As we get older, we tend to accumulate more stuff that we have to keep track of — appointments, visitors, coffee tables we keep bumping into. Meanwhile, routine things like late-night bathroom trips can start to feel a bit more hazardous.
The good news is that smart-home devices — internet-connected versions of household tools that can be wirelessly controlled and automated — can make all of it easier to manage, lighting up dark hallways, showing you who’s at the front door and helping you stay in touch with loved ones. It may all sound terrifyingly high-tech, but take comfort: If you can use a smartphone app, you can use any of these devices.
Indeed, one of the great benefits of this technology is that it can help aging adults — not to mention their friends, family and caretakers — feel more confident and secure about living independently. Here are some of Wirecutter’s preferred smart devices for helping people age comfortably.
Devices for Everyday Convenience
SMART PLUGS are the easiest, least expensive way to integrate smart devices into your home. Just plug one of these tiny switches into an outlet, follow the instructions to pair it with a smartphone app and your home’s Wi-Fi network, and then plug an on/off device — like a lamp, fan or space heater — into it for full automation.
That can mean setting lights on a regular schedule, or controlling a device remotely when you aren’t home. The TP-Link Kasa EP10 ($17) and Wemo Wi-Fi Smart Plug ($25) are easy to use and compact enough to fit into outlets behind furniture, allowing remote control of connected devices so you can make sure that, say, a lamp turns on at dusk and off after bedtime.
SMART LIGHTING is easy and popular. With smart light bulbs, you can use an app to control bulbs remotely, or set them to a schedule; an “away” mode triggers lights randomly so your home appears occupied when you’re not there. Smart LED light bulbs like the Wyze Bulb Color ($15) are the easiest and least expensive ways to add smart lighting — just screw the bulb into any standard fixture and pair it with an app on your phone or tablet.
Philips Hue bulbs are pricier (a package of three goes for about $100), but offer a large ecosystem of bulbs that work together. (They do require using a special hub, a small puck that connects to your home’s Wi-Fi router and boosts the wireless signal.)
Smart bulbs don’t work as well for those who prefer to flip lights on and off using a switch. If you’re not ready to give up the feel and function of a light switch, Hue bulbs can be paired with a smart adapter, like the Lutron Aurora ($40), which clips over an existing toggle switch. A more useful and permanent solution is an in-wall smart switch and dimmer, like the Lutron Caséta Wireless In-Wall Smart Dimmer ($90). It makes regular bulbs act like smart ones, but installation is more complex and may require an electrician.
SMART SPEAKERS come in a number of sizes and can play music, podcasts and news anywhere in the house. Even better, they allow you to use voice commands to control most popular smart devices, so you can turn off upstairs lights from the kitchen or tweak your thermostat from the couch without even opening the apps on your smartphone.
Most smart-home devices are compatible with the digital assistants Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, which function as speakers. The Amazon Echo Dot ($50) and Google Nest Mini ($40) are both inexpensive, and they’re compact enough to fit on a shelf or counter. For Apple users, Siri can be used to control HomeKit smart devices via your iPhone or the $99 Apple HomePod Mini.
A SMART VIDEO DOORBELL alerts you when someone is at the door, and lets you see and speak with the person whether or not you’re in the house — especially useful for anyone with mobility issues. If you share access to the doorbell with friends, family members or caregivers who have the same app, a video doorbell can alert others to movement around the door, even if no one actually rings the bell.
The Arlo Essential Wired Video Doorbell ($150) can distinguish whether that movement is caused by people, packages, animals or cars. The Eufy Security Video Doorbell 2K (Battery-Powered) ($200) can only differentiate between people and general motion, but it’s good for users who don’t have an existing doorbell. The rechargeable battery can operate for up to four months on a full charge.
SMOKE DETECTORS should be a fixture in every home, but a smart smoke detector like the Google Nest Protect ($120) can simultaneously trigger an alarm and send smartphone alerts to you and up to six other people if there is an actual emergency.
If you want to amp up the protection, a whole-house security system can monitor for fire and flood threats, and alert you if someone leaves the house in the middle of the night or if a door or window is left open for too long. Do-it-yourself systems like Ring and SimpliSafe have options for door and window sensors, motion sensors, security cameras and even video doorbells and cameras. All of those can be connected to professional monitoring services, which check for suspicious activity 24/7 and can alert close contacts and emergency medical workers when needed. (Ring and SimpliSafe have service plans that start at $18 a month.)
Devices to Assist Caregivers
For some, any modern tech device may be too much to deal with, and would be better handled by friends, family members or caregivers. If you’re the person helping an older loved one, smart devices can provide round-the-clock monitoring without being intrusive or complicated. However, the decision to install and use technology in someone’s home should be a joint one; the people living with the technology should be aware of which devices will be installed, and understand how they can help them feel safer and live more independently.
SMART SCREENS go beyond the basics of smart speakers, allowing caretakers and telemedicine providers to stay in contact with older adults — and they are a lot more personal than a phone call. Smart screens also use voice commands, meaning they act as a kind of control center for playing music, making phone calls, controlling smart lights, viewing live video from security cameras and doorbells, and triggering any other smart devices.
The Amazon Echo Show 8 ($130) is a smart display — essentially a screen outfitted to a smart speaker — that fits easily on a counter, table or shelf with an eight-inch touch-screen that’s big enough to see from a distance but not overwhelmingly large. The device’s Drop In feature is especially useful, allowing two-way video chats with other Alexa users or anyone with the Alexa app.
The Apple iPad (starting at $329) is a tablet with a large 10.2-inch touch-screen that works pretty much like a smartphone, with app icons that are easy to see and use. The iPad supports face-to-face calling using Apple FaceTime, but also works with popular apps like Zoom and Skype, and can receive voice commands for Siri to play music, schedule timers or turn on smart lights.
When someone is wearing an Apple Watch (starting at $329), a caretaker can receive alerts about certain cardiac events, or if the wearer has fallen. The watch can also contact emergency services. While you can opt to have your watch partnered with an iPhone, models that support cellular service can be set up to work independently, so the wearer can be monitored for emergencies from anywhere.
SMART SENSORS are tiny, usually battery-powered wireless devices that can be placed on doors, windows, cabinets and other areas to monitor activity throughout a home. Depending on your needs, the sensors can be set up to send a caregiver an alert when an area is accessed, but they also can be coupled with other smart devices. The Aqara Motion Sensor ($20) can be set up to send an alert whenever something crosses its field of view — a person, perhaps, who has gotten out of bed and wandered down a hallway.
Similarly, the Aqara Door and Window Sensor can be placed in areas where you’d want instant notification of activity — like your medicine cabinet, front door or even fridge. (Aqara sensors require the use of a hub device, such as this $50 plug-in model.)
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