- This video is sponsored by Home Depot.
Stay tuned to find out more.
I'm Andru Edwards, you're watching "Gear Live".
And today I'm giving you a look at some of my favorite,
voice controlled, smart home gadgets.
Let's do it.
(upbeat music)
What is going on tech squad, Andru Edwards here.
And as I mentioned today,
I'm giving you a look
at some of my favorite smart home devices
that you can control with your voice.
And by the way, big thank you to Home Depot
for sponsoring this one.
If you thought they were just for tools,
lumber, and ladders, they are definitely way more than that.
Home Depot has you covered with a wide array
of smart home tech and devices
that can improve your home value and simplify your life.
And you can find them in store or online at homedepot.com.
In fact, I'll leave links to Home Depot for all the gadgets
I mention in this video,
down in the description below,
if you want to pick any of them up for yourself.
Let's get started with the first one,
and this is an essential part of any smart home,
that being the router.
And in this case, it's the Google Nest Wi-Fi router,
end point.
Of course the main thing you'll need
to keep your smart home running smoothly
is a great home network.
So we're starting out with the Google Nest Wi-Fi.
You may not know this,
but Google routers are the top selling routers out there,
thanks to the popularity of its Mesh system.
Nest Wi-Fi is Google's premium Wi-Fi system
with Wi-Fi coverage up to 2200 square feet
with just the router.
The nice thing about the Mesh Wi-Fi systems is that
you can add additional access points,
which eliminates weak Wi-Fi areas in your home.
Even cooler though,
the Nest Wi-Fi points double
as a voice activated smart speaker,
allowing you to access the Google Assistant,
right from the access point
to control other things in your smart home,
to manage your Wi-Fi network,
and even play music directly from the access point.
Now, the Nest Wi-Fi access point does a nice job
at being an extra speaker.
But if you want something
with a little more power behind it,
there is the Sonos One.
Sonos is the pioneer of wireless multi-room speakers
that allow you to play content from just about any service
or radio station on the planet.
You can have them all play the same music
or have different content playing on different speakers.
The entry-level Sonos One is a great way to get started,
and it was the first Sonos device
to get an integrated microphone
that allows you to communicate with the Google Assistant
as well as Alexa, both from the same device.
This allows you to ask the Sonos One to play music
from services like YouTube music, Amazon music, Apple music,
Spotify, Pandora, and many others.
Or you can ask it to turn off a light
or lock your front door using your smart lock,
like you do with any other smart speaker.
The nice thing here is that while the Nest Wi-Fi points are,
routers with a decent speaker thrown in,
the Sonos One
is a fantastic sounding internet connected smart speaker,
with a far-field microphone that can listen
for smart commands.
Now, staying on the topic of entertainment,
let's move from audio
to video,
with the Google Chromecast
with Google TV.
Now this is a new product from Google,
giving you an all new interface
for watching, streaming content.
And I think this is the best deal you can get
when it comes to streaming,
as this device is just $49.99.
In exchange for your money,
you get the more powerful Chromecast
along with the new Google TV experience.
Together, it's a big increase in functionality and usability
when compared to previous Chromecast models,
that required you to use a tablet or smartphone
to operate them.
Now, included in the box,
you have a traditional remote control with remote interface,
which will be familiar to everyone, along with of course,
voice control.
So speaking of that remote,
there is a Google Assistant button,
that has a different color from the rest of the remote,
and you activate it with a long press
as you give your voice command.
Now, my favorite thing here is to use voice search,
to find content.
Or if you have other Google Assistant smart devices
in your home,
you can control the Chromecast from those
by saying things like, "okay, Google turn on the TV",
or "okay, Google play "Stranger Things" on Netflix."
The device itself is available in three colors,
snow,
sunrise, and sky.
Then you can stream in 4KHDR with support for Dolby Vision
and HDR10+ video, as well as Dolby Atmos audio.
Logging into your Google account
will populate the main screen
with relevant and recommended content for you.
Okay, moving away from entertainment and into the kitchen.
Let's talk about the Moen Essie smart faucet.
And I know a lot of you might be scratching your head,
wondering why I'm bringing up a faucet
in a video about voice controlled, smart home tech,
but that's exactly what this is.
The Moen Essie smart kitchen faucet is controllable
in four ways.
Through an app, through the hands-free motion sensor,
by using the handle on the side,
or by using your voice.
So, you can use Alexa or the Google Assistant
to ask for it to dispense water amounts
as small as one tablespoon
or as large as 15 gallons.
And you can even ask for it to be dispensed
at a specific temperature.
So some examples, you can ask for one cup of cold water,
or three tablespoons of warm water,
or even a half gallon of 90 degree water.
The touchless motion sensor is also a nice touch,
especially when your hands are dirty.
You just want to wash them
without touching the faucet or handle,
and without saying a voice command.
And the power boost spray technology,
lets you clean faster and increases the water output speed
to fill pots quicker.
Up next, let's talk about managing the temperature
in your home,
with the Ecobee smart thermostat.
Ecobee smart thermostat connects to your home Wi-Fi network,
allowing you to control the temperature from anywhere
that you have an internet connection.
Now, this isn't new as Google's Nest thermostats,
do the same thing.
However, there are a couple of things
that set the Ecobee smart thermostat apart,
from the competition.
The first is built-in support for Apple home kit,
allowing you to control it with Siri
and even more impressive,
the Ecobee smart thermostat has Amazon Alexa built in.
So not only can you control it with other devices
using the Google Assistant Alexa or Siri,
but the Ecobee smart thermostat itself
is an Amazon Alexa device, meaning,
you can talk to the thermostat,
not only to control the temperature on the thermostat
with your voice,
but you can ask it for things like the weather,
trivia questions,
or to control the other smart devices within your home.
Inside the box you'll find the Ecobee thermostat itself,
along with one room sensor with detachable stand.
The sensor is placed in a room that's separate
from where the thermostat is placed,
allowing the system to monitor temperature and motion
in more than one spot.
So if your thermostat is on the first floor,
but you spend a lot of time on the second floor,
the Ecobee will still know that you're home
and will keep the temperature right where you want it to be.
Alternatively, it will also save you money
when you aren't home,
by optimizing the temperature accordingly,
rather than wasting your resources and cash.
You get one sensor in the box, as I mentioned,
but you can have up to 32 of these in your home,
if you're a baller.
All right, up next, let's talk about
a voice controlled, security camera.
This is the Ring Floodlight cam.
Unlike most smart cameras,
the Ring Floodlight cam gives you a camera
along with two floodlights, which output at 3000 Kelvin,
which gives you a warm hue that is perfect for outdoor use.
Both the camera and lights can have their positions adjusted
to get the best possible view for your specific use case.
The main reason you're going to get a Ring Floodlight cam
is for it's motion detection.
It has two-tiered detection,
which means it can differentiate between objects and people.
The passive infrared sensors on the Ring,
are more sensitive to objects such as cars and animals,
but you can adjust the settings so it's less sensitive
and only actively notifies you when it detects people.
Now, if you have a Google Nest Hub or Amazon Echo Show,
you can even pull up the video feed using just your voice
by saying something like,
"okay, Google, show me the backyard."
And this will pull up the 1080P full HD stream
from the 270-degree field of view camera,
but it can also save clips whenever it detects motion
that matches your settings.
There's also a speaker and mic built in,
allowing you to have a two-way conversation
with any visitors.
And the built-in 110 decibel siren alarm
is there to help people or animals think twice
when stepping onto your property.
So, there you have it guys, six smart home devices
that all could be controlled with the power of your voice.
Let me know what you think,
and be sure to hit me in the comments below,
to let me know which of these make the most sense
for your home.
Again, big thank you to Home Depot
for sponsoring this video.
Links to everything I talked about
are down in the description below.
Thank you so much for watching.
As always guys, I appreciate your support.
I'm Andru Edwards,
and I will catch you in the next video.
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