In a few decades, you’ll be telling your grandkids this bedtime story: A long time ago, there was an era of peace between Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. But when the intercontinental cult of iSheep—snobbish sheeples for Apple—grew more aggressive against the non-iOS virtual assistant systems, it was up to Amazon and Google to defend their space in order to bring back the peace.
Really, they’re all tech superpowers, and each could be the villain of that story. Apple is leaning into its Siri-controlled smart home speakers. The strategy of Amazon, led by a billionaire who’s been blasted into space, is to launch a plethora of Alexa-enabled accessories for Echo, and it has been faring well in this consumerist war. But the real dark horse is Google Home, powered by Google Assistant. Google’s entire ecosystem of smart products compatible with Google Assistant is grossly underrated. But people in the know-know know its benefits: control via the Google Home app or a gentle “Hey Google,” audio and video entertainment, a top-notch line of home security devices, and a knack for looking fun. Alexa who? Siri where? Google Home is both the MVP and the VIP.
We’ve picked 10 of the best Google Home devices and gadgets to help you live the smart life you’re meant to. Smart light bulbs, smart plugs, smart doorbells, smart locks, smart speakers, smart thermostats—toss out any command and these household bots will start serving. Because building a future world of peace-loving smart assistants starts from home.
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Best Smart Google Home Accessory
Nest Hub 2nd Gen
Hubba hubba. This display is command HQ for all of your Google Home devices. Steer it with your crisp voice or finger tap, and it will be the center of your daily life. On the day it arrives, you’ll be using it to watch YouTube and Netflix, listen to music and podcasts, turn off the lights before leaving, lock the doors for the night, and wake you up the next morning. You’ll get addicted to it, for sure. And if you don’t, sue us, but not before getting a mount to secure it on your wall first.
Nest Mini 2nd Gen
We told ya: Google knows how to make its gadgets look fun, or adorable. Yes, this thing is an uber-smart speaker with big sound. It’s equipped with astute voice recognition to register your “Hey Google” commands, even from afar, so you needn’t scream at the top of your lungs every time you want to change the song. By the way, the slogan for Nest Mini is “Just Ask,” because it will respond correctly to pretty much all of your directives: dim the lights, turn off the AC, stop playing the news.
Best Google Home Accessory for Streaming
Chromecast
Forget about getting a new thousands-dollars smart TV, when Google’s Chromecast can turn your HDMI-port TV into a smart one so you can stream content from phones, tablets, and laptops to it. And you should, because you don’t want to watch The Crown or Spencer, the Super Bowl, and anything related to Marvel on a display screen that can be easily ruined by one coffee spill. Plus, you can multitask on your phone while watching the TV screen—the one habit that makes us feel alive.
Best Google Home Accessory for Security
Nest Cam – Outdoor or Indoor
Even if you live in an upscale, doormaned apartment building, on the 35th floor overlooking the panoramic city view, you should still consider setting this security camera up in your home. And if you do live in a house, install it for surveilling every movement on your property. It’s best to be prepared. Or, place it indoors for live-streaming your home 24/7. Monitor your pets. It’s got clear-as-day night vision to record your hilarious sleep positions, too.
Best Google Home Smart Thermostat
Nest Learning Thermostat
You’re an admirable human being if you use a smart thermostat to save energy, and a relatable one if you loathe the chore of changing the temperature when entering or exiting your home, or at different times of the day. This smart thermostat, thankfully, can learn from your habitat and program itself to turn off the AC after you leave, turn up the heat when you return, and regulate which rooms should be at which climate—yeah, that smart. Once installed, you’ll probably never need to touch it again, which is exactly why you should get it.
Nest x Yale Lock
Please don’t tell us your front door still has a deadbolt lock. Well, now that we know, you’ll have to get this keyless smart lock that you can control directly. And instead of giving a key to your trusted loved ones (really, how old are you?), you can now assign them a unique passcode so they can come and go (you’ll get notified, too). Isn’t it romantic, giving the person you’ve been seriously dating entry to your home? Now that’s love.
C by GE Smart LED Light Bulb (Pack of 2)
Remember that scene from Home Alone when Kevin tries to scare the thieves away by giving a light show to make it seem like someone’s home? These LED light bulbs won’t exactly cast shadows of partying onto your windows, but you can turn them on and off even when you’re not home to show your place is occupied and any funny business is not welcome. Or, maybe you just hate coming home every night to darkness that reminds you of how tired you are, and that’s okay. These bulbs let you play with the color spectrum, too.
Best Google Home Accessory for Home
Nest Doorbell
If you still get lots of unannounced visits to your home, good for you on being popular after high school. For your home safety and curiosity’s sake, get this wireless doorbell so you can see who’s ding-donging, or rest easy when you know your packages have arrived. It has smart recognition of familiar faces and objects, and gives three-hour video playback in case you’re gone for too long and don’t want to miss anything. To properly install it, use an adjustable mount.
Nest Wifi Router
RIP to your home Internet experience if your Wifi is installed inside your closet. You must have put up with lots of loading circles and Zoom lags. But if you plug a Nest Wifi router (or a few more to create a whole system) into your internet provider’s modem, you will grow to forget what buffering feels like until you step out to use public Wifi. Just one Nest router can provide full, fast coverage up to 2,200 square feet. That’s quite a lot of 4K streaming and video gaming, at once, in peace.
Wi-Fi Plug Mini
Buying a smart plug that turns every electronic connected to it smart is a smart decision. Remote-control it or say “Hey Google, turn on plug number one” and bam, your coffeemaker wired to the plug will pour out fresh French Vanilla for your morning, or your personal AC will turn on to cool the air ahead of your return. Be even smarter and get several plugs to take advantage of their schedule function: 4 p.m. for the humidifier, 7 p.m. for the air fryer, and 11 p.m. for the fan.
Maverick Li
Maverick Li is the Assistant eCommerce Editor at Esquire, where he covers tech, home, and all things related to lifestyle.
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