5 Smart Home Gifts Forbes Flags for This Holiday Season

Forbes published a holiday gift guide naming five smart home products worth considering for 2026 shoppers, according to the outlet's report. The guide does not single out any one brand as a universal pick; the full lineup and pricing are detailed only in the original list.

"Five Cool Smart Home Gifts For The Holiday Season"

What did Forbes recommend for holiday shoppers this year?

The guide groups five smart home items under a single holiday-shopping banner, per the headline and listing cited above. Forbes does not publish the specific products in the snippet available through Google News, so readers looking for exact model names and prices should consult the original story directly.

Why does compatibility matter more for smart home gifts in 2026?

Any smart device bought as a gift only works as well as its ability to talk to whatever hub or app the recipient already owns. Matter, the cross-manufacturer connectivity standard backed by major smart home brands, received an update this fall intended to smooth pairing between hubs and devices from different companies, Smart Home Central reported. For holiday buyers, that matters because a gift bought without checking hub compatibility can sit unused in its box.

How can gift-givers avoid handing over an unusable device?

Before buying, the most practical step is confirming the device supports the ecosystem the recipient already uses — Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, or a Matter-certified hub. Checking for a Matter logo on the box, or on the retailer's product page, is the quickest signal that a device should pair across brands without a separate app.

Does the recipient need technical skill to set up these gifts?

Setup friction is usually less about the hardware and more about organization once multiple devices are running. Smart Home Central's guidance on naming smart home devices notes that clear, consistent device names make automated "scenes" — grouped commands like turning off lights and lowering a thermostat at once — easier to build and troubleshoot. A labeled gift, in other words, is more useful than an unlabeled one.

Where can shoppers find the full list of five picks?

Readers looking for the complete five-item list, including whatever specific brands and prices Forbes selected, should go directly to the Forbes gift guide, since the originating article contains the product-level detail that this report cannot independently confirm.