Smart Home

The Google Home is a good smart speaker, but the Google Home Mini and the Google Home Max are just as smart and capable. The Google Assistant voice control built into each of these now powers a number of smart home gadgets, including a variety of third-party smart speakers and a growing crowd of smart displays. In each of these devices, the built-in assistant can respond to a large variety of Google Assistant voice commands. You can check the weather, play music, control your smart home, search the web and more. If that sounds appealing and you're ready to pick one, filtering through all of your options can feel intimidating. We can help. Options galore The growing crowd of smart speakers is ready for your command 19 Photos We're focusing here on smart speakers and smart displays with Google Assistant built in. Of course, while sorting smart speaker options, Amazon and its Alexa voice assistant still cast a formidable shadow and it's worth … [Read more...] about Which Google Home speaker should you buy?

Wyze is on a roll. Just last month, the company introduced the Wyze Sense, a seriously great home-security add-on for its seriously great Wyze Cam cameras. Now, say hello to the Wyze Bulb.Read more: Wyze Cam Pan reviewIt's an 800-lumen (so, equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent) A19 white LED bulb, one that's packed with the kinds of smarts you find in, say, a Philips Hue.The good news: a single Wyze Bulb will cost you $7.99 (plus shipping), while a 4-pack sells for $29.99. The bad news: Only the latter is available for the moment, and it's for preorder -- with an expected ship date of late June. Oh, and that preorder is available only via the Wyze app, which currently shows a limited supply and about 27% of that supply already sold.Thankfully, by the end of June, it should be readily available for all. Will you want one (or four, or more)? All signs point to yes.The Wyze Bulb is controlled via the aforementioned app, which will let you change brightness and color temperature, set up … [Read more...] about Wyze will sell you a smart light bulb for $8

Meat, fire and smoke, are all essential to good barbecue. Together they can combine to conjure food that's outrageously delicious and addictive. Doing that consistently takes a lot of knowledge and practice. That said, I know of one product that makes the process much easier, and that's a backyard cooker called the Traeger Timberline 850. An electric grill that burns wood for heat, the Timberline adds phenomenal flavor to everything it cooks, whether it's chicken, burgers, fish, ribs or huge slabs of pork and beef. We've had one at the CNET Smart Home since we reviewed it last year, and I cook on during the workday whenever I get a chance. Everything I ask\ this grill to handle it brought to new heights. Seriously, words can't do this grill justice when it comes to the results.You might think that fact would make me happy. Alas, it certainly does not. Here's why.Read more:  The best gas grills of 2019 | The best way to clean gas grills and gratesIt's not cheapPellet … [Read more...] about Traeger’s wood pellet grill is so good it hurts

Editors' Note: May 16, 2018: Google announced an updated plan for the Works with Nest migration that addresses a lot of the concerns of this piece. Analysis of the update is below, followed by the original piece.Google and Nest are merging into a single brand aptly called Google Nest. Along with the change, Nest customers will be encouraged to shift their Nest accounts into Google accounts, and Google is shutting down further development for the popular Works with Nest program that lest Nest products interact with other smart home devices from third parties. Specialized triggers that cause your smart lights to flash when your Nest Protect smelled smoke looked to be in danger at Google I/O when Google announced that it was shutting down Works with Nest completely. Even the popular integration between Nest products and Amazon's assistant Alexa seemed to be threatened by the change. See the piece below for all of those concerns, but as of Thursday morning, Google has now changed … [Read more...] about Google reverses course on cutting off Works with Nest

Your Google Home speaker can help you get a good night's rest whether you had one cup of coffee too many, or you can't quite shut off your mind. While the device is helpful for scheduling your day, it's also handy for unwinding, too.If you're having trouble sleeping, start with "Hey Google, I can't sleep." It'll respond with a few options -- nature sounds, ambient music or sleepy playlists to help you fall asleep. The one thing it doesn't help with yet: nightmares.Things you can say to Google Home to assist in getting sleepy:"Hey Google, play relaxing music."YouTube Music, Google Play Music, Spotify, Pandora or Deezer if you have an account (if not, these services all have free options). If you like the playlist, open the music app to save it. You can link your media accounts when you set up your speaker, or at any time using the Google Home app."Hey Google, play relaxing nature sounds.""Hey Google, tell me a bedtime story.""Hey Google, sing me a lullaby." Mentioned Above Google Home … [Read more...] about How to fall asleep better with Google Home