No longer a niche investment, smart home devices are now on the shelves of all major retailers in-store and online. It is everything from home security gear like Ring and Arlo cameras, to lighting packs like Philips Hue and Wyze. Whether you're adding a single smart thermostat to your home or outfitting your entire residence with web-connected hardware, a smart home hub is something you'll want to have close at hand (or within earshot).
The best smart home hubs connect to devices from multiple brands, keeping all your tech under one easy-to-navigate roof. Touchscreen hubs like the Google Nest Hub Max and Amazon Echo Show are fully interactive tablets that connect you to all your favorite devices, streaming services, news and weather, and more. Speaker hubs like the Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod use voice commands (and app-based commands) to control your smart ecosystem while connecting to top streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
There are a plethora of hubs, so we've taken the liberty of breaking down the best of the best. Read on to see which smart hubs praise us.
Google Nest Hub Max
The Nest Hub Max is a full-featured smart display, thanks to Google's experience with older smart hubs like Google Home. The touchscreen alone is a great way to read the news, watch videos, play interactive games, or view a rotating gallery of your favorite photos. But that's only a tiny fraction of what the Nest Hub Max can do. With the help of the built-in Google Assistant, it can connect to compatible smart devices around your home and create scenes that involve adjusting lights, playing music, reporting news, checking your calendar. and many other things. You can control all of this with Google Assistant voice commands.
The screen includes a camera capable of recognizing faces and switching profiles depending on who is using the hub in the house. This camera can also handle video calls and intelligently frame you as you move in front of the screen while having a conversation. The Nest Hub Max Also doubles as a security camera wherever you place it in your home, and you can connect with your mobile device and look through the camera whenever you need to (as well as receive certain alerts). The impressive rear speakers can also play music on demand.
Read our full Google Nest Hub Max reviewAmazon Echo
Amazon's latest Echo speaker is packed with new features to make your Alexa experience even greater. For starters, a drastic redesign abandons the old cylindrical Echo design for a more spherical speaker. Adaptive audio means your Echo will instantly calibrate sound based on the room it's placed in, so you'll always get the best sound no matter what.
With Alexa, you can use voice commands or touchscreen prompts to check your smart lights, cameras, and thermostats, or log into Netflix and rub your favorite shows. The Echo even has a built-in Zigbee hub. This means you won't have to invest in stand-alone hardware to control and monitor Zigbee-enabled devices, such as lights, smart plugs, and cameras. Amazon Sidewalk, a new community networking feature rolling out later this year, is also integrated with the latest Echo speaker, allowing your Echo to function as a sidewalk transmitter for the whole street (if desired).
Echo Show (2nd generation)
The Echo Show is Alexa's version of a smart display that can access and control smart devices throughout your home. The second-generation Show dramatically improves the quality and sound on screen, making it a useful entertainment device. However, it also adds Zigbee compatibility for connecting to smart devices, a great option that makes it easier to control more unique or older smart devices that may not work on other channels.
The Echo show is also compatible with modern smart devices, including lights, cameras, thermostats, smart plugs and more. You can find and pair these devices using the Alexa app on your mobile device.
Read our full review of the Echo ShowLogitech Harmony Home Hub
Logitech's Harmony Hub can do a lot (it works with over 270,000 possible devices), but you'll especially appreciate this slim hub if you have a lot of entertainment devices.
Smart TVs, cable boxes, Apple TVs, Blu-Ray players, and a variety of consoles can all work with the Harmony Hub. The rear of the hub features mini infrared blasters that help extend the coverage area of the device. It uses Bluetooth connectivity to connect to your devices, but it also comes with a USB port in case your phone doesn't offer Bluetooth. (Hey, it's possible.)
The Harmony app connects to iOS or Android smartphones and tablets, supports Alexa, giving you access to channels, movies and more. Couples would love this device because it can create the perfect home theater environment, dim lights - or smart lamps - and connect to stereo systems for your TV needs. The Harmony Hub is very portable, which makes it easy to install the device in closed cabinets.
Securifi Almond 3 Smart Home Wi-Fi System
While most hubs often have the general aesthetic appeal of a low-profile brick, the Securifi Almond 3 Smart Home Wi-Fi system is one of the prettiest hubs we've seen. But this unit is more than a pretty face - the Almond 3 works flawlessly.
Access all of your hub settings directly with the Almond 3's unique three-inch color display. It's an aesthetically appealing touchscreen that simplifies and streamlines the management of your home hub. This device extends the Wi-Fi signal by connecting to multiple access points nearby. As a result, several gadgets also automatically switch to the strongest signal. The 5 GHz system was highly compatible with our devices, while the 2.4 GHz system did the opposite.
The Almond 3 can connect to any Wi-Fi device in your home, all via an IFTTT applet. Even if you only have a few devices, this hub's ability to organize and support your home is unmatched. It also supports Alexa, and this digital assistant can help relay signals. For example, if someone were to say the words "date night" to Alexa, the technology would produce an ambiance of dim lights and custom thermostat settings to match your specifications.
While we believe this is a vastly superior device, there are a few red flags to consider. The Almond 3 delivered below-average Wi-Fi signals when we tested it on multiple floors and larger homes. However, we were able to remedy this problem by incorporating another hub on the ground floor. This situation is similar to that of households that require two Ethernet connections, and these connections are not sufficient.
Read our full review of the Securifi Almond 3 Smart Home Wi-Fi systemEditor's recommendations
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