We’re already up to Day 8 of Tech Guide’s 2024 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas to help you find the ideal gadget gifts to put under the tree for your loved ones.
Smart home devices and IoT (Internet of Things) products are among the most popular and fastest growing tech category.
Christmas offers customers a chance to use these devices to realise their goal of making their home smarter.
Here are Tech Guide’s 12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas:
DAY 8: Smart/IoT devices
DAY 9: Headphones/Speakers
DAY 10: TVs/Blu-Ray/4K
DAY 11: Appliances
DAY 12: Computers
DAY 8: Smart/IoT devices
ARLO ESSENTIAL XL – $199
Arlo’s new Essential 2K XL wireless camera offers four times longer battery life than the current model.
Priced at $199, the Arlo Essential 2K (2nd Gen) XL camera is just $40 more than the original Essential camera.
The Arlo Essential 2K (2nd Gen) XL is slightly larger than the regular Essential and can offer four times more battery life – that’s extra months between charges for longer continuous home monitoring.
The Arlo Essential 2K (2nd Gen) XL connects wirelessly to your home’s wi-fi network in minutes and can be inside and outside.
RING PAN TILT CAMERA – $129
Home security cameras are normally fixed to a certain projection and to change where they are viewing you have to physically move the camera itself. Now Ring has released a camera that can pan a full 360 degrees and tilt vertically 169 degrees.
Unsurprisingly called the Ring Pan-Tilt Camera, the new camera has been front and centre in my kitchen for the past few weeks and although it’s a breath of fresh air when it comes to Ring home security cameras, Ring could have, and should have, done so much more.
At just $129 it is not expensive so you shouldn’t expect it to be perfect but at $129 it does represent good value for money.
UNIDEN SOLO X2K BULLET KIT – $199
The Uniden’s Solo X2k Bullet kit is literally the one stop shop for all you need given the $199 price tag includes a solar panel for charging.
It offer excellent clarity in the bulk of the foreground and impressive colour night-vision and a spotlight that really lights the area up for you when motion is detected.
ECHO SPOT – $149
The new Echo Spot from Amazon is an Alexa-powered device ideal for the bedside table or the desk with a screen that can display various custom clock faces and colours.
Priced at $149, the Echo Spot is designed to replace the Echo Dot with Clock in Amazon’s Echo line-up.
While the device itself is only available in Black, Glacier White and Ocean Blue, the display can be customised to various colourways to match your décor — orange, violet, magenta, lime, teal and blue. The colour changes are subtle but add a little bit of customisation that can make a device feel like part of your furniture.
WIZ SMART LIGHTING – From $29
The Wiz range includes outdoor string lights, light strips, portable lights, floor lights, smart bulbs and smart plugs.
Wiz smart lights connect directly to your wi-fi and can be configured and controlled through the Wiz app. There is no additional hardware, and no extra wiring required.
The Wiz lights also have SpaceSense which can automatically turn on lights when you enter a room and turn them off again when you leave.
AMAZON BLINK SECURITY CAMERAS – From $69
Amazon’s new smart home security brand Blink, available exclusively through Bunnings Warehouse and on amazon.com.au/blinkau, includes the Blink Outdoor 4 – a wireless outdoor camera- and the Blink Mini 2 – a plug in indoor and outdoor camera.
The new Blink cameras can easily connect to your home’s wi-fi and allow customers to monitor their home from anywhere and talk to people through the camera using the companion app.
The Outdoor 4 is powered by two AA batteries which offer up to two years of battery life thanks to the proprietary chip designed to save power while still enabling smart notifications and person detection using computer vision.
EUFY S3 PRO (WITH HOMEBASE 3) – From $1,599
The Eufy S3 Pro provides advanced protection for homes, integrating AI-powered features and smart home compatibility. With powerful cameras, enhanced locking systems, and high-tech sensors, these products offer peace of mind for every household.
There is a 4-camera kit including a Homebase 3 ($2499.95) or a 2-camera kit including homebase (RRP $1,599.95).
Users can see clear 4K footage and vision even at night and the unit can be fully charged with just one hour of sunlight.
It has dual motion detection combining radar and infrared to accurately identities humans to reduce false alerts by up to 99 per cent and is compatible with Apple Home, Amazon Alexa and Google Assist.
It also comes with a built in 1TB hard drive.
ARLO WIRED FLOODLIGHT – $249
Leading home security brand Arlo’s new Wired Floodlight Camera offers uninterrupted protection and high visibility to guard your home day and night.
With a direct power source, the Wired Floodlight Camera will work 24/7 and offer a complete security experience.
The Arlo Wired Floodlight Camera has 2K resolution wall offering an ultra-bright 2000 lumens of light to protect your home and other outdoor spaces especially at night.
CONNECT AMBICOLOUR RANGE – From $109.95
The Connect AmbiColour Range includes smart RGB lighting panels and strip lights that offer a variety of shapes and designs to level up any gaming room or entertainment space.
With the Smart TV Backlight LED Strip, you can synchronise light patterns with gameplay. Broader curtain lights and LED panels can also be integrated into your broader smarthome to align with pre-set scenes, or customisable patterns, all controllable via Amazon Alexa, Google Home, the companion app, or a remote control.
The Range includes Connect AmbiColour Smart Light Bars ($149.95), Connect AmbiColour Smart Hexagon Lights ($149.95), Connect AmbiColour Smart Triangle Lights ($179.95), Connect AmbiColour Smart Light Curtain ($109.95), Connect AmbiColour Smart TV Backlight LED Strip ($169.95)
Available from Bing Lee.
AMAZON ECHO SHOW 15 – $549
Amazon’s latest generation of the Echo Show 15 features a 15.6” Full-HD (1080p) smart display and is designed to fit seamlessly into the kitchen, or any open living space.
Integrating what customers love most about Echo Show and Fire TV – the upgraded Echo Show 15 is perfect for both immersive entertainment and functionality.
The upgraded Echo Show 15, which can be mounted on a wall or placed on a counter, is an intuitive smart home management device that provides effortless control of smart home devices either via Alexa or the smart home dashboard.
