From there you can select which other smart devices you want to connect with, and control their settings accordingly. After that, you download the Wink app to your Android or iOS device, and then control everything from inside the app. The hub itself can be set up wirelessly or connected to your router with an ethernet cable. The Wink Hub 2 (opens in new tab) is one of the most versatile of the featured hubs for home automation. Read our full Google Nest Hub review (opens in new tab).However, Google continue to be plagued by privacy concerns, not least the company's zeal in storing as much user-data as possible. Additionally, while the display is great for close-up interactions, the small 7" screen means it's not so usable when across a room.Īltogether, the Google Nest Hub is a great little piece of kit that works fine with other smart devices, and the addition the visual element can be user-friendly at times. However, the Google Nest Hub isn't a full media device so you can't access digital subscriptions the way you can with Chromecast. Where the Google Nest Hub really excels is through its integration with Google Services, not least web search, which is still more developed than most competitors, if somewhat over-whelmed by ads and Google self-promotion these days. You can control lighting, heating, security, and the typical range of smart home through voice commands or the user-interface by swiping or tapping screen options as required. It also, of course, works as a central home automation hub, and easily connects with many other smart devices. When not in use it can display a clock across its screen, or serve as a digital photo frame by displaying images from your Google Photo account. It can display local weather information, events and notices, daily schedules, as well as play music and video from YouTube and other services. It uses Google Assistant to perform tasks using voice commands, but works mainly as a visual interface, in effect acting like a voice-powered tablet device. The Google Nest Hub (opens in new tab) is another common system for setting up a home automation system. Read our full Amazon Echo review (opens in new tab).Also watch out for rolling special offers throughout the year which can see discounts applied to some or all of the Echo range. Overall, Amazon have been pushing hard on its Alexa-powered devices in order to make them as accessible as possible. Even better, connecting them is as easy as saying "Alexa, find my devices." Whichever Echo type you use, it should be compatible to most smart peripheral devices. There are also now the Echo Spot smart alarm clock, Echo Show to act like a small portable TV, and even an Echo Auto for your car, as well as the Echo Plus and the Fire TV Cube media player, all of which come with Alexa built-in and use the same smart technology. There's the original Echo, the smaller Echo Dot for the more budget conscious, the new kids edition. The Echo has multiple omnidirectional microphones to make it easy to take voice commands from across a room, and includes multiple speakers to make it easy to be heard.Īdditionally, Amazon now provides a range of product variations. The Echo can work as a standalone device, connecting to a cloud-based service to provide music, make calls, set up alerts and times, ask questions, or even request weather and traffic reports. The Amazon Echo (opens in new tab) is a leading hub for home automation, using Amazon's proprietary Alexa voice-powered technology. This means they can work with a huge variety of devices, which means the days where every smart device refused to work with devices from other brands, and meant you needed a whole army of apps to control everything, are long gone. The best home automation systems in this list are platform agnostic. They do this by utilizing connections like your home network, broadband, Bluetooth, ZigBee, z-wave, and other protocols, They are a singular device that connects to all of your smart devices, regardless of brand, and gives you an easy, user-friendly, way to control them all - including via voice commands. This is where the best home automation systems, also known as 'hubs' come in. We now have more smart devices in our homes than ever before, from lighting systems such as Hue, to internet connected thermostats, fridges and more, so controlling them all easily can be a bit of a nightmare. The best home automation systems are essential to any growing smart home.
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