Google, Amazon and Facebook are all talking up smart displays to live on your kitchen bench or bedside table, but are screens old news in the modern smart home?

Google Home Hub is the latest member of Google's popular smart speaker family. At first glance, it looks like a Google Home with an LCD bolted on top - which seems pretty superfluous, given you can use existng Homes to stream video to TVs.

However, it turns out that the main selling point isn't video streaming at all. (The key is in the product's name.) In short, it will act as the central hub for all your smart home devices, allowing you to control them at a glance.

Picture this: Your home is full of "smart" gadgets that you didn't set up yourself, but you have a decent understanding of how to use them — or, at the very least, how to yell at to play your favourite music.

Going to the effort of setting up a smart home just so you can turn your lights on and off from your phone may not seem like the best use of your time and resources, but with the right gear and apps you can put together some routines that really will impress family, friends and occasional Airbnb guests. Here are five of our favourites.

Smart home tech is becoming more and more common. So much so that it's worth considering when it comes time to sell your home, especially because it can be so expensive. Does it add value to your home? Or is it merely a perk? Before you go installing the latest gear, here's what you should know.

Rarely lost for words, Google, Apple and Amazon's talkative smart speakers are auditioning for the role of all-knowing oracle in Aussie homes. But which version should rule your aboad?

We compare the Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple Homepod at playing music, helping around the house, doing stuff online and actually understanding your requests. Here's how each unit fared.

The number of smart connected devices in our homes is growing at a rapid rate, and that means more opportunities for unwelcome visitors to access your devices and your network. Whether you've got one smart home device or one hundred, here's what to do to make sure your setup is as safe and secure as it can be.

The day we've been waiting for is finally here - we can finally pre-order the Amazon Echo, welcoming her into our homes in early February.

But what exactly will the Aussie Alexa, with her new 'strayn accent, be able to do?

Amazon Echo, the voice-controlled smart home gizmo that "inspired" Google Home, is finally coming to Australia! Here are the pricing, model and availability details for the local market.