The Best Outdoor Smart Home Devices for 2022

The Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera is easily one of the most feature-rich outdoor security cameras we’ve tested. It not only delivers crisp, detailed 2K video with color night vision, it also works with numerous third-party smart devices, supports Alexa, Google, and Siri voice commands, and integrates with Apple’s HomeKit and Samsung’s SmartThings home automation platforms. It offers motion tracking and auto-zoom, and because it's completely wireless, it’s easy to install. You’ll have to subscribe to an Arlo Smart plan to view recorded video and take advantage of some features such as Package Detection and Advanced Object Detection, but that doesn’t prevent the Arlo Pro 4 from earning our Editors’ Choice award for outdoor security cams. 

JBL’s latest update to its successful lineup of portable, outdoor-friendly Bluetooth speakers, the Charge 5, offers just enough improvements to keep it at the head of the pack. For starters, the waterproof speaker's build is now also dust-tight, so you can pop it in a bag and take it to the beach without worry. The drivers get a slight power boost as well, and with the aid of dual passive radiators, the Charge 5 can create quite a lot of noise for its size. There’s no speakerphone functionality and we'd like to see adjustable EQ in the companion app, but these issues are easily overcome by the Charge 5’s many strengths. If you’re looking for a sub-$200 speaker that can get wet and deliver hours of portable audio with a good sense of bass depth, the JBL Charge 5 is the one to get.

Most TVs won't hold up in a rainstorm, and you can't hose them clean if they get dirty. Those aren't problems for TVs made by SunBriteTVs, though. The company specializes in televisions that can work in heat and cold, sun and storm. The SunBriteTV Veranda series is the company's most affordable line, designed to be used outside but not in direct sunlight. It's ideal for a covered deck, porch, or any part of your backyard that has consistent shade. SunBriteTV makes a Pro series you can comfortably watch under the blazing sun, but they're much more expensive models and only show 1080p instead of the Veranda series' 4K resolution.

If you want to watch movies in the backyard—whether you're bundled up with the patio heater on, enjoying balmy evening temps, or planning ahead for next summer—it's easier to pull off than you might think. The BenQ TH685 offers a long list of strong points for outdoor projectors, including a 3,500 ANSI lumen rating, a 6.2-pound weight for easy luggability, support for HDR10, and support for HLG, the HDR standard for broadcast and streaming TV.

There aren’t a lot of smart pool water monitors out there, but the few that we’ve tested all float around in your pool and require a hub to connect to your network and to a mobile app. The WaterGuru Sense takes a different approach: It sits inside your pool’s skimmer reservoir and connects directly to your home network via a built-in Wi-Fi radio. It doesn’t offer voice control, but it’s easy to install, doesn't require a subsctption fee, and will tell you when you need to add chemicals and how to balance your water chemistry.

Polaris robotic pool cleaners have garnered several PCMag Editors' Choice awards over the years for their sturdy build and superb cleaning performance, so it comes as no surprise that the company's latest model, the Polaris Alpha IQ+, is also its best. As with previous Polaris robots, the Alpha IQ+ is very easy to use and comes with a debris canister that you can empty and clean without getting your hands dirty. It also offers a few new features, including water temperature readings, additional cleaning modes, and a more efficient navigation system. The Alpha IQ+ doesn’t come cheap, but it can save you hours of work while keeping your pool spotless.

If you love your lawn enough to install a multiple sprinkler system to keep it green and lush in the summer, you need a good sprinkler controller. The Rachio 3 is one of the best, controlling up to eight separate sprinkler zones with automatic weather-based or custom app-controlled watering schedules. You can even control it with Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands, or IFTTT recipes.

If you have an Apple TV and a lawn but no complicated sprinkler system, the Elgato Eve Aqua might be the ideal device to you. It can turn any outdoor water spigot into a smart sprinkler, complete with schedule and voice control via Siri and Apple HomeKit. It's strictly for iOS and Apple TV users, but it can be the ideal upgrade for anyone whose current sprinkler system is an old-school rotating sprinkler.

As with every robot lawnmower we've reviewed, the Worx Landroid M 20V Cordless Robotic Lawn Mower (WR140) doesn't come cheap, but it's one of the least expensive models out there and it does an excellent job of mowing and trimming your lawn. It has GPS and Wi-Fi radios and works with a slick mobile app that lets you control it from anywhere. In addition to starting and stopping the mower and adjusting cuttings schedules, the app lets you monitor the mower's progress and will send status alerts to let you know what it's currently doing and if there are any issues. It'll even tell you where the mower is in the event that someone decides to liberate it from your property.

Looking to grill on the go? The BioLite FirePit+ is a relatively small, ultra-efficient fire pit that burns charcoal and wood. Over 50 air jets deliver oxygen to the fire, for a uniform temperature and reduced smoke. A 12,800mAh rechargeable battery runs a built-in fan for controlling the fire up to 30 hours, and you can cook on top of the included grill grate for direct contact with the flames, or pick up a cast iron griddle accessory. Bluetooth lets you control the flame intensity and fan speed with your phone, for a smart grilling experience no matter where you are.

If you've ever had to break out the bolt cutters because you forgot the combination or lost the keys to your padlock, the Tapplock one+ ($99) is for you. This sturdy Bluetooth-enabled padlock can be opened with a mobile app, a fingerprint, or even a custom Morse code, and its rechargeable battery lasts up to one year between charges. It's durable and built to withstand the elements, and it performed well in our tests. You can store up to 500 fingerprints in the database and grant various levels of access to friends, family, and service personnel, though it doesn't offer email or push alerts and you can't access the lock remotely. Even so, its versatility, durability, and long battery life make it our top pick for smart padlocks.