10 smart home gadget gift ideas around $50

Amazon Echo Dot

Alternatively, there's also the 2nd generation Amazon Echo Dot, which improved upon its predecessor's voice recognition. Functioning in the same capacity as the Google Home Mini, the Amazon Echo Dot leverages Amazon's Alexa for its assistance features. So yeah, it's there not only to entertain you through playing music, but its vast always-connected integration means you'll be able to control a variety of your favorite smart home gadgets using your voice. This, undoubtedly, is one of the core foundations of building up the smart home. And best of all, you can pick one up now for $29.99 for a limited time – although, it's still pretty valuable at its normal retail price of $49.99.

Belkin Wemo Mini Smart Plug

Sure, it's neat that all of these smart home connected gadgets are constantly delivering new features, but what about all the other non-connected electronics gadgets and appliances that are lying around? That's where the Belkin Wemo Mini Smart Plug comes to mind, as it delivers the "smart" element to all of our existing stuff around the house. Connected via Wi-Fi, users can control just about anything plugged into it! Whether it's a fan to help cool down a room before you get home, or simply turning on the living room lamp at a specific time, you can just about add that "smart" element to almost anything in the home. You can pick one up for about $35 right now.

iHome Fusion Smart Camera

Most connected surveillance camera systems tend to come out to a premium, but the iHome Fusion Home Security Camera covers all of the basics and much more at a price point that won't drain your pockets. This 720p connected camera will not only will provide users instant access to what's going inside of the home, but it can also pan and tilt to give you more of a view of what's going around – as opposed to being just a static camera. Additionally, it features two-way audio, live view footage using your smartphone, local storage via microSD card slot, alarm push notifications, motion detection and much more! For its $67 price point, it's not too shabby for a security camera.

Chromecast Ultra

Google's Chromecast has been one of the most popular entertainment streaming gadgets, thanks in part to its simplicity, ingenious design, and intuitive operation using your smartphone. With the latest version, the Chromecast Ultra, it provides all of the comforts we're familiar with, but now with 4k streaming glory! That's wonderful news given how 4K television sets are now widely available at reasonable prices, as well as the rise of more 4K content online. And if you're looking to expand its functionality, it pairs nicely with Google's connected speakers – so if you want to watch a specific clip or movie, all that's needed now is to simply just speak it. The $69 price point is still reasonable enough for this discrete 4K streaming media device.

Amazon Fire TV

While using your smartphone to stream video to your television set is nice, there are some people who simply still prefer doing it using the old fashion way with a remote. That's where the 2017 Edition of the Amazon Fire TV comes to mind, which comes with a remote to help users navigate around to access all of their favorite content. In addition to that, the Alexa Voice Remote means that you can find, launch, and control content by using voice actions. And when you have it paired with any of Amazon's smart speakers, like the Echo Dot, you can control the Fire TV via the hands-free experience by just speaking. The $70 cost of the latest version of the device isn't too shabby either, but it's even better at $55 for a limited time.

Philips Hue Light Bulb (3rd generation)

When it comes down to smart bulbs for the home, there's one that arguably comes to mind with most people. And that's the 3rd generation Philips Hue Light Bulb! Beyond just being able to be remotely turned on using your smartphone, or even setting times for when it'll turn on and off, the Philips Hue Light Bulbs offers accent colors like no other. From piercing blue, to T-Mobile magenta, this light bulb has a palette of colors to choose from. Even better, if you have multiple Philips Hue Light Bulbs, you can emulate scenes like a warm sunset, the cooler look of the northern lights, and much more! While it's normally priced at around $50, there have been discounts and sales on it throughout this holiday season already.

Sylvania smart+ LED light strip

Light bulb might be great to fill entire rooms with light, but for those looking for something a bit more complementary, such as an accent, the Sylvania smart+ LED light strip is the perfect gift item. Much like the Philips Hue Light Bulb, the Sylvania smart+ LED light strip can be controlled remotely using your mobile device – allowing users to do things like adjusting its color. Perfect as an accent light, it helps to complement other light sources. The cool thing about this one is that the light strips can be cut in 6-inch increments and can be extended up to 20 feet by adding 2-foot extensions, which allows for an assortment of configurations to fit your specific customization. You can pick one up to accent a room for about $60.

Roost RSA-400 smoke/fire/CO/Natural Gas Alarm

Many of the items mentioned in this list are things we interact with on a daily basis, but this next one is meant to be more of a precautionary measure. The Roost RSA-400 is a smart smoke/fire/CO/Natural Gas Alarm. Even though it's not something most people would interact on a continuous basis, but you can have peace in mind knowing that your home is being constantly monitored for these hidden dangers. Using your smartphone, you can quickly check out the conditions at your home. And in the event of an event, notifications will be sent to your smartphone alerting you to the dangers. The $60 cost is a stretch over traditional detectors, but given that this one encompasses a wide range of dangers, and is also connected, it's a great addition to any household.