Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Smart Home
  3. Products

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

The best smart Christmas trees

By

A pre-lit Christmas tree saves a whole lot of time when it comes to the setup, and it allows you to get straight to the decorations. They’re resilient around pets and kids who might be a little more excitable around the holidays. Today’s LED light options are more durable than ever, and the latest trees even allow for smarter operation through mobile apps and other tools. It's a lot easier to tell Siri to turn on your Christmas lights than digging under the tree for the switch. We’ve rounded up our favorite smart trees with a variety of options for different styles and preferences.

When it comes to pre-lit Christmas trees, the branches are typically made of PVC, so the tree “species” doesn’t mean much, but the label can be an indicator of how the branches will look. If you want shaping to go faster, grab some rubber gloves before you begin.

Freecube smart Christmas Tree being programmed via smartphone in front yard.
Freecube

Freecube 6-foot Prelit Christmas Tree

Highly programmable

Pros
  • Rated for outdoors
  • Music sync
  • Highly customizable
Cons
  • Lacks natural fullness

Freecube's smart Christmas tree boasts 314 RGBIC LEDs, six preset scenes, and four music modes to go along with all of your home's caroling. Their dedicated mobile app gives you full control over the lights and even includes the ability to program your own dot matrix patterns. Want to put the tree up outside? No problem. The IP65 rating makes it perfectly suited for your front yard.

A Twinkly Prelit smart Christmas tree being programmed by smartphone.
Twinkly

Twinkly 7.5-foot Prelit Fir Christmas Tree

A trusted name in smart lights

Pros
  • Stable app
  • Connects to wider ecosystem
  • Bright, beautiful lights
Cons
  • Tricky wireless setup

The folks at Twinkly have been making smart lights for a long time, and they're applying their smarts to Christmas trees. Once connected to your home's Wi-Fi network, the Twinkly tree can be controlled hands-free with Google Assistant or Alexa. If you have other Twinkly lights in the house, you can have them animate in concert with your tree. This is a fun option for those dads who like to go all out on their holiday decor. The lights themselves look great, with loads of animations and colors available for experimenting.

Goflame smart Christmas tree set up in living room.
Goflame

Goflame 8-foot Pre-lit Christmas Tree

Smart scheduling

Pros
  • 15 lighting modes
  • Strong base
  • Dense, realistic branches
Cons
  • Unstable app

The Goflame prelit Christmas tree has 670 LEDs strung up throughout its dense, realistic branches. There are 15 color modes available out of the box, including scheduling, so it can flip on in the evening automatically. A heavy-duty metal frame keeps everything upright throughout the holidays, and when it's all over, you can break it down into three pieces. A 6-foot version is also available, depending on your home's dimensions.

A smart Christmas installed in front of a store.
Fortuning JDS

Fortuning JDS Christmas Tinsel Tree

A perfect pencil tree

Pros
  • Small footprint
  • Usable outdoors
  • Quick assembly
Cons
  • Leaves aren't especially realistic

If you're looking for a small accent with a minimal footprint, Fortuning JDS has a great collapsible tree with a fully programmable set of lights. Measuring in at 5 feet, this tinsel tree has an app that lets you pick between six scenes and millions of colors. A hardware controller is included, in case you can't be bothered to fiddle with the app. The lights are IP65 rated, so you can place one or a whole row of these trees outside without worry. The lights are USB powered, so you can place them remotely thanks to the battery. To top it all off, the tree is fully collapsible, making storage a breeze.

Three Mr. Christmas smart trees of varying sizes standing next to a wall.
Mr. Christmas

Mr. Christmas 5-foot Vermont Spruce

Alexa-friendly

Pros
  • Reliable Alexa integration
  • In-pole electric wiring
  • Hinged, posable branches
Cons
  • Branches could be more dense

Mr. Christmas has made a super interesting smart Christmas tree that bypasses the need for a dedicated app to control it. Instead, it pairs directly with Alexa, which you then use to switch between 40 multiple colors and animation modes. When that fails, there is a manual foot pedal that you'll use to cycle between colors.

This option is a great choice for those who want to avoid apps that lack stability. It's also a good pick for less tech-savvy folks who might not need intense customization options but still value the ease of use of voice commands.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Simon Sage
Simon Sage
Contributor

Simon has been publishing in tech since before the first iPhone was released. When he's not busy lighting a candle for the bygone BlackBerry glory days, he's digging deep into how to upgrade the smart home to be greener. Follow him for news on battery tech, solar, LED lighting, and smart thermostats.

The best smart speakers for 2024
Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) with Clock front

Smart speakers are an integral part of any smart home, often serving as the brains of the entire operation. Beyond pumping out impressive audio or giving you updates on the morning news, smart speakers can listen to voice commands before passing out instructions to the rest of your gadgets. Functionality varies widely by product, making it important to find the best smart speaker for your setup.

Thankfully, it’s hard to pick a dud in today’s loaded marketplace. Whether you’re an Apple loyalist, a Google enthusiast, or an avid user of Amazon Alexa, just about every big tech company is churning out incredible smart speakers. But if you need some help narrowing down your options, here’s a look at the best smart speakers of 2024.

Read more
The best smart light bulbs
best sunrise alarm clocks philips wake up light

Smart bulbs are a simple way to upgrade your home, as they're both cheap and easy to install. Most will let you change their color or temperature, but the best smart bulbs offer additional features like programmable schedules, preset "moods" or "scenes" to achieve a specific ambiance, and the ability to quickly sync with the rest of your smart home.

Picking the perfect smart bulb for your home is challenging, however, as there are dozens of products to choose from — and many of them share similar specs. Ideally, you'll want a smart bulb that's affordable, reliable, offers heaps of functionality, and works with your preferred smart home platform.

Read more
The best Google smart speakers of 2023
The Google Nest Audio.

Smart speakers are a central pillar of the smart home, offering a quick way to interact with the rest of your gadgets, check the latest weather forecast, or listen to your favorite playlists. Most smart speakers are designed around a specific voice assistant platform — and Google Assistant has built a strong roster of supported devices over the past few years.

Whether you need something cheap to place in the kitchen or want a robust gadget that'll blast tunes to every corner of your home, here's a look at the best Google smart speakers. Many of the picks below were designed by Google, though you'll also find plenty of third-party products that deserve a closer look.

Read more