The Best Smoke Detectors

When Google discontinued the Nest Protect in 2025, it did not just walk away from smart smoke alarms. It handed the job to First Alert, and the SC5 is the result. Tom's Guide named it the best smart alarm for Google Home, and the reasons go beyond the app. It carries both an ionization and a photoelectric sensor, the dual setup Consumer Reports recommends because ionization reacts fastest to flaming fires while photoelectric catches slow, smoldering ones. It also detects carbon monoxide, so a single unit covers the three hazards most homes worry about. Wi-Fi alerts reach your phone when you are out, and it interconnects so a warning in the basement sounds upstairs too.

The X-Sense SC07 is the alarm that keeps showing up. It placed across four of our six sources and won Bob Vila's hands-on test outright, where its synthetic smoke spray set it off in roughly ten seconds, the fastest result in that group. For under fifty dollars you get combined smoke and carbon monoxide detection, a backlit screen that shows the live CO reading in the room, and a sealed ten-year battery, so there is nothing to wire and no batteries to change for a decade. It gives up the smart features and the dual smoke sensor of the SC5, but it nails the core job for a quarter of the price.