On the surface gift giving sounds easy, but for the person that seemingly has it all, gift giving can be difficult. Unless of course, they are living a smart home lifestyle.
Because of the nature of technology with it always moving forward, staying on top of the latest technologies and trends can be a losing battle, particularly in the fast-moving smart home industry.
The ever-evolving nature of smart home living provides an evergreen level of opportunity for family members and friends to find gifts for the hard to buy for people in their lives. Whether it’s something simple like a Netflix gift card to ease those streaming subscription burdens or something more elaborate, here are some suggestions to help family and friends lead a more tech-savvy lifestyle in 2026:
6 Smart Home Products for a Holly Jolly Holiday
Epson QB1000 4K Projector: The QB1000 is a part of the company’s recently released high-performance Q Series of products. Epson specifies the QB1000 to produce up to 3,300 lumens of color and white brightness to allow the projector to reside in dedicated home theaters and multipurpose rooms. The projector also provides HDR10+ compatibility, and technologies such as the company’s Epson QZX Picture Processor.
Kordz ONE Outdoor Speaker Cable: At the recent 2025 CEDIA Expo show in Denver Kordz featured several new products that included the ONE Outdoor Speaker Cable. Designed for use as an above-ground connectivity solution, the 14AWG speaker cable utilizes a UV-resistant outer jacket. Internally, the cable employs OFC copper connectors, and the company says the smart-home friendly outdoor cable is packaged in easy-to-pull boxes to facilitate termination in the field to allow for efficiency when setting up outdoor AV systems.
Leon Speakers Ente SoundTile: Leon Speakers is a defining smart home audio manufacturer, and a good example of the company’s heritage can be found with its Ente SoundTile. Combining art with audio, the product features a set of stereo speakers with the option of Sonos amplification. Homeowners can choose the Ente SoundTile’s artwork and the option of LED lighting to discreetly integrate audio into home environments.
Somfy Motorized Awnings: Earlier we noted the increase in popularity of outdoor technology solutions. Somfy’s Motorized Awning solutions are a good example of bringing the benefits of smart home living to outdoor spaces. Somfy’s motorized awnings offer users protection from the elements, and the products can be activated through a simple button push.
Sonos Ace Headphones: Often overlooked by music fans, the high performing Ace headphones offer a combination of active noise cancelling, immersive audio (Dolby Atmos), and the ability to complement users’ existing Sonos’ systems. The competitively priced headphones also provide up to 30 hours of battery life, and a choice of Bluetooth, USB-C, and 3.5mm connection options.
The Sonos Ace headphones are the perfect complement for smart home audio and travel. (photo credit: Sonos)
Torus Power TOT Series: The Canadian company’s compact line of power isolation and filtration products can bolster the performance of smart home components that include networking and AV gear. The TOT components like the rest of the Torus Power product line employ isolation transformers to eliminate line noise issues. The TOT Mini is rated at 7 amps, and it can be used with projectors, TVs, source components, and network products. The TOT Max is rated at 15 amps, and it can be used with amplifiers and subwoofers.
KMB Communications hosts a podcast called AV Trade Talk. Listeners can check out the podcast to learn about the latest happenings in the custom installation electronics industry. To listen to the KMB AV Trade Talk Podcast, click here.