Amazon Alexa and Google Home are great control centers to navigate your new smart home, but they aren't absolute necessities. Here are other ways to make your home smarter. John Carlsen has more than ...

Google started out as a search engine, so nobody ever expected it to be directly competing with Amazon, an online retailer, in the smart home market.

NBC Select independently determines what we cover and recommend. When you click on or buy through our links, we earn a commission. Learn more. If you dream of a futuristic smart home with ...

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Amazon's Alexa sits alongside Google Home and Apple Home as one of the most popular smart home platforms on the market. This is quite an ...

Trading all of your home tech and appliances in for smart home gear is supposed to make your life easier, automating tasks and making it possible for you to control everything with your phone. But ...