The smart connected home is the next step in our houses' growth and how we interact with them. The various systems in our houses are developing as AI technology improves, much as lighting has progressed from candles to gas to electricity. The smart home is rapidly expanding. While all of these new smart home technologies may appear intimidating and difficult at first, the introduction of artificial intelligence assistants and voice control has made it much easier to accept. Here is a list of the top 10 AI-powered smart home technologies for 2022.

The smart connected home is the next step in our houses' growth and how we interact with them. The various systems in our houses are developing as technology improves, much as lighting has progressed from candles to gas to electricity. The smart home is rapidly expanding. While all of these new smart home technologies may appear intimidating and difficult at first, the introduction of artificially intelligent assistants and voice control has made it much easier to accept. Here is a list of the essential smart home devices which work on smart home technologies.

The Echo Show 5 fits into small spaces while still bringing all Alexa has to offer. The Amazon Echo Show 5 offers Alexa's visual cues and video functionality without taking up much room, which makes it perfect for apartments where space is at a premium. The combination of the small but super useful screen with a sleek, modern design makes this little smart speaker look just as at home on a bedside table as it does on a home office desk, a living room shelf, or a kitchen counter. The screen displays a customizable clock but also cycles through useful information to give you insights at a glance. It also gives you the ability to make video calls, which are surprisingly perfect even on the 5-inch screen.

But the thing that puts the Nest Mini over the top is the machine-learning chip inside the tiny speaker that allows the Nest Mini to learn what commands …

If you make a purchase by clicking one of our links, we may earn a small share of the revenue. However, our picks and opinions are independent from USA TODAY's newsroom and any business incentives. If you live in an apartment, you may fear that limited space and lack of ability to modify your dwelling will prevent you from creating the smart apartment of your dreams. Certainly, there are limits to what you can install. However, there are plenty of smart home devices that will fit in nicely in your apartment without upsetting your landlord.

The Noon Lighting System is easily our favorite smart switch, with only its weighty price tag keeping it from being our top recommendation. But this system is worth every penny. Its heart is the Noon Room Director, a single rocker switch with an embedded OLED touchscreen that controls not only the circuit it's wired to, but up to 10 Extension switches as well. This allows you to create and manage lighting scenes for an entire room of lighting fixtures without having to walk light to light. It also includes a motion-triggered night light and a vacation mode that learns to mimic your habitual light usage patterns so you can make potential intruders think you're still at home when you're actually away. Noon offers professional installation for $150 for up to three switches, plus $20 per each additional switch.

When Google Home first launched in late 2016, there weren't a lot of compatible devices--especially compared to the popular Amazon Echo. Nowadays, though, Google has expanded its family of smart home devices to include the Google Home Mini (ships in late October for $49) and the Google Home Max (available in December for $399). And the list of supported devices is growing rapidly as well to include top brands and categories like lights, locks, thermostats, plugs, and switches. With plenty of options to choose from, it can be hard to know which products are the right ones for you. While we're devoted to reviewing every new smart home device we can get our hands on, it's also important to know which works best with each platform.