Typically it means that Internet/wifi is installed and ready to be activated.

Thermostat is wifi capable
Sprinkler system is wifi capable

A smart home does not mean it is smart just because it has cables or WiFi. If you have a home wired with cat5/6/7 then this is the basics to start a smart home. Having WiFi doesn’t mean squat! Just because you have a set of cat5/6/7 cables ran throughout your home or you have WiFi, you tell me what’s smart about this? Until you actually connect something up to it starts to make your system usable.

The sprinkler system they put in your homes is not connected to WiFi unless you purchase the hunter ‘wand’ that makes it smarter. Also, if you are only using 1 router, which is a mistake imo, the best place to put it is in the kitchen on top of the cabinets, but then you can’t take advantage of the wired cat5/6/7 connections unless you convert the phone port above the cabinets to rg45 and then setup a switched network in the network panel. My 1st router is in 1 of the bedrooms next to the modem, but then I use a wired connection to a switch in the network box then I hook up my mesh network routers by wire in multiple rooms (above the cabinets is 1 of them).

As for the definition of a smart or genius home above, the genius part is pretty basic and should be part of your definition of a smart home. I have everything you listed and many more features, some to protect my valuable information and some to save me money each month.
Add to your list;
I stream music and movies to all the different tvs and stereo systems inside and outside the house, playing the same movie/song to all devices or different movies/songs to each device,

Instead of paying for serius/xm, I stream from my server to each car giving me access to millions of songs,

I control my outdoor grill, my refrigerator, my range, sprinkler system, my Mitsubishi mini split system, all from my iPhones/ipads,

Wrote a little program that automatically opens up the garage door when I start a trip a mile away and I’m 100ft from my garage door,

My pws uploads current data to weather underground every 6 seconds so my smart sprinkler system can use this data to control when it’s time to water and for how long each zone should run,

Wrote commands that I press 1 button on the iPhone and it makes sure all my doors are locked, garage doors are down, all my programmed lights are off, and the thermostat is turned down 1 degree for sleeping.

If you take all of coach k’s definitions and include mine, you can’t do this with 1 router so I have 4 setup in a mesh network with a backhaul 6e connection to some and others are wired. Always go wired and if you can’t then use WiFi that is configured correctly.

That's exactly how it works over here

Same here, our modem was plugged into the non-switched outlet above the cabinets, the switched outlet is for above and under cabinet lighting should we decide to add it (according to our sales rep).

I haven't adjusted the temp in my refrigerator, since I bought it 2019.

Call me old fashioned, but I don't see that much of an advantage in being able to control the temperature of my refrigerator from my patio.

I must be missing something.

Lmgtfy
 

A smart home is defined as the ability to control multiple devices through out the house using either Bluetooth technology or hard wiring.

savage technologist!

:0000000000luvmyhors

any chance I could get you to program a little blue pill to drop every time mrs leroy winks at me?

Google is your friend.

By definition, it depends.

You need to ask the owner of the specific house you are questioning.

:oops:

So no one has mentioned the main vendor whose sticker is on said “sprinkler box” in the new construction. I would call them to get the pitch on what they can do to make your home “smart” but yes, it’s true the home is marketed as smart because there is a wired connection from above the kitchen cabinets to the box in the garage and the thermostat is smart. Galaxy Home Solutions is the vendor on the sticker and brochure that comes in the packet of closing documents.

Galaxy ‘smart’ setup is a joke. Also, how about your phone alerting you that your refrigerator door is open? How about being a few miles away from home and getting alerted that your garage door is open?
Think beyond the basics.

Correct, we have a home in Linden. Connections are as Tinker posted. I guess when we are away the Refrigerator talks to the Gas stove and stove top. Cable lines were installed by Comcast and I use one for an antenna in the garage attic.

You are not missing anything. Unless you are a snowbird, most of the remote functions in the house have very little practical value.

Cat-5/6/7 wiring? Sorry, but that dates us all as old! In today's world, there's absolutely no need anymore to wire features like this.

"Smart home" is a vague term that's changing every year as companies come up with new features. Twenty years ago, a home would be "smart" if it had that Cat-5 wiring to connect your (desktop) computer with its modem and your doorbell. Today, the Internet of Things means that many/most homes have Internet-enabled devices all around the house - thermostat, doorbell, vacuum, lawn mower, sprinkling system, TV, sound systems. But these devices aren't really "smart" these days unless they have some AI features like Alexa/Siri.

Another ten years? The home might be smart enough to be taking care of you. (Or smart enough to get rid of you?)