Chris Monroe / CNET

Google Nest Hub (formerly Home Hub) is a great way to start a Google-focused smart home. Use Google Assistant to answer all the same voice commands as a Google Home smart speaker. The touch screen will show you more information when you inquire about the weather, search for restaurants, and more. In addition, you can use this smart home center to watch videos or scroll through family photos.

In fact, the unique adaptive brightness sensors make the Nest Hub an excellent digital photo frame, because it adapts to both light and color temperature, so it always looks like a physical photo in a frame. You can play a slideshow with familiar images as a screen saver.

The Nest Hub is also a great help in the kitchen because it can guide you through step-by-step recipes and you can do multitasking while you cook. Set a stopwatch, play music, add an ingredient to your shopping list and more: Nest Hub will keep its place in the recipe when you need to check it out below. You can connect and configure it on the Wi-Fi network using the Google Home app and ask Google Nest Hub any questions you have about Google Home Initial.

All of these voice control features make the Nest Hub useful in many ways, but a simple control panel makes it the best option for your connected central device. Swipe down to see shortcuts that let you turn off the lights or control the security cameras of your smart home. You can then tap to see a room-by-room description (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 what commands vocals work. Now, they can only touch.

Nest Hub is our favorite smart screen in general and is on sale regularly, even at a reasonable price of $ 130. It's useful even if you don't have many smart home devices, but it's essential if you want a smart home that works with Google Assistant.

Read the Google Nest Hub review.

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If an extra screen in your home bothers you, the Google Nest Mini is another good starting point for your smart home. The small Google smart speaker is now in the second generation and offers all the same voice commands enabled for Google Assistant as the rest, plus useful tools such as intercom functionality and stereo pairing with multiple Minis. Control compatible devices, browse the web, play music and more just by asking the audio quality of the Nest Mini is surprisingly good, especially in this second generation model.

The Nest Mini is also cute 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 the kitchen, you can place a Nest Mini in a different room, and both can control any compatible smart device you've set up. Even if he listens to you both, he will answer only the closest.

Read our Google Nest Mini review.

Chris Monroe / CNET

After you set up control points with a smart screen or smart speaker, it's time to find out what smart devices you want. A smart bulb is a good first step, and C by GE bulbs work great with Google.

These affordable Bluetooth smart bulbs can use a Google Home device (both Home Mini and Nest Hub will work) as a bridge. You can set the bulbs in the Google Home app and then control them from anywhere, as long as the bulb is near the Google gadget. And better, because the light bulb communicates directly with your Google device, the response time is incredibly fast. (If you want to improve things with the light button, read more about the Lutron Box Dimmer Switch.)

Read more about GE C lights.

Chris Monroe / CNET

Changing the temperature of the thermostat with a voice command is a wonderful trick that never goes out of style. Many smart thermostats work with Google Assistant. Check out the best list of smart thermostats to see the options. Since Google owns Nest, the third generation Nest Learning thermostat is the obvious choice here, but I will approve Ecobee3 Lite.

The Ecobee budget model and its companion app (for iOS and Android) offers the highest intelligence as the most expensive competition, including the $ 250 Nest model. Responds to all the same voice commands and intuitive controls. They facilitate manual programming.

Read our Ecobee3 Lite review.

Chris Monroe / CNET

A smart connector is a great way to effectively add connectivity to stupid devices. Connect a lamp or fan and you can control it with an application. TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug offers smartphone application controls and Google Assistant compatibility. In addition, the smart jack is an attractive design and does not block the adjacent sockets.

It will not control the power, but the smart jack allows you to control an old floor fan with your voice at a reasonable price. Like most smart plugs, it works with a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network connection.

Read our TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug review.

Chris Monroe / CNET

Nest's obvious choice makes more sense here. The $ 300 Nest Cam IQ Interior is an excellent security camera on its own. You can watch a live broadcast from a distance and receive alerts from motion sensors and alerts from people for free. Sign up for Nest's premium "Nest Aware" service and you can receive alerts depending on who sees the camera because of built-in facial recognition.

Even better, Nest Cam security cameras have a built-in microphone, so you can use them to talk directly to Google Assistant, which makes it a great choice for both protecting your home and extending it. connectivity with Google.

Read our review of Nest Cam IQ Indoor.

Tyler Lizenby / CNET

The $ 500 Arlo Pro 3 is an excellent outdoor security camera with solid performance and features. Comes in a two-room package, along with a required hub. Older Arlo centers will also work with this system. The extra single rooms cost $ 200 each.

Pro 3 has a built-in siren and works with Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri. A USB drive in the hub manages local storage.

Arlo Pro 3 has 2k star transmission, quick alerts and a wide range of advanced features that differentiate it from other exterior security cameras. If you have money to spend, Arlo Pro 3 should be at the top of the list.

Read our review of Arlo Pro 3.

Chris Monroe / CNET

The multitude of SimpliSafe accessories rivals the professional options of companies such as ADT. The starter kit costs $ 230 reasonably. Unfortunately, you have to pay for remote access to the app, but $ 25 a month offers that and professional monitoring.

With the $ 25 monthly subscription, you can control your system with Google Assistant, and Simplisafe devices will respond quickly to your orders.

Again, Nest has an option that presents a viable alternative. Nest Guard has a higher upfront cost, but you can do much more without a subscription. Thanks to all the reliable accessories, SimpliSafe goes beyond Nest Guard, especially if you want monitoring.

Read our review of SimpliSafe Home Security.

Tyler Lizenby / CNET

Speaking of locking your home, the August Smart Lock Pro is easy to install and adapts to your existing screw. The Connect module allows you to remotely control it with voice recognition, so you can tell Google Assistant to close the door.

August Smart Lock Pro has many features, including open and close sensors, so you can check and make sure you close the door when you leave. August is also responsive and reliable, which makes Smart Lock Pro a good choice if you want Google Assistant to handle smart lock, door and entry.

Read our review for August Smart Lock Pro.

Tyler Lizenby / CNET

To end with another Nest, but to be fair, Nest Hello is our favorite video ringtone in general, so it's definitely the best for a Google-focused smart home. Nest Hello has two-way audio and excellent video quality when you want to check the power of Android or iOS devices. You will receive an alert when someone rings the bell.

And better, if you have a Nest Hub, you can talk to the person at the door with your smart screen. Nest Hello even offers facial recognition for a premium membership. It pairs well with other Google products and is the smartest and most capable video ringer out there.

Read our review of Nest Hello.