawer ornament.