It should be noted that the harmony between the two only works in the US, for now.The Logitech Download Assistant is designed torun during startup to check for any updates pertaining to Logitech components and peripherals such as keyboards andmice. A Harmony Companion, however, nearly doubles that to $149.99 and a full Harmony Elite will go for $349.99.
A Google Home costs $129 and the cheapest Logitech Harmony, the Hub, will set you back an additional $99. Neither can do it without the other, which also means you need to have both devices in your home for this orchestra to play its harmony. It’s a give and take relationship, with Harmony gaining the ability to obey voice commands and Google Home gaining the power to control dozens of smart devices and services. Just say “OK, Google, ask Harmony to turn on my Good Morning activity” and watch your Philips Hue lights adjust to the day and the Nest Thermostat heat (or cool) things up.
By tying the Google smart speaker and a Harmony hub together, you can just speak your Harmony commands. That is where Google Home and Google Assistant come in. The one thing Harmony hasn’t been able to do, so far, is allow you to do all of that without even pressing a button. Even better, it allows users to string together different actions around a certain theme or situation, like “movie night” or “waking up”.
Harmony offers a single place and a single method to control all these devices. Sometimes, however, that isn’t easily, or even technically, possible, which is why platforms like Logitech’s Harmony exists. Micromanaging is always inefficient, which is why there have been attempts to corral some of these devices to use a common protocol. The idea of the smart home of the future is nice and all, but the dream falls apart when every other appliance or device uses a different protocol or has its own app.
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