Should I stick to one smart home brand or mix devices for better compatibility?

[SamuelL]

I’m trying to decide if I should use a single brand for all my smart home devices or mix and match different ones. I started with a smart speaker and a couple of plugs from one company, but now I’m looking at a thermostat and some sensors that seem better from another manufacturer. I’m worried about ending up with a bunch of apps that don’t work together smoothly.

[Jerry_G]

I started with one brand and it felt simple at first, one app to manage. Then I added a thermostat from another company and the routines got flaky.

[Madison.W]

I mixed brands and kept a single voice assistant, which helped a bit, but I still ended up with two or three apps and some scenes lagged.

[Olivia71]

Do you think the real problem is the apps or the devices themselves?

[DonaldHW]

I tried a middle path and bought a hub that claims to unify them, but it still felt laggy and I backed off on some automations.