If you want to secure your home, Google's Nest range is one of the smartest and easiest ways. All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. There's no need for an expensive, professionally installed home security system for a little peace of mind. You can keep tabs on your home when you're away, check in on your kids or pets, and discourage intruders with a few well-placed security cameras and connected devices.

During its I/O annual developer conference earlier this year, Google said it was giving users the ability to transition their first-generation Nest Cam Indoor and Nest Cam Outdoor devices from the old Nest app to its new Home application. Well, the time has come -- for the indoor camera, at least. Google has just started rolling out the ability to manage the camera model through the public preview version of its Home app, and it will take a few weeks before it's done making its way to all users. Nest cameras used to have their own application before the company was acquired by Google. Over time, Google added support for all its smart home products to its Home app, but users of the the oldest Nest cameras had to stick to the original application to be able to manage their devices.

Google's Nest Thermostat is on sale for just $90 for Black Friday, with a tidy $40 discount. That's among the lowest prices we've seen, and close to the lowest it has gone for so far. Like most smart home devices, the Nest Thermostat grants control via smartphone, tablet, laptop or even a smart display like Amazon's Echo Show or Google's Nest Hub (both of which are seeing significant Black Friday deals). Since it's programmable and capable of knowing when you're home, the thermostat can save energy by not overly heating or cooling an empty house. Google designed it to be easy to install, and most people can do it themselves.

The smart home ecosystem is getting a little more integrated: Google just updated its Amazon Alexa Skill to work on its latest Nest cameras. So if you already own a variety of Nest and Alexa devices, they'll work together more seamlessly moving forward. Now, you can stream live feeds from your Nest cameras, doorbells and other devices to anything from your Amazon Fire TV to any Echo device. Amazon made a similar gesture to open up its own smart home ecosystem last month, when it announced that its doorbells and security cameras would work with Google Nest, Ring, Abode and other third-party devices. Amazon's Ring doorbell already works with Google Home and Apple Homekit.

Setting up the Nest Cam is quick and easy in the Google Home app. Setting up the camera took me about five minutes. Plug it into a power outlet, open the Google Home app, and follow the in-app instructions. Drywall anchors, screws, and a base with a built-in mounting bracket are also included in the box. The Google Home app is where you can view and manage notifications, as well as toggle video recordings settings.

More than six months after its original line of aging Nest cameras began running out of stock, Google has taken the wraps off a quartet of new Nest cams, including a floodlight cam and a successor to the Nest Hello video doorbell. Boasting smaller designs, updated features, and more affordable price tags, all four of the revamped Nest devices also come with a killer feature: on-device, AI-powered detection of people, animals, vehicles, and (for the doorbell) packages, all without a subscription. Among the new devices is the $99.99 Nest Cam, a wired camera that marks the first Nest camera to be priced less than $100 (well, a penny under, anyway), while the $180 Nest Doorbell boasts a head-to-toe field of view and runs on either battery or low-voltage wired power. Also coming soon is a $180 wireless Nest Cam, which can run on either battery or wired power and can be installed either outdoors or inside, plus the $280 Nest Cam with floodlight. Two of the new Nest products--the Nest Doorbell and the battery-powered Nest Cam--will arrive on August 24, while the wired Nest Cam and the Nest Cam with floodlight are coming "at a later date," Google said.

It has become commonplace--and somehow not at all weird--to ask your speaker for a weather report, or to command your television to switch on HBO. This is the new now, a place we've been ever since Alexa marched into our living rooms and Siri snuck into our pockets. And it's likely the future, as voice-controlled smart-home speakers and devices continue to proliferate like bunnies in the spring. The thing is, I'm not quite sure it's the future we asked for. Haven't we already decided the smartphone is the best tool for ambient internet tasks?

If you're considering a video doorbell, the Nest Hello should be on your short list. It has great video quality, a solid app, and it operated flawlessly during my test. There's slick integration with Google Home and Google Assistant, and a recently launched 5-day subscription plan for storing video in the cloud reduces one of the biggest hurdles to a Nest system: the ongoing running cost. It's a worthy competitor to the Ring Video Doorbell 2, but the Nest Hello requires wiring so we still recommend the Ring if you need a battery-powered device. Nest Hello is a smart, good-looking doorbell that feels solid and well made.

Google's voice-activated assistant is branching out to Nest's deluxe security camera in an expansion that may amplify the privacy concerns surrounding internet-connected microphones. The virtual assistant is being offered to owners of the Nest Cam IQ in a free update rolling out Wednesday. The move comes just two weeks after Nest moved back under Google's direct control after spending nearly 2 1/2 years as a separate company owned by the same parent, Alphabet Inc. The $300 Nest Cam will give Google another potentially valuable earhole in its battle with Amazon and Apple to build digital command centers in people's home. That ambition has already spurred warnings from privacy watchdogs about the potential for internet-connected devices being used as surveillance tools.

Google's assistant already can be used to control Nest's cameras and internet-connected thermostat through its internet-connected speaker, Home, and smartphones running on its Android software. This will be the first time that people will be able to interact with the digital concierge through a security camera.