7 Life-Changing New Home Technologies for 2015

With each passing year, our houses are getting smarter and smarter. It's no fantasy; appliances that mix drinks or cook dinner at your command—a simple touch on your phone app could be the next fixture in your home. Here are seven amazing home technologies that definitely let you know you're living in the 21st century.

Amazon Echo

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Amazon Echo

Amazon Echo is a powerful speaker that not only fills your house with music, but its seven microphones also field your questions and commands. Want to know the weather forecast? Or add tomatoes to your shopping list? Simply speak to this WiFi-connected tube and you'll have the power of the Internet at your beck and call.

amazon.com

Somabar

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Somabar

How'd you like a little robot bartender in your own home? The Somabar robotic bartending system makes you the perfect cocktail every time. It uses removable, refillable pods to make the drinks you order by app. It cleans itself with water after each drink, meaning it's not only a bartender, it's a barback too!


Related:  17 DIY Mini Bars to Mix Up Your Home Decor

somabarkickstarter.com

Skydrop Sprinkler Controller

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Skydrop Sprinkler

Don't forget outdoor tech, though! Skydrop connects to your existing sprinkler system and then connects to the cloud to monitor hyper-local weather data—often from a weather station in your own neighborhood. This information helps it to calculate how much water your lawn needs, and to adjust the watering schedule accordingly.


Related:  New & Notable—12 Gadgets to Tech Out Your Garden

skydrop.com

Dacor Discovery IQ Oven

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Dacor Discovery IQ

One of the latest smart appliances on the market is the Discovery IQ oven from Dacor. It's got WiFi and a seven-inch screen that lets you download cooking apps from the Google Play store. And, notably, you can control it from your tablet and phone and set it to automatically cook your food perfectly by selecting the desired recipe.


Related:  10 Ingredients for a Cutting-Edge Kitchen

dacor.com

Budgee

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Budgee

Ever wish you had a personal assistant to help you carry all your stuff around? Well, wish no more! The Budgee is a small robot that can carry up to 50 pounds. It follows a wearable sensor—and you can set the distance you'd like your electronic helper to keep. It's a great device for the elderly or anyone who has reduced strength.


Related:  New & Notable: 10 High-Tech Gadgets to Make Housework Less Work

5elementsrobotics.com

Boost LED Lightbulb

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Smart LED bulb

LED bulbs are taking up residence in lamps around the world—and that's great news. They're a smart choice because they throw a lot of light using a little energy. And this bulb is extra-smart because it boosts the WiFi signal in your home. You can also link your bulbs to an app on your phone to control them remotely.


Related:  Your Guide to Navigating the New World of Light Bulbs

sengled.com

Canary

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Canary Security

A lot of home security systems are complicated. The Canary isn't. You set a unit in your home and download the app. That's pretty much it. From there, Canary learns your normal patterns and alerts you when something's out of the ordinary. You can tune in to watch your home remotely through its security camera and sound an alarm, make an emergency call, or tell it everything is OK.


Related:  10 Low-Cost Ways to Improve Your Home Security

canary.is

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Don't Miss!

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If you have the money to hire a handyman for every household woe, go ahead. But if you want to hang on to your cash and exercise some self-sufficiency, check out these clever products that solve a million and one little problems around the house. Go now!