See all the best smart home devices you can control with Google Home. You might be surprised to see what works.
Google Home is more than just an internet-connected speaker with a voice assistant. It also works as a smart home hub. Google Assistant on Google Home or your Nest Hub can also control smart home devices and so here’s a list of great devices that you can use with Google Assistant.
Smart thermostats
Smart thermostats not only bring intelligence to your home heating, but they also make your heating more efficient by learning how you like your home warmed and when. They base temperature adjustments on when you’re going to be home and reduce power waste by accounting for when you’re not in. This intelligence makes for a great addition to your smart home setup.
You can also control some smart thermostats with Google Home devices – adjusting the temperature of your home with nothing but your voice.
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Pocket-lint Google Nest Thermostat
As a Google product a Nest Thermostat, makes a logical choice for your smart home heating controls. All you need to do is combine the two and ask Google to make it warmer or set the temp to a certain heat.
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Honeywell Honeywell Lyric T6 Smart Thermostat
Google Home works with the Total Connect Comfort line of thermostats. If you want to use Lyric thermostats, like the Honeywell Lyric T6R smart thermostat, you’ll need to use a smart hub (like SmartThings) to connect. You can use the same voice commands though.
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Netatmo Netatmo Smart Thermostat
The Netatmo Smart Thermostat is one of the funkiest looking smart thermostats we’ve seen. Not only does this device promise to use 37 per cent less energy in your home, but it also allows you to remotely control it via your phone, computer or your voice with Google Home.
Outdoor smart home cameras
Controlling your home heating isn’t the only thing you can do with your voice. Some of the best smart home cameras we’ve seen also include the ability to control them in various ways using Google Home.
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Google Google Nest Cam with floodlight
The Nest Cam with Floodlight is a brilliant option if you want to stay in the Google ecosystem. You get both security and lighting in one package here but you do need a Nest Aware subscription to make the most of it.
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Arlo Arlo Ultra
Arlo is one of the most popular security camera systems, thanks to the wide range of devices offered for a customisable system, as well as offering free online storage of videos for 7 days, for up to five cameras. This camera has 4K and HDR options as well as great night vision and motion detection capabilities.
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Pocket-lint Netatmo Smart Outdoor Camera with Siren
This Netatmo camera is a brilliant outdoor security camera that not only keeps an eye on your home, but also doubles as a floodlight system to light your way and deter unwelcome visitors. It also has local storage so there’s no need to worry about cloud subscription costs.
Indoor smart home cameras
As well as seeing outside your home, smart home cameras are also available to keep an eye on the inside of your house.
These cameras also work with Google Home, making them easy to control with just your voice.
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Pocket-lint Google Nest Cam (indoor, wired)
If you need a Google Assistant-capable indoor smart home camera then a Google Nest Cam might be the most logical choice. It comes at an attractive price point and is nicely designed, but more importantly, the video quality is top-notch and it’s backed up by great smart features, too.
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Arlo Arlo Essential Indoor Camera
The Arlo Essential is another nicely affordable smart home camera with features that include a built-in Privacy Shield for peace of mind and two way audio so you can talk to people on the other end.
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Pocket-lint Netatmo Welcome
Netatmo Welcome is an intelligent smart home camera that doesn’t need a subscription and records directly to MicroSD card. It also features automatic night vision mode, person alerts and facial recognition tech that lets you know who’s at home. It’s more expensive than others but has no on-going subscription fees.
Smart plugs
With the help of smart plugs, even the most basic electronic device can be given some intelligence and play nicely with Google Assistant too.
A smart plug can let you set schedules for things to turn on or off – allowing you to do clever things like be more efficient with your power or get a lamp to turn on at a certain time of day. The possibilities are surprising, but even more so when you can control those plugs with your voice.
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Pocket-lint NetVIP Smart Plugs
These smart plugs from NetVIP are cheap as chips but, in our testing, they have worked flawlessly. They are very easy to integrate into the Google Home app and can then be easily controlled by Google Assistant. They feature an RGB LED ring around the rim that can be set to whatever colour you desire, perfect for use as a nightlight or just to help you find the socket in a dark space.
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Pocket-lint TP-Link HS110 Smart Plug
TP-Link is another company offering smart plugs that work with not only your smartphone but also Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant devices. An easy-to-use app is made even easier to control with your voice with the help of your favourite voice assistant. The TP-Link devices are often discounted, so well worth grabbing in Prime Day or Black Friday sales.
Smart lighting and light bulbs
Smart lighting is a brilliant addition to your home – allowing you to set lights to come on at certain times of day, change colours and brightness from your phone and much more.
Some smart lighting devices are also controllable via Google Home too, opening up a world of possibilities and superb convenience. It’s brilliant to be able to turn your lights on or adjust the brightness with just your voice with ease.
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Pocket-lint Philips Hue Starter Kit
You can use your voice to control the Philips Hue lights around your house without touching a switch. You have the ability to turn lights on or off throughout a house, as well as the option of adjusting their brightness. You can say things like “Turn on “, “Dim the “, “Brighten the “, “Set to 50 per cent”, “Turn green”, etc.
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Nanoleaf Nanoleaf Canvas
Nanoleaf offers a custom lighting solution made of connectable panels that are support 16.7 million colours. These smart lighting panels can not only be controlled and customised by the accompanying app but they can also be turned on and off and adjusted with Google Home too.
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Pocket-lint Govee Glide Hexa Light Panels
Govee’s Glide Hexa lighting panels are a compelling alternative to the more widely-known Nanoleaf panels. Not only do they come in at a lower asking price, but they offer more robust ARGB lighting effects and can be mounted around corners without the need to purchase additional equipment. These panels, too, offer easy
Streaming sticks and boxes
With a simple plug-and-play device, you can watch a variety of video content on your television and turn even standard televisions into smart devices.
There are a number of smart streaming devices available and some of them work with Google Home too.
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Pocket-lint Google Chromecast with Google TV (4K)
Using a Google Chromecast means you can use your Google smart speaker and assistant to easily cast video to any television this streaming device is connected to. A variety of voice commands make picking up the TV remote to access content a thing of the past, although the included remote also has voice commands if you don’t have a paired smart speaker.
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Roku Roku Express
Roku has long been one of our favourite device manufacturers when it comes to streaming sticks and boxes. Affordable access to a variety of content with ease makes these products highly appealing. Recent updates mean you’re now able to control streaming content via Google Home too, which is yet another reason to buy.
Robot vacuum cleaners
Robot vacuum cleaners are a God-send when it comes to easing the misery of keeping your house clean.
Automated vacuuming makes a world of difference and there’s something fantastic about having a robot do your bidding. The best part is some of these bots can be controlled with your voice thanks to Google Home too.
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Roborock
Roborock S8 Pro Ultra
If you want premium smart home cleaning capabilities then the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is a great choice. It’s a flagship device that includes automatic mopping, cleaning and self-emptying capabilities. But also works nicely with Google Assistant too.
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Pocket-lint iRobot Roomba S9+
The iRobot Roomba S9+ has it all. A premium design, loads of excellent features, clever mapping, automatic emptying and more. The added bonus of being able to control it with just your voice makes it even more appealing.
