Google and Nest Device Deals: Prime Day Sales

The discount fest that is Amazon Prime Day starts Monday, July 15, and a lot of people will probably pick up a discounted Amazon Device, like the retailer’s Echo speakers, equipped with its Alexa Voice Assistant.

Google isn’t thrilled with that. It would rather you purchase one of its Google Assistant devices instead. To sway you, Google is hosting its own mini Prime Day.

We here at WIRED wish you the best no matter which ecosystem you choose. (And honestly, you’re fine if you choose none at all!) But from a usability standpoint, we prefer Google Assistant to Alexa. Google answers common questions more capably, and its setup process is simpler and friendlier for any third-party devices you may want to add to your smart home.

Many Google devices are on sale, but these are our favorites. We’re primarily linking to Walmart, but these deals are also available from Google’s own store and Best Buy.

WIRED’s Prime Day Coverage

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Google’s Early Prime Day Deals

The Google Home Max is big and loud.

Google

Google Home Mini for $25 ($24 off): It’s small, but if you are just dipping your toe into smart speakers, or want a second one, the Mini is cheap and gets the job done.
Google Home Mini + GE Smart Bulb for $31 ($24 off): If you have an extra Lincoln and want to try a smart bulb, here’s an easy bundle.
Google Home for $69 ($30 off): The original Google Home sounds OK for music, just not amazing. At a sub-$100 price, it’s worth a look if you have a smaller space.
Google Home Max Speaker for $250 ($50 off): We really like this Google speaker. It was great at $400, and for $250, it will fill any room with booming audio. If you buy two, you can sync them up for stereo sound.
Google Nest Hub for $80 ($70 off): This used to be called the Google Home Hub. It’s basically like a Google Assistant speaker with a display—a small display. At its regular price, we didn’t think it was the best deal around, but we like that it has no camera, and its 7-inch screen makes it small enough to put at your bedside.
Chromecast Ultra for $54 ($15 off): The Chromecast Ultra doesn’t quite match a good Roku, but it lets you easily send video from your phone to a 4K TV, and that’s still very useful from time to time.
Nest Hello Smart Doorbell for $189 ($40 off): Amazon’s Ring doorbells grab more headlines, but the Nest doorbell has some neat face-tagging features that let it recognize your loved ones and issue alerts when they arrive, among other features. Read more about it.
Nest Cam Outdoor for $169 ($30 off): This is a pretty good outdoor camera, but oddly enough, we think it’s also one of the best baby monitors you can buy.