TP-Link

In theory, Matter is supposed to make smart home devices easier to set up and much more user-friendly. With Matter being a big feature of TP-Link’s new smart plug, that goal is accomplished to a T.

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.

Google Home and Google Assistant are ever maturing ecosystems, but they still lack in a major area — home automation. Since launch, Google has only made a couple of major additions to Assistant’s home control compatible products, but today the company is announcing new partnerships that open up the floodgates wide…

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Update 1/9: TP-Link has reached out to clarify that Google Home integration is expected in Q2 of 2017, not February.

Google Home’s portfolio of supported products has slowly been growing since its release, but several major players still aren’t supported. That’s soon to change, though, with the addition of Actions on Google. Today at CES 2017, we were able to confirm that TP-Link products will be supported by Google Home in the coming weeks, and got a chance to see them in action…

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After first unveiling OnHub in August, a new wireless router that intelligently finds the best connection for its user, today Google is announcing its second OnHub router hardware through a partnership with Asus.
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While we’re off in Berlin at IFA, our good friend Mike “Detroit Borg” Kukielka got his hands on the $200 Google OnHub router manufactured by TP-Link. We’ve seen a lot of other reviews but this one is an excellent in-depth overview which hits all the right spots.

The TL;DR is that it is about as good a router you can buy but at $200 the differentiating features aren’t quite ready yet. Seems like a go especially if your home networking is currently lacking and you plan on living in Google’s home ecosystem in the future.  Pick up one at Amazon, Best Buy, NewEgg, Walmart, Google, or TP-Link .  Full video below

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