--- title: The one smart home device I'd tell any beginner to buy... description: A smart plug is recommended as the best first purchase for anyone starting a smart home setup, ahead of a smart speaker. It costs around $10, takes minutes to... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/the-one-smart-home-device-i-d-tell-any-beginner-to-buy-first-and-it-isn-t-a-speaker-k0nlyz3ws twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: The one smart home device I'd tell any beginner to buy first, and it isn't a speaker | daily.dev og:description: A smart plug is recommended as the best first purchase for anyone starting a smart home setup, ahead of a smart speaker. It costs around $10, takes minutes to... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-one-smart-home-device-i-d-tell-any-beginner-to-buy-first-and-it-isn-t-a-speaker-k0nlyz3ws og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/k0NlYZ3wS.png og:image:alt: The one smart home device I'd tell any beginner to buy first, and it isn't a speaker og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # The one smart home device I'd tell any beginner to buy first, and it isn't a speaker **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A smart plug is recommended as the best first purchase for anyone starting a smart home setup, ahead of a smart speaker. It costs around $10, takes minutes to set up, and teaches useful automation basics like scheduling appliances (electric blankets, lamps) and managing battery charging cycles on repurposed old phones and laptops used as home servers. Options mentioned include the Wipro 16A plug, TP-Link Tapo P125M (Matter-compatible), Kasa EP25, and Amazon Smart Plug. Sensors and smart speakers are suggested as later additions once basic automation habits are established. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What smart plug should I buy first if I'm new to home automation? A basic smart plug is recommended as the best first purchase, costing around $10 and taking only minutes to set up. Options include the Wipro 16A (via the Wipro Next Smart app), TP-Link Tapo P125M (Matter-compatible), Kasa EP25, and Amazon Smart Plug (best if already using Alexa). _Comparing smart home starter gear gets easier with daily.dev surfacing hands-on device recommendations._ ### How can a smart plug help manage the battery of an old phone used as a home server? A smart plug connected to the charger lets you cycle power based on battery level instead of leaving the device at 100% all day. You can set the plug to switch off when the phone reaches 80% charge and turn back on once it drops to around 20-30%, protecting the battery over long-term use as an always-on server. _daily.dev helps developers repurposing old hardware into servers find practical battery management tricks._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [The cheapest thing in my smart home does more work than everything else combined](https://daily.dev/posts/the-cheapest-thing-in-my-smart-home-does-more-work-than-everything-else-combined-6oxqo6ut3) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Smart plugs are replacing smart appliances, and your decade-old washing machine just became future-proof](https://daily.dev/posts/smart-plugs-are-replacing-smart-appliances-and-your-decade-old-washing-machine-just-became-future-p-vbcfpckau) · XDA Developers · 34 upvotes · 9 comments - [I connected these 4 devices to smart plugs, and automation changed everything](https://daily.dev/posts/i-connected-these-4-devices-to-smart-plugs-and-automation-changed-everything-8mt5cuzld) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Emerson’s SmartVoice devices follow verbal instructions without Wi-Fi or a hub](https://daily.dev/posts/emerson-s-smartvoice-devices-follow-verbal-instructions-without-wi-fi-or-a-hub-bfkjpuk0c) · The Verge · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [A $25 smart plug became my home lab's most reliable emergency fix](https://daily.dev/posts/a-25-smart-plug-became-my-home-lab-s-most-reliable-emergency-fix-9vgnuzuzy) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#tech-news](https://daily.dev/tags/tech-news), [#iot](https://daily.dev/tags/iot) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-one-smart-home-device-i-d-tell-any-beginner-to-buy-first-and-it-isn-t-a-speaker-k0nlyz3ws) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"The one smart home device I'd tell any beginner to buy first, and it isn't a speaker","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-one-smart-home-device-i-d-tell-any-beginner-to-buy-first-and-it-isn-t-a-speaker-k0nlyz3ws","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-one-smart-home-device-i-d-tell-any-beginner-to-buy-first-and-it-isn-t-a-speaker-k0nlyz3ws"},"datePublished":"2026-08-13T14:02:45.133Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T06:55:17.721Z","description":"A smart plug is recommended as the best first purchase for anyone starting a smart home setup, ahead of a smart speaker. 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