AI wasn’t just a buzzword on the show floor in Berlin—it was the connective tissue tying together this year’s smart home breakthroughs. From stair-savvy robot helpers to subscription-light security and kitchen appliances that finally automate the chores you actually care about, the most compelling products pushed toward real utility, quieter operation, and stronger interoperability. Here are the standouts, plus what they signal for the next wave of connected living.
Robot cleaners finally crack multi-level homes
Eufy’s Marswalker might be the most practical idea on the floor: a stair-climbing carrier that ferries the RoboVac Omni S2 between levels. The dock-like cradle locks the vacuum in, ascends or descends, then releases it to clean a new floor. If it works reliably, it removes the biggest real-world friction with robot vacuums—humans carrying them up and down stairs. Expect safety interlocks, fall detection, and edge sensing to be scrutinized here; after all, homes vary wildly, and stairs are where autonomy meets liability. Still, it’s the boldest attempt yet to make whole-home automation truly hands-off.
Security doorbells that don’t force subscriptions
Philips Hue’s first video doorbell leans on a simple promise: useful security out of the box. A 2K fisheye view, two-way audio, and 24 hours of video history at no extra cost set it apart in a market where “smart” often means “pay forever.” Hue says enhanced recognition capabilities are on the roadmap, but the more immediate shift is architectural: more processing at the edge, less dependence on the cloud. That’s good for latency and privacy—concerns long flagged by organizations such as the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office—while also shaving ongoing costs for buyers.
Outdoor lighting becomes year-round design
Govee’s Outdoor Lights Prism take the idea of permanent holiday lights and turn it into a flexible, addressable facade. Each module packs three individually controllable LEDs, yielding smoother gradients and more accurate color compared with older single-diode strands. The new controller software tightens brightness consistency and improves color fidelity—key if you care about subtle seasonal themes instead of flashy animations. LEDs are also inherently efficient; the U.S. Department of Energy has repeatedly found that LED lighting can cut energy use by 75% or more versus legacy bulbs, making this a rare case of more flair with less guilt.
Kitchen upgrades that actually save time
Midea’s refrigerator demo’d a clever twist on dispensers: pick water, ice, or both, set your glass down, and a sensor-guided nozzle lowers to the rim and fills without splashing. There’s also an auto-refilling pitcher in the door—mundane, but the kind of everyday automation that sticks. Meanwhile, LG previewed a connected suite built to coordinate rather than just connect. Refrigerators use embedded vision to identify food types and tweak compressor behavior to keep items fresher, paired with a zero-hinge design that allows a flush, built-in look without sacrificing door swing. If these systems curb compressor cycling even modestly, the impact matters; the International Energy Agency estimates appliances and lighting account for roughly a third of residential electricity use.
Autonomous mowing grows up
Roborock’s RockMow Z1 brings the company’s mapping pedigree to the yard. With all-wheel drive, chunky tires, and the ability to handle steep slopes, it’s designed for real lawns, not only manicured postage stamps. The pitch mirrors where high-end mowers are heading: perimeter-wire-free navigation and AI-assisted obstacle avoidance. That reduces installation headaches and makes day-to-day use less fussy—an important shift as more mainstream buyers look for cleaner yards without the Saturday ritual.
Cleaner air, less noise
Dyson’s HushJet is a compact purifier that focuses on what many purifiers get wrong: sound. A redesigned nozzle reduces airflow noise while still delivering most of the air-moving capacity of the company’s larger machines. Quiet matters more than spec sheets suggest; behavioral studies consistently show users disable or step down loud purifiers, even when air quality is poor. A small, unobtrusive unit that you actually leave running is more valuable than a big one you rarely switch on.
What this wave says about the smart home’s next phase
Three themes emerged across the best products: frictionless automation, subscription restraint, and better interoperability. The Connectivity Standards Alliance reports steady growth in Matter certifications, and vendors here increasingly positioned Thread radios and multi-admin support as table stakes rather than spec-sheet filler. That alignment is overdue—Parks Associates research indicates more than four in ten U.S. internet households own at least one smart home device, but fragmentation remains a top complaint.
The AI shift is equally pragmatic. More on-device inference means faster responses for things like motion classification and scene detection, while trimming cloud workloads. It also nudges companies toward clearer privacy posture—storing what must be stored locally and letting the rest evaporate. Consumers should still examine encryption, data retention controls, and third-party integrations closely; certifications from groups such as UL Solutions can help separate marketing from meaningful security.
If you’re prioritizing upgrades, start where the tech solves a real limitation: multi-level robot cleaning, a doorbell that’s useful without a plan, outdoor lights you won’t want to take down, and appliances that quietly shave steps from daily routines. The result isn’t just a smarter home—it’s a calmer one.