Smart home upgrades are among the most popular house projects for 2026, as homeowners prioritize features that add more convenience and connection to daily life.
“The smart home of 2026 is all about subtle sophistication that’s highly livable and practical,” Tamara Mattox-Kabat, a real estate pro with Redfin, said in a joint report from Thumbtack and Redfin revealing their 2026 home design predictions. “Demand is growing for tech-integrated design—hidden charging stations, concealed outlets, discreet lighting and TVs and speakers built into walls or wood paneling.”
The latest smart home innovations signal a shift toward smart homes that are less about flashy gadgets and more about invisible intelligence—working quietly in the background to improve comfort, safety and everyday living.
Not surprisingly, AI is increasingly getting embedded into home technology—notably on display at CES 2026, the tech industry’s annual mega event held Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas this year. During the conference, companies showed how artificial intelligence is moving beyond novelty to quietly powering safety, wellness, efficiency and everyday convenience throughout the home.
CES spotlighted dozens of smart home breakthroughs. Here are a few of the innovation honorees in smart home tech from this year’s event.
Robot Butler
The LG AI Home Robot was made to handle all the house chores. It connects to LG’s ThinQ smart home platform to assist with everyday household tasks, from folding laundry to even organizing the refrigerator or loading the dishwasher. Equipped with sensors, cameras and voice recognition, the AI Home Robot navigates the home autonomously while learning daily routines. It’s designed to be proactive and emotionally responsive, aiming to reduce household labor and improve quality of life.
Spy Eyes
Samsung’s EdgeAware AI Home reimagines home monitoring by unleashing an AI system that can analyze sounds and activity throughout the home. It pulls data from cameras, Samsung and third-party devices, like appliances and other connected devices. (It does not send private data to the cloud, easing concerns for those nervous about the extra eyes inside the house.) It can detect 12 distinct sounds, from breaking glass and running water to even prolonged coughing. It sends alerts, event summaries and even wellness insights. The system also recommends actions to take based on what it identifies, like initiating emergency response services if needed.
Shower Upgrade
Ceragem’s AI Rejuvenation Shower System offers personalized skincare treatments in the shower using contactless sensors and embedded AI. A smart mirror analyzes skin condition in real time for hydration, oil levels and the skin’s pigmentation. It then automatically adjusts water chemistry and dispenses tailored skincare ingredients to support skin barrier health, reduce irritation, and manage acne-prone or sensitive skin.
Making Perfect Scents
Deepscent AI brings artificial intelligence to improve the smell of your home. It creates custom scents that blend within seconds based on mood, music, visuals and environmental context. It’s trained on more than 100,000 fragrance data points. The system blends aromas for different rooms and moments, whether social gatherings or creating a calming atmosphere. It integrates with smart home systems, so scent then becomes an adaptive layer of emotional and spatial personalization within the home.
Personal Stylist
Eoneoms’ HEYMIRROR is an AI-powered smart dressing mirror that delivers personalized outfit recommendations using real-time data like weather, calendar events and the occasion. The system automatically recognizes multiple users and learns style preferences over time.
Stopping the False Alarms
The AI Smart Fire Detector from Hansunst uses machine learning and multi-sensor functionality to detect real fires from harmless flames or smoke caused by cooking or candles. It monitors whether a flame escalates into a true emergency to offer reliable alerts with fewer false alarms.
Robo-Pool Cleaner
Removing the chore of maintaining a residential pool, the SPINO S1 Pro by Mammotion Technology Co. is touted as the first robotic pool cleaner with automated shore landing and self-charging. Using AI-powered mapping, debris detection and underwater communication, it can clean even complex pool layouts with minimal homeowner involvement. Battery-powered and zero-emission, the pool cleaning robot says it supports efficient, hands-free pool maintenance.
Fixtures With Detection
ALLIE by Arqaios embeds AI and sensors into everyday fixtures like light switches, outlets and ceiling vents. “Think of it as your house manager that privately and securely protects and manages your space,” the ALLIE site says. It offers smart home automation, intrusion detection, energy optimization, and fall detection and alerts. Using mmWave radar and environmental sensors, the system can adjust lighting and airflow automatically and detect falls without the use of cameras or wearables. ALLIE also tracks energy use and supports AI-enabled emergency response.
Fire-Protected
Sonic Fire Tech introduces a patented, waterless wildfire defense system that uses low-frequency acoustic waves to neutralize airborne embers before they ignite a home. Developed by a former NASA engineer, the technology targets the leading cause of wildfire risk to homes. It’s engineered for rapid response and exterior coverage, offering a new approach to protection.
