Get the most out of these smart devices and services with Google Assistant

Smart light starter kit

Philips Hue Multicolor A19 Starter Kit

Staff Pick

Philips is one of the leading manufacturers of connected lighting solutions for good reason. Philips Hue products are easy to set up and work like magic with custom voice controls using Google Assistant. A good starting point is this pack of multi-color bulbs, which comes with the necessary Philips Hue Bridge. Once you get the Bridge set up, it acts as a hub for connecting up to 50 Philips Hue products that include multi-color bulbs, LED light strips, lamps, and more.

$180 at Amazon$190 at Best Buy

No hub required

LIFX A19 Smart Bulb

LIFX bulbs are some of our favorites because they look great and integrate directly with Google Assistant without a hub. They can show 16 million different colors in various shades and touches of warmth, and they are built to last. LIFX claims these bulbs should last you over 23 years, so they definitely pay for themselves!

$50 at Best Buy

Stick these anywhere

Philips Hue Lightstrip

LED strips offer a cool way to liven up any home theater or desk space with customizable color light shows. We recommend the Philips Hue Lightstrips because they’re super customizable with music-sync modes and DIY scene settings available, along with voice control compatibility with Google Assistant. You can trim the strips to suit your space, and you can purchase extension packs if you want to expand your lighting setup.

$80 at Amazon$80 at Best Buy$80 at B&H

Affordable Hue alternative

Sengled Multicolor Two-Pack A19 Starter Kit

Sengled offers the best value for budget-conscious consumers looking to invest in smart bulbs — but you’re still going to need a dedicated hub. The good news is that once you have that hub, you can add up to 64 bulbs to your network, and Sengled has some of the best prices for buying bulbs in bulk.

$70 at Amazon$70 at Best Buy

Take the party outside

Philips Hue Discover White & Color Ambiance Smart Floodlight

Not everyone realizes that you can bring the functionality of Philips Hue lights to the outside of your house. One of our favorite devices for this is the Hue Discovery Floodlight. Not only can it brightly illuminate your yard to ward off unwanted intruders, but you can set millions of colors to make light shows for backyard barbecues and dance parties with Google Assistant.

$117 at Amazon$170 at Best Buy

Keep your cool

Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd Gen)

Staff Pick

You will notice a pattern of us picking many first-party Google and Nest products, but that’s because they work incredibly well with Google Assistant! Nest popularized the category of smart thermostats, and the Nest Learning Thermostat is our pick for the best Google Assistant home automation device. With Google’s AI smarts and the Google Assistant looking after you, keeping cool or staying hawt has never been easier.

From $225 at Amazon$250 at Best Buy$249 at Staples

Temperature balance

Ecobee SmartThermostat with Voice Control

There are a ton of smart thermostats on the market, but if you are looking for a Nest alternative that works with Google Assistant, our money is on the ecobee SmartThermostat. This model includes a smart sensor to monitor spaces away from the thermostat itself, which can help regulate your home’s temperature more efficiently.

$249 at Amazon$250 at Best Buy

Smart sprinklers

Racchio 3

Speaking of efficient and effective use of your utilities, one of the areas we’re perhaps least efficient in regulating our homes is water usage. When it comes to keeping on top of sprinklers that may be on automatic settings, that can be even more of a challenge. The Raccio 3 system claims that its smarts can help you save up to 50% on your monthly water bill.

$174 at Amazon$230 at Best Buy

Catch that leak

Water Leak Detection Kit by LeakSmart

If you’ve ever experienced a flood in your home, you know how important it can be to do everything you can to avoid it from happening again. LeakSmart does this with a unique system that detects and stops water leaks “in 5 seconds or less.” You can get notifications in the app or check on and control the system with Google Assistant.

$271 at Amazon$351 at Walmart

Make any lamp smart

TP-Link Kasa Smart Two-Outlet Wi-Fi Plug

This smart plug is particularly useful because it has an outlet on each end and saves room for another plug above or below it (depending on which you plug it into). It’s great for using Google Assistant to turn off a pair of lamps at a time. Best of all, it’s literally plug and play, with no hub required.

$30 at Amazon$30 at B&H

Garage control

MyQ Smart Garage Hub by Chamberlain

This smart home garage hub from Chamberlain brings the ability to control most garage door openers with Google Assistant or your smartphone. The system can also send you real-time alerts, create schedules, and allow you to check the status of your garage door from anywhere.

$30 at Best Buy$33 at Walmart

Dishwashing assistant

LG Top-Control Smart Wi-Fi Enabled Dishwasher

Staff Pick

Washing dishes ranks up there as one of our least favorite chores, but when you can get a hand from Google Assistant, it makes the process a little bit easier. When connected, you can ask Google Assistant things like “how much time is left on the dishwasher” or “what is the dishwasher doing” to see what stage it’s on.

$850 at Best Buy

Skip the scut work

Ecovacs DEEBOT 500 Robotic Vacuum

After washing dishes, vacuuming might be the most mundane of household chores. Still, with a smart vacuum like this DEEBOT 500, you can tell the Google Assistant to “ask DEEBOT to start cleaning” and then go about your merry way doing something else productive (or not).

$148 at Amazon$149 at Walmart

The perfect pour

Atomi Smart WiFi Coffee Maker

This connected coffee maker can be controlled by your phone or by your voice through Google Assistant. You can program it to brew at specified times, or, if everything has been set up, you can say, “Hey Google, brew coffee.” You can even ask Google Assistant to change the brew strength and turn on/off your coffee maker. It’s also eco-friendly as it comes with a reusable filter.

$90 at Amazon

Assistant on the go

Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle WearOS Smartwatch

Arguably no one is doing a better job at making WearOS smartwatches than Fossil. Not only are its Gen 5 series watches like the Carlyle attractive, but they have useful features like built-in NFC and GPS, a heartrate monitor, and a speaker so that you can converse with Google Assistant.

From $177 at Amazon$280 at Walmart

Breathing aid

Awair Element Indoor Air Quality Monitor

The Awair is an exciting device that tracks the air quality in your home. These measurements include humidity, dust, chemicals, CO2, and more. You can connect the Awair with your Google Home or Nest devices to monitor your air quality and give you actionable insights on how to improve the air you breathe.

$149 at Amazon

Cool down

Haiku Smart Ceiling Fan

Haiku smart fans work with Google Assistant to ensure that you save as much energy as possible while keeping your rooms cool and the air moving. These smart fans can even be adjusted during the winter to push warm air down, making life easier for the heating system in your home and keeping you warmer.

From $800 at Amazon

Who’s there?

Nest Hello Video Doorbell

Staff Pick

This device is a great video doorbell based on specs alone. When you add special Google extras like face identification, package notifications, and prerecorded messages, it quickly becomes an essential home security device.

$230 at Best Buy$163 at Walmart

Smart lock

Nest x Yale Lock

Yale is one of the most trusted names in home security and has been making quality locks for generations. This smart version allows you to control access to your home from anywhere, either in the app or with Google Assistant. Worried that you forgot to lock the door? Just ask Google Assistant to do it for you.

From $270 at Amazon$280 at Best Buy$339 at Walmart

Outdoor eyes

Nest Cam Outdoor

This weatherproof smart video camera can stream and record at 1080p HD, has 8x zoom and night vision, and can see a wide 130 degrees for a large coverage area. Connect it to your Nest Hub, ask Google Assistant to “show me the backyard,” and get alerts when the camera detects motion or suspicious sounds.

$198 at Amazon$200 at Best Buy$199 at Walmart

Indoor eyes

Nest Cam Indoor

This petite camera is more than it appears. Its magnetic stand lets you adhere it to something metallic or just place it on a flat surface. With a Nest Aware subscription, you can get personal alerts sent directly to you. Of course, you can also ask Google Assistant to show you a live feed at any point on your phone or Nest Hub.

$130 at Amazon$130 at Best Buy $126 at Walmart

Affordable Nest Cam alternative

TP-Link Kasa Spot Indoor Camera

If spending hundreds of dollars is a little steep for you, but you still want Google Assistant integration, the TP-Link Kasa Spot Indoor Camera is an excellent alternative. It features 1080p HD video, a 130-degree field of view, and night vision. You can set activity zones and communicate through two-way audio. Plus, you can ask Google Assistant to show you what it sees.

$30 at Amazon $30 at Best Buy

Smart security system

SimpliSafe 8 Piece Wireless Home Security System

In addition to keeping your home safe, the SimpliSafe Home Security System also knows when you leave, so it can automatically adjust your Nest Thermostat. You can ask Google Assistant to arm your system or check its status at any time. Plus, you don’t have to deal with unnecessary contracts to keep your home secure and safe from the bad guys.

$180 at Amazon

Maximum touchscreen

Nest Hub Max

Staff Pick

Control your smart home, watch YouTube cooking tutorials, see your latest photos, or call Grandma with Google Duo on the Nest Hub Max. Its 10-inch touchscreen is vibrant and easy to use, but it’s even easier to use your voice to navigate the interface or access your entertainment with the Google Assistant.

$230 at Best Buy$229 at Bed, Bath & Beyond$229 at B&H

Sidetable smart display

Lenovo Smart Display 7

Lenovo makes some of the most useful and attractive screened devices with Google Assistant support. We like how the speakers face forward for excellent sound, particularly when you’re awaiting an Assistant response. The size of this device is perfect for your nightstand or that corner of your desk.

$100 at Best Buy$100 at B&H

Mid-sized marvel

Nest Audio

The Nest Audio is the newest smart speaker made by Google, and in our estimation, it just might be the best yet. It sounds and looks much better than the original Google Home smart speaker that it replaced. 70% or more of the fabric cover was made from post-consumer recycled water bottles!

$100 at Best Buy$100 at Walmart$100 at B&H

Convenient Assistant access

Nest Mini (2nd Gen)

The second-generation Nest Mini is a great, affordable device that you can put in practically any space for instant Google Assistant access. Google improved the machine learning chip and added another microphone to this version, which allows for speedier and more accurate responses from the Assistant.

$50 at Best Buy$37 at Walmart$49 at B&H

Best non-Nest

Sonos One (Gen 2)

Sonos is one of the best brands in the connected speaker space, and the second-generation Sonos One is one of our favorite devices for several reasons. It has excellent sound, it’s compact and well-built, and you can set Google Assistant as your default voice assistant.

$200 at Best Buy$199 at B&H

Make any TV smart

Chromecast with Google TV

The all-new Chromecast with Google TV is Google’s best streaming dongle to date and arguably the best streaming device available. All the most popular streaming services are supported, including Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu, and because Google makes it, you can be sure that it works with Google Assistant and via the app on your phone. It features the new Google TV interface, and it is designed to work with Google’s Stadia if that’s something on your radar.

$50 at Best Buy$50 at Target

Android TV’s best

NVIDIA Shield Android TV 4K HDR Streaming Media Player

Everything you need to have a great streaming and gaming experience in this handy tube that you can hide pretty much anywhere. This is arguably the best Android TV device, and it has Google Assistant baked right in!

$145 at Amazon$150 at Best Buy$150 at Walmart

Smart TV with Assistant inside

TCL 3 Series Smart TV

This smart TV from TCL has the Android TV platform and Google Assistant built-in, so all you have to do is press a button on the remote to summon your favorite voice assistant for quick access to entertainment. You can also control your smart home devices and access just about all of the Google Assistant functionality you love through the TV and remote.

From $150 at Best Buy$122 at Walmart$150 at Target

The successor to Google Play Music

YouTube Music

Staff Pick

What better service to use with the Google Assistant than one of Google’s own? Plus, with a Nest Hub or screened device, you can seamlessly switch between audio and video playlists. YouTube Music is now the default music provider for Google Home and Nest speakers right out of the box for quick-play music stations — although you’ll need to subscribe for $10 a month for more full-fledged features and no ads.

$10/mo. at YouTube Music

The most popular music streaming service:

Spotify

Spotify is massively popular, and if you aren’t already using it, you probably know a bunch of people who do. With Google Assistant, simply say “OK Google,” followed by your favorite artist, album, song, or playlist, and your music will almost instantly start playing through your smart speaker. This is perfect for playing music in the kitchen when your hands are too messy to handle a phone or set the right mood for a party or an intimate evening.

From $10/mo. at Spotify

Music streaming for all:

Pandora

Pandora is a customizable internet radio streaming service that allows you to curate your own streams, and it uses complex algorithms to recommend new music it knows you’ll love based on your musical tastes and how you’ve rated other music. Google Assistant lets you throw on your favorite Pandora station using just your voice. Pandora offers an ad-supported free version or paid options that give you more control over the music and no ads.

From $5/mo. at Pandora

Original streamer

Deezer

Believe it or not, Deezer was one of the first streaming music services, and it remains popular around the world to this day. You can ask Google Assistant to play music by artist, genre, album, or Flow (what Deezer calls their personalized soundtracks), and it can manage the playback and volume controls as well.

From $10/mo. at Deezer

So many options for music:

iHeartRadio

iHeartRadio is another great option for those that prefer to listen to the radio instead of newer streaming services. iHeartRadio is a free, ad-supported radio platform that connects users with over 850 radio stations from across the U.S. and Canada. The service also includes thousands of podcasts if you don’t want to strictly listen to music, with premium subscriptions available that give you unlimited song skips and offline listening.

From $5/mo. at iHeartRadio

Actually, video didn’t quite kill the radio star:

TuneIn

Believe it or not, some people prefer to listen to the radio over streaming services, and TuneIn is absolutely the go-to app for them. Even with the free version, you get access to over 100,000 radio stations from around the world, along with over five million podcasts as well. If you decide to upgrade to the premium subscription ($10/month), you’ll also get access to live NFL and MLB play-by-play, along with a vast library of audiobooks.

$10/mo. at TuneIn

Most popular platform

YouTube

Staff Pick

This one is obvious, but honestly, it’s the service we spend most of our time on. You can ask Google Assistant to search and play any video on the platform on your phone, Chromecast device, Nest Hub, Lenovo Smart Display, and many smart TVs.

Free at YouTube

Better than TV:

YouTube TV

YouTube TV is an online streaming TV service that delivers over 70 live and premium channels to virtually any screened device. You can subscribe to additional premium channels like HBO and Disney+ through the service, and of course, you can navigate the service with Google Assistant.

$65/mo. at YouTube TV

Originals and live TV

Hulu

Hulu is one of the most popular streaming services, with original content like the Handmaid’s Tale and access to shows from the likes of NBC, FX, and Fox, among others. There are various tiers available, including a live TV service similar to Sling or YouTube TV. You can ask Google Assistant to tune in to specific shows through supported smart speakers and devices.

From $5/mo. at Hulu

Wanna binge watch something?:

Netflix

Some days you just want to lounge on the couch and watch Netflix for hours. Other days you can’t even be bothered to find the remote. Fortunately, you can use Google Assistant to cast your favorite Netflix show or movie to your Chromecast-enabled TV. All you need to do is say something like “Play Arrested Development on Netflix.”

From $9/mo. at Netflix

You probably have it for Star Trek Discovery:

Paramount+

CBS All Access is another new service that added Google Assistant support. CBS All Access features all the content from CBS’s stable of popular shows, including The Big Bang Theory, Survivor, and Star Trek: Discovery. All you have to do is say, “OK Google, play Star Trek: Discovery in the Living Room,” and away you go.

From $6/mo. at Paramount+

There’s still Barry and Westworld, folks:

HBO

If you decided to keep your HBO subscription after Game of Thrones ended, you’re in luck. The HBO app is fully compatible with Google Assistant. All you need to do is ask Google Assistant to play your favorite HBO show, and it will intelligently find the show using the app. You will need an HBO subscription, of course, but with so much great content on HBO, why wouldn’t you have one?

$15/mo. at HBO