Best Google Home compatible devices 2024: Google Assistant smart devices

Best smart light starter kit

Philips is one of the leading manufacturers in 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. This pack of multi-color bulbs is a good starting point, which comes with the necessary Philips Hue Bridge if you want more advanced controls. Once the Bridge is set up, it acts as a hub for connecting up to 50 of the best Philips Hue lights.

Best LED strip for home theaters

LED strips offer an excellent way to liven up any home theater or desk space with customizable color light shows. But when you add in the impressive dual-camera setup for the Govee Envisual TV Backlight T2 system, your television-watching experience becomes even more immersive. Attach the LED light strip to the back of your TV, place the camera on top of the television, and after a quick setup in the Govee app, everything that happens on your TV will shine on your walls, expanding your watching experience.

Best affordable Hue alternative

GE Cync offers a complete line of excellent smart home devices that are super-easy to set up. Once the device is powered on, Google Assistant can recognize it and begin the setup process. You get vibrant colors and tunable whites from the bulbs that are controllable by voice, or the Google Home or Cync app.

Best outdoor smart light

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 Philips Hue Lily Outdoor Spot Light. Not only can it brightly illuminate your yard to ward off unwanted intruders, you can set millions of colors to make light shows for backyard barbecues and dance parties with Google Assistant.

Best customizable light panels

There are a lot of terrific Nanoleaf lights that come in many different shapes and sizes. But the Nanoleaf Shapes lights are some of the most unique because they come in four different options that can be mixed to create custom wall lighting designs by sticking them directly to any flat surface. They offer impressive color transitions and are all controllable with Google Assistant using the Nanoleaf app.

Best smart light without a hub

WiZ bulbs are excellent options for many reasons. They come in at a good price, are easy to setup, they look great, and offer direct integration with Google Assistant without a hub. They can show 16 million colors in various shades and touches of warmth. The most unique part about these bulbs is the motion detection option without additional hardware for simple automation.

Best smart thermostat

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. For example, Nest popularized the category of smart thermostats, and the newest version of the Nest Thermostat is our pick for the best Google Assistant home automation device. With Google's AI smarts and Google Assistant looking after you, keeping cool or staying hot has never been easier. You can save a few bucks with the Nest Thermostat E or go for an older model option and get many of the same features. But this one, for the first time, ships with a Nest temperature sensor as well.

Best premium smart thermostat

There are a ton of smart thermostats on the market, but if you are looking for a Nest alternative that works with Google Assistant, and after reviewing the ecobee Smart Thermostat Premium — it's clear this is worth a look. This model includes a smart sensor to monitor spaces away from the thermostat itself, which can help regulate your home's temperature more efficiently. The large display makes using the improved interface a breeze. Plus, it can even monitor the air quality in your home. 

Best smart sprinkler

Speaking of efficient and effective use of your home utilities, water usage is one of the areas where most families could become more efficient. When it comes to keeping on top of sprinklers that may be on automatic settings, that can be even more of a challenge. However, the Rachio 3 system claims that its smarts can help you save up to 50% on your monthly water bill.

Best water leak detector

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. Flume 2 does this with a unique system that immediately detects and alerts you before it becomes catastrophic. You can get notifications in the app or check on and control the system with Google Assistant. While it isn't able to shut off your water, you'll have the information ASAP so you can take steps to stop the flow and prevent further damage.

Best smart plugs

This smart plug, available in various multi-pack options, is handy because its design 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.

Garage control

This smart home garage hub from AGSHOME 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. All without a separate hub to connect the device to, making for easy install and setup.

Best smart robot vacuum

After washing dishes, vacuuming might be the most mundane of household chores. But when you get one of the best robot vacuums like this one from DreameTech, you can tell the Google Assistant to do it then go about your merry way doing something else productive (or not). Not only will this device vacuum, it will also mop with spinning brushes — and empty the debris and dirty water automatically!

Best smart coffee maker

This connected coffee maker can be controlled by your phone or your voice through Google Assistant. You can program it to brew at specified times, or if everything is set, you could 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.

Best smart ceiling fan

SMAAIR 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.

Who's there?

The Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd-gen) impressed us in our review as it's a great video doorbell based on specs alone. Plus it has the ability to continuously record 24/7. You get special Google extras like person, vehicle, package notifications, and activity zones for free. There's even a 3-hour event history to check out what's happened at your door. But if you want Familiar Face alerts, longer event history, and that 24/7 recording you'll have to pay for a Nest Aware subscription.

Best smart door 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.

Best outdoor smart camera

This weatherproof smart video camera can stream and record at 1080p HD, see a vast 130 degrees for a large coverage area, and operates outside, rain or shine. Connect it to your Nest Hub, and ask Google Assistant to "show me the backyard." The smart detection impressed us during our review, where you can get alerts when the camera detects motion or suspicious sounds.

Best indoor smart camera

Eufy's Indoor Cam is a helpful and inexpensive way to keep tabs on what is going on inside your home. It has useful detection features and activity zones so you can monitor only specific parts of the room that you want. You can choose between local or cloud storage for recordings, and of course, you can also ask Google Assistant to show you a live feed at any point on your phone or Nest Hub.

Best affordable indoor smart camera

Similarly to the Eufy Indoor Cam, this GE Cync Smart Indoor Camera is an excellent option to monitor the inside of your home. It features 1080p HD video, a wide field of view, and night vision. Plus, you can ask Google Assistant to show you what it sees. For the times when you want 100% confidence of privacy from the camera, you can use the built-in privacy cover to physically cover the lens. 

Best smart 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.

Best smart display

Control your smart home, watch YouTube cooking tutorials, see your latest photos, or call grandma with Google Duo on one of the best smart displays on the market — 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 Google Assistant.

Best true wireless earbuds

Plenty of true wireless earbuds come with Google Assistant support, but none as great and seamless as the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. Now with Google AI, they are also lighter and smaller than the original Pixel Buds Pro, which you can still pick up if preferred, and boast better noise cancellation and battery life. Thanks to Gemini Live, you can not only speak to Google Assistant but also do so in a conversational manner.

Best mid-sized smart speaker

The Nest Audio might be the best Google smart speaker around. It sounds and looks much better than the original Google Home smart speaker that it replaced. Much more of the fabric cover is made from post-consumer recycled water bottles, too, so you can feel good about having it around as your personal companion.

Best mini smart speaker

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.

Best non-Nest smart speaker

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. While Sonos has newer speakers, those don't support Google Assistant. 

Best streaming dongle

The new Google TV Streamer 4K doubles as a smart home hub. Replacing the old Chromecast dongles of years past, it affords access to all the popular streaming services along with live TV channels. With Gemini integration for curated AI recommendations and support for both Google and Matter devices, it's a solid investment. If you prefer a dongle, you can still grab the Chromecast with Google TV 4K and if you don't need 4K resolution, save a few bucks and pick up the Chromecast with Google TV HD.

Best Android TV device

This handy, discreet tube provides everything you need to have a great streaming and gaming experience. The NVIDIA Shield TV (2019) is arguably the best Android TV device, and it has Google Assistant baked right in. The automatic AI upscaling helps to turn the content you're watching from blah to WOW all on the fly, making this a great option for your home entertainment system.

Best smart TV

This smart TV from Hisense 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. Plus, access all your favorite content from the built-in or downloadable Google apps without any third-party devices needed.

Best smartwatch

Google launched its first smartwatch in the Pixel Watch and it was great, followed by the Pixel Watch 2, which was even more fantastic. Now, there's the latest Pixel Watch 3, which improved upon the experience even more. It has a bright, smooth display, better battery, WearOS 5, and new features like a Morning Brief, Google TV remote controls, offline Google Maps, Pulse detection, and more. Of course, there's also a speaker and microphone so that you can converse with Google Assistant. 

Best music streaming service

What better service to use with Google Assistant than one of Google's own? Plus, you can seamlessly switch between audio and video playlists with a Nest Hub or screened device. 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 $11 a month for more full-fledged features and no ads.

Best premium music streaming service

Spotify is massively popular, and if you aren't already using it, you probably know many 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 for setting the right mood at a party.

Most affordable music streaming service

Pandora is a customizable internet radio streaming service that allows you to curate your streams. 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.

Best original music streamer

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 also manage the playback and volume controls.

Best for podcasts, too

iHeartRadio is another excellent option for those who 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.

Best radio streaming service

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.

Best overall platform

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, and many smart TVs.

Best for live and on demand channels

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.

Best streaming TV service

Hulu is one of the most popular streaming services, with original content like The Handmaid's Tale and access to shows from NBC, FX, and Fox. 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.

Best for binge watching

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."

Best for Star Trek fans

Paramount+ is another service that added Google Assistant support. Paramount+ features all the content from CBS's stable of popular shows, including The Big Bang Theory, Survivor, and Star Trek: Discovery. Plus, there's a new add-on with Showtime. So all you have to do is say, "OK Google, play Star Trek: Discovery in the living room," and away you go.

Best for legacy favorites

Formerly known as HBO Max, the streaming service Max combines all the popular content from the old site, like Game of Thrones and The Last of Us, with supremely binge-able titles from the Discovery universe. If you didn't know, that includes all of your favorites from networks like TLC, CNN, and HGTV.