Create your dream smart home

How to equip your house with the best smart home tech and upgrade your security, entertainment, and comfort

- CARRIE MARSHALL

WHEN WE ARRIVE home, we just need to say the word and the lights activate, the heating turns on, and Pink Floyd starts playing on our HomePods. If you didn't know about smart home tech and Apple's version of it, HomeKit, you might think that our house was running on magic... But, while it may look like some form of wizardry. smart home tech is more practical than that.

Smart homes are now more affordable and user-friendly than ever before. If you want a thermostat that can turn the heating on when you're heading home, smart lights that do different things at particular times of day, or a hose that waters your lawn when you're away, today's smart homes can do all that and more. In this feature we'll show you what's available, and how you can add new enhancements to your humble abode. From high-tech home entertainment to smart security, everything you need to know is right here.

If the tech here seems a bit too expensive, or more elaborate than what you need, don't worry; there are simpler offerings. You can get plenty of app-controlled options, so for example most wireless security cameras have an accompanying iPhone app, as do Bluetooth-controlled smart bulbs and lights.

A HomeKit hub

What you'll need...

> From $99 > www.apple.com

A hub handles the communication between your HomeKit accessories and your Home app, and Apple currently makes three products that you can use as a hub: the secondgeneration HomePod, the HomePod mini, and the Apple TV 4K.

A smart home bridge 

> $59.99 > www.philips-hue.com

Some products, such as Hue smart bulbs, don't let you access all their best features unless you connect them via a bridge; this is a wireless hub that connects to your Wi-Fi router and adds Hue to your network.

A Thread border router