Some of the top-of-the-line robot vacuums are seeing their first big price cuts this holiday shopping season. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
‘Tis the season to find some serious bargains on smart home gear. Black Friday and its close cousin, Cyber Monday, have long been prime times to nab a deal on smart lighting, smart locks, robot vacuums, security cameras, and smart speakers, to name just a few.
With the new smart home standard Matter on the horizon (yes, it is technically here, but there still are very few devices you can actually buy), it’s worth being a bit discerning in your bargain shopping if you plan to take advantage of the new interoperability protocol. (Which means if you want all your devices to work with all the different smart home platforms out of the box). So, we’ve highlighted deals on gadgets that will work with Matter or, if not, gadgets that work with all the major platforms.
Some device categories are not on the Matter bandwagon yet, including cameras and robot vacuums. We’re not going to tell you to wait — if you need them, now is definitely the time to buy them, as there are seriously good deals to be had.
The best Black Friday deals on smart devices that will work with Matter
Matter is a new smart home standard that will make it easier for your gadgets to work with each other and any platform you want to control them with — from Amazon Alexa and Google Home to Apple Home and Samsung SmartThings.
Matter devices will need a Matter controller, and those that use Thread — a protocol Matter runs on — will need a Thread border router. Black Friday is the perfect time to pick up one of the many gadgets that will have this functionality built-in for a bargain.
The second-gen Apple TV 4K is on sale at Amazon with 64GB of storage for $99.99, and the 32GB version is $79.99 at Costco (membership required). That’s a savings of about $99 on one of the first devices to function as a Matter controller and a Thread border router. Of course, it’s also an Apple Home hub and a great streaming device.
Amazon’s flagship Echo speaker, the fourth-gen Echo Dot, is still selling for $49.99 at Amazon, down from $99.99, which has been its price for the last few weeks. But for Black Friday, you also pick it up with a free Philips Hue Color smart bulb that will connect to the Zigbee smart home hub located within the speaker. The fourth-gen Echo will soon be a Matter controller and a Thread border router, too. Read our review.
The Nest Audio — Google’s flagship smart speaker and one that will soon function as a Matter controller — is down to $49.99 ($50 off) at Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and Google. Its diminutive sidekick, the Nest Mini, is also discounted to just $18 at Walmart and $19.99 at Target. Read our Nest Audio and Nest Mini reviews.
The second-gen Nest Hub is on sale for around $50 from Best Buy, Walmart, Google, and Target, which is a $50 discount. Its bigger brother, the Nest Hub Max, is also on sale for $163.99 ($66 off) from Best Buy, Google, Target, and Walmart. Both of these devices will be Matter controllers and Thread border routers. Read our Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max reviews.
Amazon’s smallest smart display, the Echo Show 5, will also be a Matter controller. Right now, it’s selling at Amazon for $49.99 with a Blink Mini indoor camera. That’s a savings of $70, and you can stream live footage from the small security camera on the small smart display with just a voice command. Read our review.
Eero’s excellent Pro 6E mesh Wi-Fi router is still seeing some great deals for Black Friday, starting at $179.99 for one router and going up to $419.99 for a three-pack, which typically retail for $299 and $699, respectively. In addition to helping spread a strong Wi-Fi signal around your home, the Eeros are Thread border routers and will be updated to Matter controllers early next year. Read our review.
Best Black Friday deals on robot vacuums
iRobot is slashing prices across its line of robot vacuums, with the self-emptying budget bot the Roomba i3 Plus (with auto empty base) seeing a $200 discount at $349 and the top-of-the-line Roomba j7 Plus dropping $250 to $599.99. Both of these make our best robot vacuum guide. Even the brand new Roomba Combo j7 Plus with the built-in automatic mop gets a price cut, dropping it to $899 from $1,099. Read our review of the j7 and i3.
Roborock’s S7 is our top pick for a robot vacuum that can also mop, and it’s 37 percent off, down to $409.99 at Amazon. That’s a very good price for this reliable robot. It doesn’t have obstacle avoidance, but it does an excellent job of mopping and vacuuming your floors. Read our review.
The S7’s AI-powered sibling, the S7 MaxV, is selling for $639.99 at Amazon and is worth considering if you really don’t like having to pick up clutter before you run your robot, as it’s smart enough to avoid socks, cables, and shoes. Both models can also be bought with an auto-empty dock on sale, too.
The budget brand Yeedi has a good self-emptying robot vacuum on sale at Amazon for $349.98 today, down from $499. The Yeedi vac station can also mop, features a long battery life, and offers decent suction power.
A sub-$200 robot vac that’s great value, the Yeedi Vac, is on sale at Amazon for $179.99 with an on-page coupon, down from $299.99.
The best Black Friday deals on smart plugs and smart lights
The low-priced, good-quality Wiz color-changing smart Wi-Fi light bulbs — which work with Google Home and Amazon Alexa and will be updated to support Matter — are on sale for $10.39, down from $12.99, at Amazon. The bigger BR30 bulbs for downlighting are also on sale for $10.19, down from $13.99, at Amazon.
A four-pack of Kasa’s HomeKit-compatible Smart Wi-Fi Plug Slim is on sale at Amazon for $39.99 instead of $49.99, while the everyone-else version is down to $22.76 (about $7 off). TP-Link has said it will support Matter, but it’s not clear if this applies to existing products.
The best Black Friday deals on smart locks
The August Wi-Fi Smart Lock (fourth-gen) is going for $159, down from $229, at Amazon. It’s a good price for a great lock that easily fits over your existing deadbolt, making it a great option for renters. It works with Apple Home, Samsung SmartThing, Alexa, and Google. You can also pick it up with its Bluetooth keypad over at Best Buy for $199.99 instead of $269.99. This is handy, so you don’t have a smartphone or key on hand to unlock it. Read our review.
The Yale Assure Lock SL with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is seeing a rare discount, selling for $259.44 instead of $309.99 at Amazon. This isn’t the latest model — that would be the Yale Assure Lock 2 that’s our pick for the best smart door lock — but it is a good option and will work with Matter thanks to an upcoming module Yale has said will be compatible with the lock. That will cost you an extra $80, though.
The unique retrofit SwitchBot Door Lock, which works with a wide variety of door locks thanks to its tiny robot hand that turns the lock for you, is on sale at Amazon for about $127.49 (about $43 off) with the hub and fingerprint keypad. Read our review.
Not a smart lock per se, but still a smart way to get into your house, the popular myQ Smart Garage Control device, drops to $16.99 for Black Friday. Garage door controllers aren’t part of Matter yet, though.
The best Black Friday deals on smart thermostats
The excellent Ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium is on sale for $219.99 ($30 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, with its less expensive sibling, the Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced enjoying the same $30 discount at Amazon and Best Buy. Both work with Apple Home, SmartThings, Google Home, and Alexa, with the premium featuring a built-in voice assistant (your choice of Alexa or Siri) and a sleeker Zinc body. It also comes with one of Ecobee’s smart sensors for monitoring temperature and motion in another room of your house, and you can currently buy more sensors from Ecobee for a discounted price of $79.99 ($20 off). Read our review.
The good value Nest Smart Thermostat is on sale for $40 off right now, dropping the price to $89.99 at Best Buy, Amazon, and the Google Store. It’s the only smart thermostat that has been confirmed as working with Matter. Read our review.
The very good Amazon Smart Thermostat that can intelligently determine if you’re home, away, or sleeping and automatically adjust your climate is back down to its lowest price of $41.99 from $59.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. Read our review.
The best Black Friday deals on smart cameras and video doorbells
Ecobee’s very good but underrated security camera, the Ecobee SmartCamera, is down to $69.99 from $99.99 at Amazon and Home Depot, along with direct from Ecobee. The Apple HomeKit compatible camera also has Amazon’s Alexa built-in and a wide, 180-degree field of view.
One of our picks for best video doorbells — the Arlo Essential Video Doorbell Wired — is almost half off right now, going for $79.99 at Best Buy and Amazon, as well as from Arlo direct.
Wyze’s small but mighty floodlight camera is seeing its lowest-ever price for Black Friday, selling for $69.99 (regularly $93.99) from Wyze direct. Read our review.
The best battery-powered floodlight camera — the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight camera — is on sale for $159 at Amazon, down from $249.99. Read our review.
The versatile indoor/outdoor Ring Stick Up camera is down to $69.99 from $99.99 at Best Buy, Target, and Amazon.