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The Best Google Assistant–Compatible Smart-Home Devices for Google Home

By Thom Dunn
Updated
A Nest Audio smart speaker sits on a table with books.
Photo: Google

Google’s Nest Audio and Nest Mini react to voice commands to retrieve news, music, entertainment, and quick answers to easy questions, and especially to control lights and appliances throughout the house. With their context-aware search capabilities, ever-growing Actions library, ability to synchronize with multiple Google accounts, and wide support for various smart-home devices, these Google Assistant speakers bring voice-controlled convenience to (almost) every corner of your life.

Our pick

This is a great choice for anyone looking for an inexpensive multiroom audio system or a way to use their Google accounts to make a voice-controlled smart home even smarter.

All of the major smart-speaker platforms (Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri) allow you to control a mix of smart-home devices with your voice, which adds an extra layer of convenience and accessibility to your smart-home system. We mostly prefer Alexa because it works with more total devices and has a larger family of compatible products, but if you prefer a deeper integration with all things Google, or if you already have a Google Assistant speaker, there’s no reason to switch platforms. We do have Alexa device and HomeKit device guides for owners of those systems.

One of the advantages of the Nest Audio over other smart-home speakers is that it uses Google for search results, which usually provides more satisfying answers than other search engines. In addition, it can tie in with multiple Google accounts, distinguishing between them by the sound of each different voice. That voice-control expertise means that the Nest Audio is great at providing information from your calendars, reminders, Maps data, and more. Or, you can add these capabilities for just $50 with the Nest Mini.

And, of course, you can set up your Nest Audio to control your lights as well as Internet of Things–enabled air conditioners, sprinklers, robot vacuums, and more. Below we’ve selected the best Google Assistant–compatible devices from all of our smart-home reviews.

Three screenshots showing the mobile interface of Google Home.
You can set up smart devices, streaming services, Actions, and more all from the smartphone app, as well as access things like shopping lists that are synced across your Google accounts.
A Philips Wiz Smart Wi-Fi LED Color Bulb on a white background
Photo: Philips

Our pick

This model has useful Scenes (presets of color and dimness) and emits bold colors, yet it’s cheaper than most smart bulbs.

Buying Options

The Philips Wiz Smart Wi-Fi LED Color Bulb is our top smart LED light bulb pick because it produces bold colors, has useful preset Scenes, is easy to use, can connect to other smart devices without needing a hub, and is still budget friendly. Note, though, that this line of Philips bulbs isn’t directly compatible with Philips Hue bulbs.

A person's finger rests on the Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch Dimmer
Photo: Rachel Cericola

Our pick

This reliable, affordable dimmer switch uses Wi-Fi so it doesn’t need a hub, and it works with Google Assistant and other platforms.

TP-Link’s Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch Dimmer HS220 is our top in-wall smart light-switch pick for a reason—it’s reliable, easy to use, and affordable enough that you can reasonably add a bunch of them around the house. This dimmer switch connects directly to your Wi-Fi network and has three buttons to control lighting (on/off and dim), and the easy-to-navigate app allows you to customize the controls, create automated schedules, and control grouped switches simultaneously. Since the HS220 integrates with Google Assistant, you can tie lights to voice commands and make specific requests like “Hey Google, dim the living room to 25%.”

Our pick

This compact, versatile, and quiet smart lock’s top feature is a fast (though sometimes faulty) fingerprint reader, and its rubber number keys will please most anyone.

For easy keyless entry to your home via smartphone or keypad, you can’t do better than the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro (with Bridge). Our favorite Google Assistant–compatible smart lock includes a handy keypad, so it’s easy for guests to use, and it also gives you the option to use Google Assistant voice commands to check your door-lock status or even lock or unlock the door (for safety, you have to state a passcode, too).

If you aren’t able to replace your deadbolt, try the Wyze Lock instead. This affordable adapter model attaches to an existing keyway, and all its smart bits are tucked into the internal housing. The Wyze Lock can pair with Google Assistant to let you use voice commands to lock the door or to use it to unlock the door if you program a PIN code.

The Chromecast with GoogleTV
Photo: Sarah Kobos

Our pick

The redesigned Chromecast player offers an intuitive interface, intelligent search, and a useful remote that supports voice search through Google Assistant.

Google’s Chromecast with Google TV is our favorite media streamer thanks to its redesigned menu system, which makes the process of finding and organizing content easier than with any other system. Instead of presenting a home screen with a bunch of separate streaming services (such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and the like), Google TV groups all your recently watched shows and movies together, along with your watchlist of preferred content—making it easier and faster for you to find what you want to watch. The player is compact and comes with a useful remote that supports voice search through Google Assistant; it supports Dolby Vision HDR video and Dolby Atmos audio for the highest quality in picture and sound.

The Tailwind smart garage door controller we recommend.
Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Our pick

Proximity sensing, wide compatibility, reliable operation, and solid hardware make this our top pick.

Buying Options

The Tailwind iQ3 Smart WiFi Garage Door Opener is the most responsive and reliable smart garage-door controller we tested. Tailwind solved the common issues of false alerts and unreliable geofencing for opening and closing thanks to a hardwired door sensor and a unique Bluetooth/GPS technology that lets you control the door hands-free. The downside is that it is slightly more complicated to install than other options.

If you really want to use voice commands to open your garage door and keep an eye on it via webcam, the iSmartGate Pro (previously known as Gogogate) can open and close the garage door, and it even integrates with cameras.

The best cordless outdoor security camera, the Arlo Pro 4.
Photo: Michael Hession

Our pick

This battery-operated outdoor Wi-Fi camera provides clear 2K images, and if you add a subscription, it can distinguish between people, animals, vehicles, packages, and general motion.

Buying Options

The Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight Camera is the best cordless outdoor Wi-Fi home security camera we’ve found so far. It excels in delivering clear images thanks to its 2K resolution and color night vision. In order to see video clips and not just live video, you need a subscription to Arlo Secure, but that also enables features such as alerts that differentiate between people, pets, packages, and vehicles.

Read more about our picks in our guide to outdoor security cameras.

A smart sprinkler controller mounted on a brick wall.
Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Our pick

The most flexible smart controller for your garden or yard irrigation system is also the easiest to use.

A smart sprinkler controller can make lawn care easier by allowing you to set up a watering schedule or treat the lawn on a whim, all through your smartphone. And with the Rachio 3 Smart Sprinkler Controller, you can just ask your Nest Audio to take care of a specific part of the lawn, or to delay watering for a few hours while you paint the side of the house, or to simply turn the system on or off. The Rachio system is flexible and easy to use, with a range of options that can even query weather information from the internet and determine watering patterns accordingly.

An iRobot Roomba 600 series vacuum.
Photo: Michael Hession

Our pick

This version of one of our favorite robot vacuums adds Wi-Fi connectivity, which enables remote control from a smartphone app, scheduling, and integration with Google Assistant.

As cool as it is to have a little robot helper that zips around your house and cleans your floors and carpets, it’s even better when you can just sit back and tell your automated vacuum cleaner what to do, without even having to push a button. The iRobot Roomba 694 works with Google Assistant, so you can make it start, stop, pause, resume, and go home using voice commands. You can even ask Google to locate it in the house when the little bugger goes rogue. And if you have multiple robot vacuums, Google Assistant can distinguish between them by name (as long as they don’t have emojis in their names, that is).

Our pick for the best smart outlet the wyze plug.

Our pick

The least expensive smart plug we’ve ever tested is also compact, reliable, and easy to use, and it supports Google Assistant.

The Wyze Plug works reliably, has an app that’s easy to use, and can even track usage of whatever you plug into it, a feature typically found on more expensive smart plugs. You can schedule the plug to go on and off based on the time of day and the day of the week, but it doesn’t offer scheduling based on local sunrise and sunset as some models do. You can still program that option through integration with Google Assistant, and, since you get two for the price, you can control two lamps, fans, or whatever else you want to turn smart.

Although pricier than the Wyze, the Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Outdoor Plug (KP400) is built to weather the outdoors, with an operating-temperature range of -4 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s Google Assistant–compatible, and it features two outlets that you can control independently using the sound of your voice.

The Breville Joule, a tall white cylinder with a power cable, in a metal pot

Our pick

One of the smallest and most powerful sous vide options available, this model adds your Google smart speaker to the cooking process to tweak temperatures and provide extra help in the kitchen.

Buying Options

$280 from Amazon

May be out of stock

Sous vide is French for “under vacuum,” and it’s a method of cooking that lets you make restaurant-quality dishes at home by submerging your food in a vacuum-sealed bag in a heated water bath. Home versions of the sous vide have been available for a while but have only recently become more affordable.

Although it’s not our top-pick sous vide appliance, the Breville Joule is impressively high-tech, letting you check on your steak or tweak temperatures through Google Assistant–integrated voice commands—and, of course, you can ask Google Assistant for help with recipes, measurements, and timers.

Our pick for the best thermostat Nest Learning Thermostat
Photo: Google

Our pick

Nest’s most-advanced smart thermostat features a larger, crisper, and more useful display and wide compatibility with HVAC systems.

Nothing warms up a cold day better than telling your thermostat to turn up the heat instead of having to crawl out from under the blankets to do it manually. Our top pick for a smart thermostat, the Google Nest Learning Thermostat (third generation), lets you do just that using Google Assistant. You can raise or lower the temperature, or switch to a preprogrammed Away or Home setting, with just a few words, and if you have multiple thermostats to control different parts of your house, Google Assistant can even tell the difference between them based on how you’ve named them.

Google Assistant is also available on our runner-up pick, the Ecobee SmartThermostat with Voice Control. Although not as intuitive as the Nest, the Ecobee does have voice control and standalone remote sensors that make it a great choice for large houses with weak HVAC systems.

Meet your guide

Thom Dunn

Thom Dunn is a staff writer at Wirecutter reporting on heating, cooling, and other home-improvement topics. Sometimes his curiosity gets the best of him, such as when he plugged a space heater and a Marshall guitar amp into the same power strip. Pro tip: Don’t do that.

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