SwitchBot is the smart home stuff I recommend to doubters, and it’s on sale
Enlarge / For those with a mini-split, a TV, a desire to know the temperature, and a real thing for light-grain wood, the Hub 2 is mighty appealing. (credit: SwitchBot)
There are some people who are eager to automate every aspect of their home with the latest smart home gadgets. Then there are some-many of them regular readers and commenters on this site-who could not only care less about the latest white plastic IoT thingy, but actively avoid such things.
I get it: If it connects to Wi-Fi, it requires signing up for an account, and there's a chance the company selling it could go bust at any time. It's also a no-go for anyone who cares about security or who just wants simplicity. The Matter standard is supposed to solve exactly this problem, but its real implementation and impact have been slow and underwhelming.
This is why I'm writing about just one set of gear while it's on sale for Prime Day (even if you're not a Prime subscriber): SwitchBot. I didn't use SwitchBot stuff until recently, but now that I have, it's what I'd recommend to anybody who just wants to make a few things in their home easier to turn on, turn off, or automate. There are no voice controls, no AI, just buttons and switches that do what you tell them.