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Google Home Essentials

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Looking to add to your Google-controlled smart home? Stop right here, you’ve hit the gold mine. In 9to5Google’s Google Home Essentials series you’ll find the latest in gear compatible with Google Assistant from speakers to vacuums and so much more.

What is a Google Home Essential?

Google Assistant supports a wide variety of products from lights to cameras and more. In this series, we take a hands-on look at products that support the Assistant and see how they’re useful to a consumer, how they work and how they’re installed, and most importantly how reliable the product is with Google Assistant and how it plays with the Google Home app.

A “Google Home Essential” can be any product that integrates with Assistant. For example, we’ve covered numerous security cameras from TP-Link, Wyze, and Arlo as well as products that might not immediately come to mind, like a garage door opener or a ceiling fan. If we’ve covered it here, consider it a stamp of approval that the product works well with Assistant.

Interested in having your product featured on Google Home Essentials? Get in touch!

Review: Yeedi Cube is an all-in-one vacuum + mop that saves on space

yeedi cube

Robot vacuums have gotten really good in recent years, but the arrival of auto-empty docks and mopping stations have also led to these machines getting bigger and bigger. With the new Yeedi Cube, the goal is to provide an all-in-one machine that’s still fairly compact, and after a few weeks testing it out, it’s certainly a solid choice.

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Review: ADT Self Setup is a solid security system, but it’s no Nest Secure replacement

adt self setup security system

Home security has been around for decades and can be very expensive and complicated to set up depending on what you’re trying to get. Over the past couple of months, I’ve been using ADT’s new Self Setup system that launched back in March, a DIY system backed by ADT’s monitoring and Google’s Nest hardware. It’s a solid security system, but a sad reminder of what Google gave up when killing its own hardware.

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Review: Tailwind is the best garage door opener for Google Home

google home garage door opener

Sometimes smart home tech results in the thought, “Why does anyone need this?” But in other cases, the benefits are abundantly clear, even if they aren’t always fully realized. Garage door openers are one of those pieces of smart home gear that fit into the latter, and over the past few weeks, the Tailwind system I’ve been using alongside Google Home has not only hit my expectations but has also gone above and beyond.

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Google Home Essentials: Yeedi Mop Station Pro makes a case for focusing on doing one job well

yeedi mop station pro

Robot vacuums are incredibly common nowadays, and often times they now include the ability to also mop your floor. But these combined cleaners often end up doing one job well, or both jobs somewhat poorly. Lately, I’ve been using the Vac 2 Pro and Mop Station Pro from Yeedi, which are two devices that really set their sights on doing one job well, and the latter is one that really opened my eyes to how these robots can really keep the home clean.

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Google Home Essentials: Renter-friendly SwitchBot Lock and Keypad Touch make smart security easy

SwitchBot Lock and Keypad Touch

There are tons of smart locks on the market right now, but none seem to cater to apartment-dwellers or those who don’t want to rip out their existing deadbolt just to add a smart lock to their smart home. SwitchBot is one of the few companies that fill both these needs with the SwithBot Lock and Keypad Touch.

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Google Home Essentials: Yale’s Assistant-connected delivery box deters porch pirates

yale smart delivery box

Stealing packages is an unfortunate problem nowadays, and one that just seems to be getting worse for some. While there are defenses, such as baiting bad actors with glitter bombs, an even better solution is to keep packages in a secure place. That’s what Yale’s Google Assistant-connected smart delivery box tries to do.

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Google Home Essentials: Reolink’s Assistant-connected cameras trade a blurry mess for actual zoom

Home security cameras are usually pretty basic when it comes to their optical hardware, with a middling resolution that uses digital zoom to get the job done and either a constant power source or a rechargeable battery. Over the past few months, though, I’ve been using Google Assistant-connected cameras from Reolink that kick it up a notch, with true optical zoom and a full solar system.

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Google Home Essentials: SimpliSafe fills the security need Nest abandoned, for a cost

simplisafe security

Home security is important in today’s day and age, but it’s something that’s unfortunately not easy in Google’s ecosystem. While Nest cameras go a long way in protecting your home, Google pulled the plug on its only true security system, Nest Secure, in late 2020 with no replacement. Lately, I’ve been spending time with a SimpliSafe Google Assistant-compatible home security system, and it certainly goes above and beyond filling that need.

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Google Home Essentials: Roborock S7 is a near-perfect floor cleaner w/ a pricey auto-empty option

roborock s7

Robot vacuums are still very much a luxury, but they’ve come down in price considerably over the past several years to the point where, now, you can get something halfway decent for around $150. What’s more interesting to me, however, are the vacuums that are still a bit more expensive but are also much better at the job in question. Roborock has become a big name in that market, and the brand’s Google Assistant-connected Roborock S7 might be a perfect robot vacuum and mop. Here’s why.

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Google Home Essentials: This standing fan offers Assistant voice control and battery power

As summers just keep getting hotter, most of us are looking for ways to cool down our homes conveniently. While you could pick up something like a Nest Thermostat or Ecobee to do that job, sometimes something as simple as a standing fan does the job. I’ll raise you one better, though. How about a standing fan that you can control with Google Assistant and use with battery power?

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Google Home Essentials: Polk Magnifi 2 soundbar is a great Google TV companion and Cast target

Soundbars have become incredibly popular over the past several years because, while not at the same level as a proper home theater setup, they’ll still be a massive upgrade over what your TV puts out on its own. If you’re looking to improve what your TV offers or even upgrade your current soundbar, the Polk MagniFi 2 is a pretty solid choice.

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Google Home Essentials: SwitchBot offers a slightly inelegant path to Assistant-controlled curtains

Google Assistant is capable of controlling literally hundreds of different kinds of devices, but some can get fairly expensive. Smart curtains and blinds, for example, can cost hundreds of dollars and require new hardware to install. SwitchBot, though, has a clever solution to Google Assistant-controlled curtains that’s at least relatively affordable.

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Google Home Essentials: Arlo’s $99 Nest Cam competitor takes privacy a step further

Security cameras around your home are a no-brainer way to feel a bit safer, but having them indoors is something that some users may not feel comfortable with. As has been a trend on webcams in recent years, Arlo is solving that privacy concern by putting a physical cover over its $99 Nest Cam competitor, the Arlo Essential Indoor.

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Google Home Essentials: Sonos Roam falls just short of the perfect portable Assistant

sonos roam

Google Assistant is available on devices of all shapes and sizes, but the vast majority of useful smart speakers that support it are designed to be used in one place, indoors. I’ve been wanting a solution to bring Assistant and, in turn, Chromecast audio around my home wire-free. As it turns out, the Sonos Roam is exactly what I’ve been looking for.

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Google Home Essentials: Wyze Cam Outdoor delivers affordable, wireless flexibility

Home security cameras are great for monitoring your property, but when you go outdoors, a lack of electrical hookups can make it difficult to get a camera right where you want it. For the past several months, I’ve been using the Wyze Cam Outdoor system to solve that problem, and thanks to recent improvements, the Google Assistant integration has finally reached the point where it’s a useful part of my Google Home ecosystem.


Update 3/31/2022: Due to Wyze’s recently-revealed security problems, and the company’s decision to not address the issue for nearly 3 years, we’re retracting our recommendation of this product.


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Google Home Essentials: TP-Link’s Kasa cameras solve problems that Nest ignores

I love keeping a close eye on my home throughout the day with a series of security cameras around my property, with Google’s Nest at the core. The simple fact is, though, that Google’s system just doesn’t fit into every niche and ignores problems such as cost and local storage. That’s where TP-Link Kasa has come in, offering excellent and flexible hardware with an affordable cost and some of the best Google Assistant integration currently available.

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