As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Treating our humble abode to smart devices can 
help elevate our home and give it an air of   sophistication and added character. Hey, my name 
is Andrew, I'm a digital marketer and business   owner and I'll share my new smart home setup on a 
budget in this video. I've fortuitously collected   smart home items over the last couple years 
and i think it's time to take the next step and   intentionally treat the apartment to more smart 
home elements the goal of the new smart devices   in this video is to naturally integrate more 
convenience and simplicity into the apartment   without cluttering the space and by the way 
i'll be giving away smart devices to help you   set up your very own smart home space so make sure 
you're subscribed drop a like on this video and   stay until the end of the video for the giveaway 
so let's start with the current simple setup   at the heart of all smart homes is the smart hub 
it unifies all the smart gadgets and controls   them from a single spot currently i'm in the 
google ecosystem and the hubs i use consist   primarily of a google home and a lenovo clock i 
was also gifted an alexa echo dot and it's just   used as an extra speaker for now the hubs are able 
to deliver daily news calendar and weather updates   control all smart home items and of course play 
music across multiple devices i also have about   20 smart lights across the apartment from the 
lounge room to the bedrooms and home office   smart lights create an ambient sight cannot be 
achieved with standard incandescent light bulbs   from automated dimming through to endless color 
options and pairing almost all smart lights here   are exclusively philips hue lights and i'm yet 
to fault them they're reliable bright with their   a21 bulbs reaching 1600 lumens and the app 
and ecosystem is seamless also installed is   this integrated Irmet moto intercom that allows 
us to control door access and also the security   cameras the beauty of a smart home setup is 
its flexibility in featuring as little or as   many devices as you'd like there isn't any really 
right or wrong way to do it and now that i have   the lights hubs and intercom working all together 
the next step and goal for this specific setup   is to add further smart elements to the apartment 
without breaking the bank i'm focusing on security   and functionality here while retaining a minimal 
aesthetic in the devices that i choose to begin   with i've sourced a number of Aqara devices which 
is a brand that creates beautifully designed   easy to use smart devices that are best overall 
affordable for full transparency Aqara is kindly   sponsoring this video but all opinions are on 
my own starting with probably one of the coolest   additions is this camera hub g3 a robust 360 2k 
security camera which doubles as a smart home hub   when i say this is a robust smart device it 
truly is robust the 2k camera is powered by   a processor that allows for ai recognition 
it recognizes faces gestures and even pads so if certain people arrive home it can activate 
specific smart home elements to come on and also   send a portion notification to my phone i also 
have it set up so if a face isn't recognized   the camera will record the event and automatically 
be marked on a video timeline within the Aqara   app there's also added convenience in its hand 
gesture detection too which allows for a smart   and quick access to commands through a piece 
or ok sign for example and place the g3 right   in the center console in the kitchen with the 360 
camera covering the lounge room and the kitchen i   was initially concerned about privacy but all the 
data that is streamed is protected by WPA3 which   stands for wi-fi protection access three it's 
the latest gen mainstream security for wireless   networks plus there is always physical masking 
if you ever need it it's also worth mentioning   the big plus here which is there is no monthly 
subscription fees unlike the majority of home   security cameras out there and it's just as robust 
in its feature set as its competitors the camera   hub g3 is an embedded smart home hub with all the 
functionality in the case you don't have a google   home amazon alexa or apple homepod for example if 
you're just starting out with your own smart home   setup but if you do have a hub a pre-existing hub 
already like myself well then the connectivity and   functionality of the camera hub g3 supports 
basically all the hubs that i just mentioned   okay next i'm adding this discrete door and window 
sensor to the balcony door installation is super   simple simply stick it onto any surface basically 
so it's a simple discrete sensor that opens up   access to a range of new smart home functionality 
i'm able to now activate certain lights to come   on at night when the door is open for example or 
even activate the g3 camera hub to begin recording   if the doors opened when we're out of home and 
receive an immediate push notification to my phone   similarly i've also installed a vibration sensor 
here within my bedside table for peace of mind   if i'm out and the drawer is opened the hub alarm 
will go off and again a notification will be sent   to my phone the device is designed to fit onto 
just about anything so you're able to safeguard   all sorts of valuables from paintings and safes 
to your ps5 or even your pressure sneakers   as much as i enjoy voice activated function 
throughout the apartment in the smart home setup   what's the weather today i'll admit i'm still a 
fan of physical tactile buttons the wireless mini   switch from Aqara is a nifty function it can 
be programmed to wirelessly control just about   any smart home function to become for example 
a light switch an emergency button or even a   doorbell when paired with a g3 camera hub i have 
this set up right now next to my bedside table for   quick access to the bedroom lights when i want 
to switch them off when i'm falling asleep or   back on in the middle of the night for a toilet 
break for example it's also complemented by the   Phillips dimmer switch which controls the entire 
apartment lights from the hallway the beauty of   these devices is the fact that they all work 
in harmony and talk to one another and build   upon one another to create a truly smart home and 
by spending a couple hundred extra dollars i've   added a bunch of new functionality to the space 
from security through to the added convenience of   automated lights based on a door sensor it's 
honestly been more affordable and convenient   to all set up than i thought it'd initially be 
but uh just be wary that all the Aqara products   will require and acquire a hub for these to work 
in sync with one another now i confess i love   jamming to music or even podcasts in the shower 
so i've installed this genius hydropower bluetooth   shower speaker it's powered by the flow of 
water from the shower head which powers then the   waterproof 360 speaker so you don't ever have 
to think about charging it once it's installed   being a smart device it also tracks water 
temperature water consumption features led   lights and is app controlled the unit is partially 
made from recycled ocean plastic 2 which is always   a nice sustainable touch speaking of waterproof 
smart speakers i've added the new sonos   rom to the apartment repertoire the rom pairs 
portability smart connectivity and top tier   sound quality that sonos is known for yes it's 
made to be travelled with but it honestly looks   and sounds great right at home i've placed 
the speaker in the kitchen display shelf   simply because this is one of the last few 
rooms that isn't covered by a speaker and it   looks perfectly at home with its clean triangular 
lines discreet size and white embossed sonos logo   it's compatible with the airplay 2 and the sonos 
app for multi-streaming but more importantly for   this setup google assistant and alexa is built 
in so we can ask it to set timers while cooking   checking the news and controlling other smart 
home devices in terms of specific sound quality   the little roam here extends itself further than 
its size it's well balanced and full bodied in its   sound output even at high volumes it can easily 
cut through the chatter of several guests that   we have over no problem and the base is again 
surprisingly good but given its small size though   of course don't expect it to be comparable 
to its bigger popular brother the sonos one   it is a little lacking in the base department 
and overall don't expect too much to come out   of the sonos room but it is amazing for its size 
uh and it punches above its weight plus it also   looks great in almost any space so transforming 
your space into a smart space can be daunting   but it doesn't and shouldn't be done all at 
once in my opinion it's important that you   plan out your space and smart home functionality 
which is the first step before you go out and buy   the smart home devices in the first place but 
it's worth all the planning and investment the   smart functionality added to the apartment now 
even though they're not necessary are extremely   nice to have it adds character to the apartment 
functionality and extra security and as you've   seen in this video it doesn't even need to break 
the bank either so if you have any questions on   this setup feel free to drop a comment down 
below and i'll answer as many as i can and as   for the promised giveaway drop the codeword 
comments down below smart apartment on this   video and enter your details in the link in 
the description box below for a chance to win   a brand new camera hub g3 to help elevate your own 
smart home space and a big thank you to Aqara for   hosting this generous giveaway hope you enjoyed 
this video and as always thank you for watching