It would be fun to motorize the window blinds and the window slide to automatically adjust to temperature and humidity variations to save with passive cooling…but that’s not what is meant by “smart home”, is it?

That’s what enthusiasts might mean by “smart home” But businesses are thinking more like “put a wiretap in your living room that we can play ads through”

Yeah; you really have to figure out what products are worth your time.

Look up what’s integrated with HomeAssistant locally and that’s a good start.

“IoT via app linked with the manufacturer cloud” is bullshit bullshit bullshit, and there are fewer and fewer choices, especially in America. Try find ing a ZWave door lock, for example.