Articles by Jeramy Johnson

If you are thinking about picking up one of Google’s newest smart speakers, why not get two and learn how to pair your Nest Audio speakers for stereo surround sound? We’ll show you how easy it is to set this up directly from the Google Home app so that you can experience the sweet sounds of multiple Nest Audio speakers in your living space.

Products used in this guide

Sweet sounding speaker: Nest Audio ($100 at Best Buy)

How to pair two Nest Audio speakers in stereo mode

Open your Google Home app.
Tap on the icon for one of your two Nest Audio speakers.
Tap on the Settings icon in the top right corner.

Tap on Set up speaker pair.
Tap Next.
Choose the two speakers you wish to pair, and tap Next.

Type in a name for your new Nest Audio speaker pair.
Tap Next.

Once the app has successfully paired your Nest Audio speakers, tap Done.

Google Assistant-powered smart speakers are so convenient, but none of them sound as good as the Nest Audio does. Now that you know how to pa…

The premium Echo speaker for Alexa audiophiles.

There are currently several different ongoing deals for Amazon Echo smart speakers during Prime Day 2020, including crazy discounts on the Echo Dot, Echo Flex, and Echo Show 5. However, if you want the best of Alexa in a speaker that sounds truly amazing, you’re not going to want to miss this sale on the Amazon Echo Studio.

The Echo Studio represents Amazon’s drive to push Alexa into a more premium-sounding smart speaker, and the company has succeeded in spades. It features five speakers capable of producing deep bass, dynamic mid-range, and pleasing highs. With Dolby Atmos and 3D, HD sound processing, any music that you stream on, it is going to sound fantastic.

Alexa for audiophiles

Amazon Echo Studio | $50 off at Amazon

$150 at Amazon

Alexa goes Hi-Fi

The Echo Studio is about providing the best sound possible. It can do so on its own — or you can pair it with another Echo Studio and Echo Sub for a great Fire TV surround-…

Perfect little puck

Every Prime Day, Amazon drops massive discounts on its first-party devices like Fire TVs, Kindle e-readers, and Echo smart speakers. This year is no different, as we’ve already seen some huge discounts on the Echo Show and Echo Flex, but arguably the best Echo deal right now is on the 3rd-generation Echo Dot at just $19.

At Amazon’s recent fall event, the company introduced a new lineup of spherical Echo and Echo Dot speakers, and while these are impressive upgrades, the Echo Dot (3rd Gen) is still a great smart speaker. I have four of them around my house and love the convenience of calling out to Alexa to help manage my smart home devices.

Your smart home needs one

Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen)

$19 at Amazon

Save over $30 on this 3rd Gen Dot

The Echo Dot (3rd Gen) is one of the best-selling smart speakers available, and for good reason. It’s affordable, has good sound quality for its size, and is relatively unobtrusive.

The Echo Dot (3rd Gen) was one o…

It’s never too late to get in shape with these great Prime Day deals on Fitbit smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart scales. These devices are perfect for helping motivate you to move more and for providing the data and metrics you need to gain a better understanding of your holistic health picture.

If you’re in the market for a great smartwatch, Fitbit has you covered with the new Versa 3 or the health-focused Sense, both of which are packed to the gills with tons of sensors and features. Alternatively, Fitbit also makes the most popular fitness bands around like the Inspire 2 and Charge 4, which are perfect for those who just want good health tracking and don’t want to fuss with superfluous smart features and notifications. And don’t forget about maintaining a healthy body weight with a smart scale like the Aria line from Fitbit.

Fitbit Versa 2 | 29% off at Amazon

The Fitbit Versa 2 offers six-day battery life, heart rate and sleep monitoring, and Amazon Alexa access at a …

Since we’re all video chatting these days as our primary means of communication, we need good webcams so that those we are conversing with can see us better. We’ve compiled a roundup of the best Prime Day deals on webcams to upgrade the sorry shooters on your laptops and help you look as good to others as you do in person.

Like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and Chromebooks, webcams have been a product category that has been in high demand and low supply during pandemic times. Thankfully, supplies are being replenished, and Amazon is discounting some of the more popular and most affordable webcams in its inventory.

Aukey FHD Webcam

Aukey is a brand name that many trust for personal technology, and the company makes some of the best webcams that you can find. This model clamps to the top of your monitor or screen and plugs right into your computer’s USB port. It is capable of 1080p video with its 2MP webcam and has built-in stereo microphones to make you sound as good as you look….

If you’re looking for the best Roku streaming devices, then you’ve come to the right place! Roku has a bunch of different streaming products that are so easy to set up and use. You’ll get access to thousands of movies and TV shows with devices that are compatible with smart TVs and, for those of you who still have dinosaur-aged TVs. We love using Roku devices and have picked out our favorites for you in several categories, although our favorite is the Roku Ultra.

Best Overall Roku Streaming Device: Roku Ultra

The Roku Ultra is the company’s premium streaming set-top box. It offers all the high-end specs you’d expect in such a device, like 4K UHD and HDR, as well as support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. It also has some killer usability features unique to the Roku brand, such as a Lost Remote Finder on the box. The next time that pesky remote slips between the couch cushions, all you have to do is press a button, and it will make a sound to help you locate it.

The Roku Ultra …

Round sound

Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen)

$50 at Amazon

Pros

New spherical design
Available in Twilight Blue color variant
Alexa for kids mode
Light ring conveys different types of alerts
50% post-consumer recycled plastics
Climate Pledge Friendly certified

Cons

Doesn’t work with Google Assistant
No built-in smart hub

The 4th-generation Echo Dot looks better than ever, with a new rounded design and additional color options. It is also more environmentally friendly and more kid-friendly than ever before.

Google Home Gateway

Nest Mini (2nd Gen)

$50 at Best Buy

Pros

Better processor and improved machine learning over first-generation
Improved sound over first-generation Mini
Can be wall-mounted or sit flat on a table or shelf
Fabric covering made from recycled materials

Cons

Doesn’t work with Amazon Alexa
Touch UI is confusing

The 2nd-generation Nest Mini came out in late 2019 and continues to impress to this day. It was the first of these smart speaker to f…

Echo Show 8

Goldilocks zone

$105 at Amazon

Pros

Great compromise size
Physical cover/off switch for microphones and camera
Similar specs to more expensive Echo Show (2nd Gen)

Cons

No Dolby processing
Need a stand to adjust viewing angles

The Echo Show 8 has taken pretty much all that was good from the Echo Show (2nd Gen) and the Echo Show 5, and fit them into a perfectly-sized smart screen speaker. On-device privacy controls, a better screen resolution than the smaller Show 5, and better speakers make this a great buy.

Echo Show 5

Bedside buddy

$45 at Amazon

Pros

Compact design to fit anywhere
Physical cover/off switch for microphones and camera
Better speakers than Echo Dot or Echo Spot

Cons

Auto-brightness isn’t well-tuned
If all you want is an Echo with a clock, the Dot with Clock is 2/3 the price

The Echo Show 5 changed the game for the Echo product line. It “showed” that Amazon could put a quality smart screen experience in a smaller package with…

The writing is on the wall that this is the little Echo to get.

The Echo Dot with Clock has been one of the most favorably-received products to come from Amazon in 2019 and for good reason. It is a product update that could just as easily be described as the Echo Dot (3rd Gen) “Plus” if you will, because it doesn’t look that different than the 3rd Gen, especially when it’s not plugged in. The size, form factor, speaker, microphones, and sound quality are all the same as that device, which impressed us last year when it was released. So what’s different you ask? Well, it’s all right there in the name — that clock!

I’ve been a fan of the Echo since its debut in late 2014, and I still have several assorted sizes and colors of the various tubes, pucks, and screens spread out around my house (heck, I even have an Alexa device in my shower!), so I’m no stranger to what the Echo Dot is or what Alexa can do through it. It’s been a while since I’ve had an LED alarm clock in my bedroom, th…

Not only are LED smart bulbs more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs, but you’ll feel like Tony Stark walking through your home, controlling the lighting with just your voice. Google Home is one of the tentpole home assistant platforms, so of course, there are a plethora of smart bulb brands eager to get that “works with the Google Assistant” badge. The question you need to ask yourself as a consumer is how many bulbs you need for your home and how much are you willing to spend?

Full-feature smart lights

To experience the best that smart LED lights can offer, you’ll want to start with ones that are entirely customizable with the full spectrum of colors available. Because these bulbs are way more expensive than any light bulb you’ve probably bought in your life — and often require a dedicated smart hub to relay between the bulbs and your home network — you’re going to want to choose a brand that can satisfy all your smart lighting needs or piece together your hou…