Smart lights bring real convenience, enabling you to turn them off and on from your phone or with your voice. You can transform the atmosphere from bright to cosy in seconds, or turn on the house lighting from the other side of the world. There are smart light bulbs, which are the easiest to install as they simply replace the existing bulbs. There are also full-on smart lights which can replace table and floor lamps, for instance. If you have other smart gadgets then they can work together, so that on a voice command like "film night" you can dim lights, close the blinds and turn on the TV.

Waking up to the sound of a blaring alarm can be jarring, especially if you have to do so in pitch black. That's why some people have turned to devices that mimic the arrival of daylight as a gentler way to stir from slumber. So-called sunrise or wake-up-light clocks typically start out with a dim light and then gradually brighten to full brightness in order to match your body's circadian rhythms. If you have a particularly tough time waking up, you probably do still need an alarm, but the sunrise light should at least make it easier. There are several products on the market that have this feature; some are alarm clocks, some are smart displays, while others are simply programmable lights.

Light strips are a fun and easy way to add smart lighting to just about anywhere in your home, like under kitchen cabinets, around TVs, along baseboards, and more. To get the job done right, you need a light strip that's fast and simple to set up, stays securely in place, and comes loaded with fun and useful features to light up any room. For these reasons, the Lifx Z LED Strip 6.6' Kit is the best smart light strip you can buy. In what felt like a blink of an eye, we had these dimmable lights connected to Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri. They also work with IFTTT, SmartThings, Nest, Arlo, Flic, and more.