The 5 Best Devices for Smartening Up Your Backyard and Garden of 2025
Who this is for: Smart outdoor lights come in different shapes and sizes to accommodate a variety of needs and landscaping designs. Many can be set on a schedule to light up the pathway to the door after a long day at work, for example, or to add ambience when you’re greeting guests.
Top pick
This battery- and solar-powered pathlight doesn’t need a cord to operate, so you can install it anywhere you need a motion-activated pop of light.
Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Works with Ring
Why it’s a pick: Designed to light up walkways or patios, the Ring Solar Pathlight uses solar power, so it doesn’t need to be plugged in and doesn’t need disposable batteries. This makes it easy to use and place almost anywhere, although it does need to be in direct sunlight for the solar panels to work. It also requires a network bridge, such as the Ring Alarm Pro or the Amazon Echo (4th Gen). You can control it with an app or set it to turn on and off automatically through a built-in motion sensor.
Another good option: If you have a nearby outlet, the Atomi Smart WiFi LED Spot Lights are bright enough to guide you down walkways or to create another decorative element for your landscape, party, or holiday display with colors and tunable white light. Available in packs of four, they’re compatible with Alexa and Google Home.
Who this is for: Smart string lights add ambience and mood; they aren’t meant to provide bright light. They’re easy to install, and they fit nicely along the rail of a deck, along fences, around a garage door, by a pool area, or in any other yard space within reach of an outlet.
Top pick
Available in different-length strands, these classic-style lights deliver bright colors and have more bulbs than any other model we’ve tested.
Compatible with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home
Why it’s a pick: The Govee Outdoor String Lights are good-looking and have more bulbs than any other string-light model we’ve tested — yet they’re surprisingly cheap. Available in 48- and 96-foot strands, they feature a traditional bulb shape that you can set to a tunable white light or change to color, and you can sync them to react to music. The app includes preset color schemes to match your party theme, landscape, or mood.
Another good option: You can find a few non-smart string-light models that are cheap and easy to use (including our pick from Newhouse Lighting). If you already own a set of these, you can smarten them up with the TP-Link Tapo TP25 Outdoor Plug (which is sometimes sold under the model name P400M).
