I need to make sure i understand this correctly:
If i’m shopping for smart plugs or a smart lamp that i want to integrate into HA, what should i look for?
If it’s compatible with the google, apple or amazon environment, i’m able to integrate the specific environment into HA and control it that way, right?
When it is Zigbee compatible, how do i connect it to HA?
Not at all…
It could be, but this alone is no guarantee.
I don’t know about Apple and Alexa but you can’t control devices linked in your Google account from HA.
The other way around is possible.
With a ZigBee controller.
Sonoff or Conbee II or similar. Preferably a USB type, not wifi based.
You can look at Blakadder ZigBee list, it has a lot of devices and what integration method the device is compatible with.
So the ZigBee stick uses a software in HA to translate the traffic, and depending on this software a device may or may not be compatible.
There is ZHA (built in to HA) and ZigBee2MQTT (uses MQTT) which are the main integrations
Thanks for your answer.
You write: “The other way around is possible.” what exactly do you mean by that?
What would you recommend me to look after to be sure that it is compatible with HA?
It means you can always control device integrated into HA with Google but a Google compatible device is not guaranteed to work with HA (although it will with a very high probability).
You need to check if there is an integration for the device. Search for your brand here: Integrations - Home Assistant
Ideally you want to have a local integration (explanation).
If the brand is not listed, there is still a possibility there is a custom integration. Use HACS or your favorite search engine to find it on the community forum or GitHub.