If you're all-in with Android and the Google ecosystem, there are some smart lights that may work better with your setup than others. Once installed, these smart lights play nice with Google Home, so you can manage all of your connected devices under one roof and issue hands-free commands by way of Google Assistant.
Google Home is a great platform to work with for home lighting, especially if you have lights that span between multiple manufacturers and you want to look at everything in one spot. By using Routines, Google Home can fire off multiple commands all at once, including setting lights in certain rooms to go on, go off, dim, or change color.
Philips Hue remains one of the most popular options for smart lighting. With a central hub orchestrating a home full of bulbs, you can issue commands to dim, set schedules, and group lights into rooms with Google Home. Philips Hue enjoys advanced features including music and PC sync too, which can really bring your home to life. If you want to expand your lighting, Hue has a wealth of options including , , and .
Nanoleaf wall panels have become an iconic presence behind Twitch streamers all over the world. Once you install them in your home, you'll see why. These modular panels allow you to construct an infinite range of patterns, then animate them with colors, use touch sensitivity on the tiles themselves to trigger events, and sync them to music or shows playing on your PC.
GE's Cync lineup of bulbs are certified Made for Google, ensuring a seamless, hubless installation process and day-to-day operation. You don't even need a native app from GE to install the light, you can just go right to Google Home. Once it's all set up, you have full remote control of the lights, and can equally control the bulb with voice using Google Home or Android devices.
Kasa bulbs continue to be a fine budget option for those looking to modernize their home lighting without breaking the bank. With Google Home, you can group these light bulbs together, set schedules, and enjoy full voice control either with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. With 800 lumens of brightness and a color range from 2,500K and 6,500K, you can count on having all your lighting bases covered.
Several neat features make this Lifx Candle an interesting pick for Google Home users. It's a smaller bulb that can fit into tighter spaces and can be a great pick for lamps and similar areas. It's a "double-diffuser," so you can choose two different color temperatures to make it look more like a real flame. And it has a flicker mode so that it can mimic a big candle ... all without needing a bridge. There's a multicolor version available too, but this option will simulate a candle just fine.
Nanoleaf doesn't just make LED strips and triangles — it also has an excellent set of colored LED smart bulbs that can produce millions of different colors. The latest version of the Essentials A19 comes with full Matter support, allowing them to play nicely with other gadgets outside of the Google Home ecosystem. Of course, they’re also designed with native support for Google’s smart home platform, allowing you to get up and running within minutes of opening the package. They cost a few bucks more than other smart bulbs, but it’s hard to beat their combination of reliability and performance.
Connecting smart lights to the Google Home app is easy. First, you'll need to install the bulb manufacturer's own app and follow their setup instructions. Once that's done, all you have to do from the Google Home app is tap the Plus button to add new devices. You can read our guide on how to connect smart lights for more details.
You'll also need to make sure that the lights you pick are compatible with Google's platform. Look for compatibility with Google Home, Google Assistant, Hey Google, or the Matter protocol.
Yes, Google Home can be used to turn on your smart lights. The easiest way is to use Google Assistant and say a command like, "Set the living room lights to 50%," or, "Turn off the kitchen lights." Within Google Home proper, tapping on the light icons provide full dimming, toggle, and color control. For more complicated animated scenes, you'll need to go back to the native app.
Google Home can control smart lights, smart plugs, smart switches, and most connected home devices. Smart switches are a great option for hard-to-reach lights or those that are outside of wireless range.
Hopefully, that provided you with everything you need to build out the perfect lighting solutions in your own Google Home. Be sure to dig into our Google Home tips and tricks to learn more about how to tie everything together.
Simon Sage is a green tech contributor at Digital Trends. He looks at all sorts of devices that can help reduce emissions through electrification, like power stations, solar panels, smart thermostats, and LED lighting. He's also keen on exploring right to repair and sustainable transportation.
Simon started journalism 17 years ago in the mobile tech space, covering the meteoric rise and fall of BlackBerry. Since then he's dipped his toe in mobile gaming, app reviews, and sponsored content. He's been to his fair share of trade shows, such as Mobile World Congress, the Consumer Electronics Show, E3 (RIP), the Game Developer Conference, and a smattering of smaller shows. He's done multiple TV interviews, the most surreal of which was explaining how Pokémon Go works on a morning show. Simon's also hosted over 100 podcast episodes.
Previous publications include BlackBerry Cool, IntoMobile, and Mobile Nations sites like Android Central, iMore, CrackBerry, and Windows Central.
Simon's based in Ottawa, Ontario, where he is constantly clawing against the gravitational pull of becoming a government drone. He studied English at Carleton University there, including a stint at Lancaster University in the UK. He has since levelled up his education in sustainability through the Climatebase platform. Simon spends way too much of his free time playing games, especially Magic: The Gathering.
Few things ruin a quiet evening faster than a robot vacuum roaring through the living room. Most of us end up pausing the cleaning run, which defeats the whole purpose of owning one. Matic thinks it has the answer with its new Serene robot vacuum, and the big selling point is how little noise it makes.
The Matic Serene runs at 52 decibels even when cleaning at full power. To put that in perspective, Matic compares it to the hum of your refrigerator. It is available now for $1,695, which is $200 more than the original Matic’s current price.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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