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The Google Assistant can adjust the thermostat, turn off the lights, lock the door, display the forecast, and more with just a voice command. The popular search giant’s voice assistant launched alongside the original Google Home smart speaker in 2016. Back then, it only worked with four smart home brands. Now works with more than 1000 from them.
read more: Best Apple HomeKit Devices for 2020
Choose between the Google Assistant and the Amazon virtual assistant Alexa it comes down to dividing hairs and personal preferences. If you prefer an Alexa-centric smart home, there are many devices that work well with Amazon’s assistant, including Android phones. Apple’s HomeKit platform isn’t that robust in terms of number of products, but if you love your iPhone and its built-in Siri assistant, take a look at our favorite Apple HomeKit gadgets.
If you’re ready to get started with a smart home powered by Google, these are the best Google Home devices and Google Assistant devices for a variety of smart home products. Start with a smart display or smart speaker, then diversify with our picks for compatible lights, door locks, smart switches, thermostats, and more, as desired.
read more: Best Alexa Devices for 2020
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Google Nest Hub (formerly Home Hub) is a great way to start a Google-centric smart home. Use the Google Assistant to respond to all the same voice commands as a Google Home smart speaker. The touch screen will show you additional information when you inquire about the weather, search for restaurants, and more. Also, you can use this smart home hub to watch videos or scroll through family photos.
In fact, the unique adaptive brightness sensors make the Nest Hub a great digital photo frame, adapting to both light levels and color temperature so it always looks like a physical photo in a frame. You can play a family photo scrolling slideshow as a screen saver.
The Nest Hub is also a great kitchen helper, as it can guide you through step-by-step recipes and you can multitask while cooking. Set a timer, play music, add an ingredient to your shopping list, and more; the Nest Hub will even keep its place in the recipe when you need to check it out next. You can plug it in and set it up on your Wi-Fi network using the Google Home app and ask Google Nest Hub any questions you would ask the original Google Home.
All of these voice control features make the Nest Hub useful in many ways, but a simple control panel makes it the best choice for your central connected home device. Swipe down from the top to access shortcuts that allow you to turn off the lights or control your smart home security cameras. You can then tap to see a room-by-room overview (living room, kitchen, etc.) of all your devices. The control panel is well organized and useful, especially if you have family members struggling to remember which voice commands work. Now, they can only touch.
The Nest Hub is our favorite smart display overall, and it regularly sells for less than its reasonable $ 130 price tag. It comes in handy even if you don’t have many smart home devices, but it’s a must if you want a smart home that runs on it. Google Assistant. Read our Google Nest Hub review.
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If having an extra screen in your home bothers you, the Google Nest Mini is another good starting point for the smart home. Google’s little smart speaker is now in its second generation and offers the same Google Assistant-enabled voice commands as the rest, plus helpful extras like intercom functionality and stereo pairing with multiple Minis. Control compatible devices, search the web, play music, and more just by asking. The Nest Mini’s audio quality is surprisingly good, especially on this second-gen model.
The Nest Mini is cute too and comes in four colors. At $ 50, it’s the least expensive way to start your smart home without sacrificing voice control. The Nest Mini is also a good secondary device. If you put a Google Nest Hub in your kitchen, you can put a Nest Mini in a different room, and both can control any compatible smart device you set up. Even if they both hear you, only the closest one will respond. Read our Google Nest Mini review.
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Once you set up the checkpoints with a smart display or smart speaker, it’s time to find out which smart devices you want. A smart bulb is a good first step, and GE’s C bulbs work particularly well with Google.
These affordable Bluetooth smart bulbs can use a Google Home device (both the Home Mini and Nest Hub will work) as a bridge. You can set the bulbs from the Google Home app and then control them from anywhere as long as the bulb is close to your Google device. Even better, because the bulb communicates directly with your Google device, the response time is blazingly fast. (If you’re looking to spice things up with the light switch, read more about the Lutron Caseta In-Wall Dimmer Switch.) Read more about GE’s C lights.
Chris Monroe / CNET
Changing the temperature of your thermostat with a voice command is a cool trick that never goes out of style. Many smart thermostats work with the Google Assistant. Check out our list of best smart thermostats for options. Since Google owns Nest, the third-gen Nest Learning Thermostat is the obvious choice here, but I’ll give the Ecobee3 Lite the thumbs up.
Ecobee’s inexpensive model and its companion app (for iOS and Android) offer most of the same intelligence as the more expensive competition, including the $ 250 Nest model. Responds to all the same voice commands and intuitive controls make manual programming easy. Read our Ecobee3 Lite review.
Chris Monroe / CNET
A smart plug is a great way to efficiently add connectivity to dumb devices. Plug in a lamp or fan and you can control it with an app. The TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug offers smartphone app controls and Google Assistant compatibility. In addition, the smart plug has an attractive design and does not block adjacent outlets.
It won’t control the power, but the smart plug allows you to control an older floor fan with your voice for a reasonable price. Like most smart plugs, it works over a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network connection. Read our TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug review.
Wyze
The Wyze Cam is easy to recommend. It’s affordable, it works well, cloud storage is free for 14 days, and you have the option of using a microSD card for local storage if you want.
In a side-by-side comparison between the next-gen Wyze Cam and this new model, you can clearly see improved performance. Not only does it have a larger field of view, but the new camera also has a brighter and sharper live feed, helping you in low-light and normal daylight conditions.
If you pay for the new Cam Plus subscription service, you get access to stored video clips and people alerts for longer, starting at $ 2 per month. Sure, there are more sophisticated cameras, but Wyze continues to impress us with its high-value, low-cost smart home products, and this $ 20 Wyze Cam is no exception. Read our Wyze Cam (2020) review.
Tyler Lizenby / CNET
The $ 500 Arlo Pro 3 is a great outdoor security camera with solid performance and solid features. It comes in a two-chamber package, along with a required hub. Older Arlo hubs will also work with this system. Additional individual cameras cost $ 200 each.
The Pro 3 has a built-in siren and works with Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri. A USB drive in the hub handles local storage.
Arlo Pro 3 has stellar 2k streaming, fast alerts, and a wide range of advanced features that sets it apart from other outdoor security cameras. If you have the money to spend, the Arlo Pro 3 should be at the top of your list. Read our Arlo Pro 3 review.
Chris Monroe / CNET
SimpliSafe’s wide variety of accessories rivals the professional options of companies like ADT. The starter kit costs a reasonable $ 230. Unfortunately, you have to pay for remote access to the app, but $ 25 a month gets you that and professional monitoring.
With the $ 25 monthly subscription, you can also control your system with the Google Assistant, and Simplisafe devices will respond quickly to your voice commands.
Again, Nest has an option here that presents a viable alternative. The Nest Guard has a higher initial cost, but you can do a lot more without a subscription. Thanks to all the reliable accessories, SimpliSafe beats Nest Guard, especially if you want monitoring. Read our SimpliSafe Home Security review.
Chris Monroe / CNET
Speaking of locking down your home, the easy-to-install August Wi-Fi Smart Lock fits over your existing deadbolt. Built-in Wi-Fi lets you control it remotely and with voice recognition, so you can tell the Google Assistant to close the door.
August Wi-Fi Smart Lock has many features, including open and close sensors so you can check and make sure you have closed the door when you leave. August is also responsive and reliable, making Wi-Fi Smart Lock a good option if you want the Google Assistant to be in charge of your smart lock, door, and entrance. Read our August Wi-Fi Smart Lock review.
Tyler Lizenby / CNET
Finishing this off with another from Nest, but to be fair, the Nest Hello is our favorite video doorbell overall, so it’s definitely the best for a Google-centric smart home. The Nest Hello has two-way audio sound and excellent video quality when you want to check streaming from your Android or iOS devices. You will receive an alert when someone rings the doorbell.
Even better, if you have the Nest Hub, you can talk to the person at the door with your smart display. Nest Hello even offers facial recognition for a premium subscription. It integrates well with other Google products and is the smartest and most capable video doorbell out there. Read our Nest Hello review.
