We’re on the verge of 2021. Sci-Fi films had us driving flying cars by now. Unfortunately, we’re not quite there yet. That does not mean we have not progressed.
Smart homes used to be a rare thing. You’d hear about them only in shows following the lives of the rich and famous. This is no longer the case. Google’s assistant, Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri (and others) made smart homes accessible.
Having done my research, I decided to go with Google. Most reviews agree it is the most advanced of the three. We currently have three Google Home minis around the house (one in each bedroom and one by the entrance), one Google Nest Hub in our Kitchen and one Google Home in our living room.
The advantages are many. We can now play music throughout the house. With Google sunsetting Google Play Music, we switched to a Deezer subscription. So far, we’re quite happy with the results. We can also control different devices from anywhere in the house by using voice commands. Smart routines automate your everyday menial tasks – you can have Google play a bedtime playlist and dim the lights when you tell it good night, for example.
We replaced all our light switches with smart ones. We also have Lifx bedside lights as well as a floor light. This means we can turn all lights around the house on or off without getting up or walking around the house.
In the living room, we have a Samsung Smart TV which also has a Google Chromecast dongle attached to it. This means we can turn the TV on or off using voice commands. We can also play content, pause and stop it the same way.
Every home is different, and the possibilities are endless. There is no doubt this is the future, and it’s tangible. It’s still rough around the edges, true. But your life can become a bit easier with a little work and some initial spend.
Keep in mind having so many wireless devices around the house can degrade your WiFi stability. We tried fixing it with a strong router – but that did not solve the problem. We finally found a solution for this recently in the form of an eero mesh network (more on that in a separate post).
Ok, Google. Publish this post.
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Optimising My Life 