How do you choose a smart home hub?

Each smart home hub has different options. Determine a number of properties you'd like it to have by asking yourself the following questions:

• Which platform do you want to control your smart products with?
• Do you want to use voice control?
• Do you need a hub with a screen?

If you're looking for a hub to control all your smart products with, it's important for the hub to support the right platforms. That's why you should check which smart home platform your current smart devices work with. Is your smart thermostat compatible with Google Assistant? Choose a Google Nest Hub, for example. Don't have many smart products yet? Keep the platform of your smart home hub in mind when you buy smart products.

Before you make a choice determine if you want a smart home hub with a built-in speaker. These hubs can play music and you can control them with your voice or an app on your phone. Hubs without a built-in microphone can only be controlled with the smartphone app. Other than that, controlling your devices works the same way. If you don't like that the microphone of your hub is always listening, you may want to consider a hub without a built-in speaker.

Smart home hubs with a built-in screen have extra options. You can use the screen to display a recipe or to check if there's traffic on the way to work, for example. Not every screen has the same functionalities. There are hubs with a built-in camera for video calls and hubs that can play YouTube videos, for example. Determine if sound quality and screen size are important to you beforehand, because there are various options.