zlacker

I agree with this.

I intentionally buy switches not bulbs or more complex gear. Then you plug your dirt cheap LED dumb bulb into the lamp and have it turn on and off with your voice. Much cheaper to replace when the bulb eventually burns too.

Its stupid simple, just make sure everything connects to your assistant of choice (Hey Google / Alexa / Siri - maybe?) OR just stay in one company's walled garden and you're fine. Personally I'm a fan of Wyze's hardware but don't use their apps or more complex cameras.

>>Flammy+(OP)
> OR just stay in one company's walled garden and you're fine

Google wants to have a word with you about some of the products it's sold and quickly killed.

>>Flammy+(OP)
How do you get color and dimming features with that setup?

>>inetkn+l
yeah i've been in the google/nest garden for years ... yes the dual apps are weird and that's probably because Google Home does too much already that they had to keep the Nest app but nothing has stopped working for me nor gotten any emails telling me they are sunsetting something.

>>fragme+x
wyze color bulbs works with Google Home and supports everything the app supports

>>twism+42
back in April, Google announced cancellation of several home products. dont know if they sent an email but they have a blog post.

> starting April 8, 2024 support will stop for Nest Secure

> stop support for Dropcam starting April 8, 2024.

> we will officially end Works with Nest as of September 29, 2023.

https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Blog/An-update-for-ou...

>>Flammy+(OP)
Easier to keep in sync in the physical and virtual world, plus you don't lose connection if you turn off the switch like a smart bulb.

>>twism+42
3rd party "Works with google home" stuff will often stop getting updated causing more and more functionality to break over time. Admittedly this is an issue you can avoid by entirely buying the products actually made by Google, or at least carefully selecting third parties, but a huge amount of smarthome stuff is going to be rendered non-functional because of this sort of thing.

I do think the 1st party Google Home stuff is supported well enough, and I don't think any of Google's competitors in the smarthome space are really offering anything that's obviously more compelling. I mostly recommend people either go with big brands or something that can be flashed with tasmota, pick your poison.

>>inetkn+l
Fair enough, I've generally gone with cheaper lower end products and some of them EoL, some die, but I write that off as a nature of playing with more little computers than my ancestors could have ever imagined.

It probably is important to note that like many modern tech systems, they aren't "hands free" automation. Patches come out, things desync from the network, etc.

>>fragme+x
That is one thing Wyze doesn't have: A dimmer.

I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N106YN7 then connect the Leviton dimmer to Google Assistant for voice routines crossing different app gardens.

I don't use colored lights, but you could use smart bulbs or fixed colored lights controlled via smart plugs depending on your use case. Or just get something with built in multi color, like LED strips.

There are some LED strips that maintain programming thru powering off, just like how oil radiators with physical switches maintain settings thru powering off. These devices work great with smart plugs, and in the case of an oil radiator can be hooked up to a smart thermostat for a cheap man's smart home, fully portable for moving or apartment swapping.

I can do a longer write up if you're curious.