Google Home is a smart speaker developed by Google that allows users to control various smart home devices, stream music, and access information through voice commands. It uses Google Assistant, an AI-powered virtual assistant, to respond to user voice commands and perform various tasks such as setting reminders, providing weather updates, and answering questions.
Google Home devices can also be grouped together to create a multi-room audio system, allowing users to play the same music or podcast throughout their home. The device is compatible with a wide range of smart home devices and can be used to control them via voice commands.
Most people overthink smart thermostats. The real question is simple: do you want a learning thermostat that figures out your schedule, or do you want remote control and not much else? The answer narrows the field considerably. This is a comparison of four thermostats worth considering in 2026 – the Ecobee Enhanced (our top pick), … Read more
A smoke detector that does not connect to anything is still better than nothing – but when you travel or spend time away from home, you get zero warning about problems until you walk back in. Smart smoke detectors fix that. The question is which one is worth the price premium over a $15 unit … Read more
Smart doorbells deliver real value from day one. You stop missing deliveries, you can talk to whoever’s at the door without opening it, and you have footage if anything goes wrong. The question isn’t whether to get one – it’s which one fits your setup and how much you’re willing to pay for cloud storage … Read more
Wire-free outdoor cameras have gotten genuinely good. Three years ago you were choosing between bad battery life and mediocre video quality – trade-offs that made the whole category feel like a compromise. That’s no longer the case. The cameras on this list hold their own against wired options, and a couple of them are flat-out … Read more
The short answer: Arlo Pro 5S 2K if you want the best wire-free camera money can buy, and Blink Outdoor 4 if you want something that works without emptying your wallet every month. Everything else falls somewhere between those two. Outdoor smart cameras have one problem nobody talks about enough: the sticker price is a … Read more
If you have existing doorbell wiring and are already in the Google Home ecosystem, get the Nest Doorbell (Wired, 3rd Gen). It shoots 2K video, records 24/7, and the Gemini AI is genuinely useful. If you are renting or your front door has no wiring, the Nest Doorbell (Battery) installs in 20 minutes with a … Read more
Ring doorbells do work with Google Home – but it’s a limited integration, not a full one. You can pull up a live view on a Google Nest Hub and ask Google Assistant basic questions, but you won’t get the same experience you’d have with Alexa. That’s not a coincidence: Ring is owned by Amazon, … Read more
Yes, SimpliSafe works with Google Home – and by extension, the Google Nest Hub (what Google used to call the Google Home Hub). You can arm your system and check its status with a voice command. That’s about it. Disarming by voice is not supported, and SimpliSafe has confirmed it’s not in development. Here’s what … Read more