Smart Light Starter Kit with Google Assistant

So originally I bought a amazon echo dot 3rd gen. And was almost immediately disappointed with it. It told me I needed a membership to listen to music, which also sounded horrible on the echo. It couldn't respond to 90% of things I asked if. So I decided to try out google mini and wow am I impressed, the sound quality alone is 10 times better on this than the echo dot. Google can actually search the web for answers they don't know. And music seems to be free but I'm not sure since I have a premium membership through YouTube already. If youre in between which to get get googles. The smart light was alright but I only used it for a few days before I switched to lifx bulbs.

Technology such as this makes us more efficient. We can focus on other things while this device takes a load off us. I love not having to switch the lights off or on with my wet hands or hands full of groceries. I love to hear this device read the morning news to me while am getting ready for work. I love it reading the bible for me!

This was my second one and the two sync together with no problem. I go to either to stream music and get the weather just by asking Google. The jokes it tells sometimes can make your day.

Great device to controlled all my google assistant compatible lights and speakers. Love that it has a mute switch for privacy even though we haven’t used that feature.

The google mini is a excellent tool for making things happen in fraction of seconds

---SETUP--- This device requires two items to set up, the included Google Assistant (a Wifi speaker) and the included WiFi light bulb. The lightbulb is installed like any regular light bulb and works with or without WiFi. The Google Assistant needs to be plugged into the wall with the included adapter and requires the download of the Google Home app to complete set up. ---FEATURES--- The key feature of this starter kit is that it turns individual, compatible WiFi light bulbs into smart lights that can be controlled with your voice. Included are one Google Assistant speaker and a regular sized light bulb. ---PERFORMANCE--- The performance of both the speaker and the light bulbs were very responsive. After I learned the specific commands that Google recognizes for the lights, I was able to get them to do what I wanted. ---EXPECTATIONS--- The product meets my expectations. I was able to dim the lights from 1% to a full bright of 100%. The particular light bulb included (760 lumens) only goes to a very bright yellow. I own two other WiFi light bulbs (800 lumens) that are also a bright yellow but all together installed on the same ceiling fan, they didn’t look any different in terms of brightness. The previously installed light bulbs were all white lights, but since these are going in a theatre room, the yellow with dimmable option works better for me. ---VALUE--- The price for the starter kit in terms of value is very good. Even if you don’t end up liking the way the WiFi lights work, which I didn’t think I would but now I can’t stop dimming them constantly because I can, you still get a Google Assistant speaker, which on its own can tell you the weather, the time, be an alarm clock, and do all sorts of other things you ask it to, like search up definitions of words while you’re reading a book. ---APPROVAL--- I highly recommend this product for people who are trying to dip their toes into what a smart home could be for them. It’s an easy and cheap way to see what smart homes are all about and you can start growing your setup over time.

For the purposes of this review, I'm sticking solely to the lighting kit - I've previously reviewed the C-Life bulbs and quite frankly, I find their strategy of limiting controlling the lights to either a Google Home or App premise severely limiting. So this review will be written from the stance of what I believe this kit to be - a practical gateway into building a smart home. The kit comes with a chalk white Google Home mini and a single light bulb. Google's Home mini is their smallest device that also boasts the full power of Google Assistant and home automation. Depending on where you are in your smart home journey, you might find that some smart home devices work better with Google Home than others do. An important item of note is - just because something works with Google Assistant does not mean it'll work seamlessly with Google Home. For example, my GE C-Life, Wemo, Hue, Sengled lights all work with the Google Home. So too, does my Simplisafe alarm system and Logitech Harmony setup. However, the one that doesn't play nice out of the box is my Ring video doorbell. Not really surprising since Amazon bought Ring. I also have a Chamberlin garage door opener, but they want me to pay to link my accounts... no thank you. I added the smart light to my existing setup in my home office as well as the Google Home mini. I honestly have nothing but good things to say about Google's platform. The AI is intelligent and always learning, and you can also mute the microphones when company comes over. If you're feeling paranoid, you can also log into your Google account and verify nothing's been recorded when the mic is off and you can also delete your request history. I set up the bulb that came in the kit to be controlled by my Google Home mini in my office - so now, when I walk into my office, I can simply tell Google Home mini to turn on the light and it works! A key difference from Google and Amazon's management system is that Google Home currently does not support creating custom groups - but, it's totally easy to work around. For example, if I'm speaking to the Google Home we have in the family room and I tell Google to "Turn off the lights", it'll only turn off the lights in the family room. If you're on the fence about getting into home automation, then this is a painless way to get started. As always, if you're adding this to an existing setup, you need to do the research and see if it'll work with what you have or if you'll have to make some compromises.

You get the best of 2 smart home devices in one small bundle. This is the perfect gift for those that want to start getting into a smart home environment. Google home reviews are very positive overall when compared to some of the other competitors. The small speaker really has a good overall sound when playing back music. Being able to sync other Google Home devices to play music in unison is also a big plus for me when I am hosting parties. The Google Home app on android is very user friendly. The light bulb itself is very easy to install with Google Home. Being able to dim the light is a benefit that some other smart bulbs lack. Since I have such a large living room space, this one bulb does not get bright enough and thus I may need to pickup one or even 2 more bulbs in order to have enough lighting for my convenience. You can't go wrong with this starter kit.