Best smart home gadgets: Awesome gifts for high-tech homes

Google Home is a Wi-Fi-connected speaker that's powered by Google Assistant, the same almost-all-knowing digital assistant that runs the show on Google's Pixel phones. With a user interface driven entirely by voice prompts, Google Home ($129 on the Google Store) can tell you about traffic and weather conditions, the latest news headlines and sports scores, and thousands of other informational tidbits. Basically, if a factoid is available via Google Search, there's a good chance Google Home can find it, and read it back to you. Google Home also lets you control other gadgets with voice commands. The list of supported devices is currently short, but includes the Nest Thermostat, Philips Hue smart bulbs and Google Chromecast.