Pocket-lint Awards nominees for Best Smart Home Device 2022
(Pocket-lint) - The Shortlist for the EE Pocket-lint Awards has been announced, celebrating 20 main categories ranging from best smartphone to best smart home device. Each category has been narrowed down to six nominees from the hundreds of devices we have reviewed over the last 12 months. The Best Smart Home Device category was introduced to the Pocket-lint Awards in 2014 but things have certainly become a lot more interesting since then.
From personal assistants to robot vacuums, smart home devices are now much more advanced and there are some great products in this category this year. The shortlisted nominees for the Best Smart Home Device 2022 are:
POCKET-LINT VIDEO OF THE DAYYou can click on each of the titles above to read our full reviews on each nomination, which will give you an idea as to why they have been nominated. We've also popped our short verdict for each of the nominations below so you can get a quick insight into what we loved about them.
Amazon Echo Dot (5th gen)
Of all Amazon's Echo devices, the Echo Dot is the easiest to recommend to most people.
It's got most of the same capabilities as its bigger, more expensive siblings and - with this year's improved speaker - the sound quality is better than it ever has been. Despite a couple of weaknesses, the Echo Dot is still a great entry into the Alexa smart speaker ecosystem and one that we wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looking for a small Echo.
Arlo Pro 4
The Arlo Pro 4 is a solid camera offering great performance. With options for how you capture and what you capture - day or night - and the ability to do so at 2K quality, it's amongst the top cameras out there.
It's a versatile system, easy to install and really flexible in its approach to home security, so well worth consideration as the foundation of a new system, a standalone device, or an expansion of an existing Arlo setup.
Google Nest Cam with Floodlight
The Nest Cam with Floodlight is excellent. Its modern design won't suit all homes and installation is potentially tricky for those without a current wired light, but it's a great two-in-one device that performs brilliantly overall. You get both security and lighting in a lovely looking package compared to traditional offerings, while the great performance of both the camera and floodlight, alongside the multitude of features make this a genuinely excellent proposition.
iRobot Roomba J7+
The iRobot Roomba J7+ is an excellent robot vacuum cleaner.
It offers amazing cleaning performance, alongside some great features which results in a robot that just, well, works. It isn't the cheapest robot vacuum cleaner around, but you can leave your home and trust that when you come back, your floors will be clean and the robot will be back on its base having completed its task without any issues. The question is, therefore, how much is that worth to you?
Because for us, that's exactly what a robot vacuum cleaner should do and why you would buy one.
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Philips Hue
When Philips Hue first launched, competition wasn't really a factor.
Now there's a lot more competition, but no other manufacturer has quite managed to gain as much ground or have as expansive an offering as Philips. As the Hue system has grown and expanded, it now offers a very comprehensive ecosystem. No other smart lighting system offers the depth and breath of Philips Hue, making it an easy recommendation for those looking for smart lights.
Ring Video Doorbell 4
Colour Pre-roll is a welcome addition to the flagship battery-powered doorbell from Ring - and that's what makes it more worthy a buy than others in the battery-powered range.
The app may be suffering from a bit of feature creep - yes, more features is a good thing, but there seem to be heaps more - but the fact remains that the Ring Video Doorbell 4 offers more than enough to justify opting for it over the entry-level Ring Video Doorbell (2nd gen).
How the Pocket-lint Awards judging works
The winner for the Best Smart Home Device category is decided by the Pocket-lint team, along with a panel of expert judges from publications across the industry. Following the extensive scoring process, the Best Smart Home Device winner for 2022 will be announced at an in-person event on 30 November 2022, along with the winners from the other 19 categories. A Product of the Year winner will also be announced, chosen from the winners of the 20 categories and a winner of the EE Superfast Award will also be revealed at the event.
We will be announcing the results on the Pocket-lint Twitter handle as they unfold on the night so keep an eye out there.
Writing by Britta O'Boyle.