For a long time, I’ve hoped for the ability to use a custom hotword/phrase on my Googles Home (that’s plural for multiple of them, obviously). But being stuck at home for the last couple months has even further highlighted just how exhausting it is to repeat the name of a mega tech company when trying to set a timer for my dinner.
The Google Home app is, well, home to a sprawling number of settings and menus for controlling Smart Displays, speakers, Wi-Fi routers, and much more. Google is now redesigning the “Home settings” menu with better organization and the Material Theme.
After revamping Lighting controls in March, the Google Home app has new suggestions for linking streaming services, as well as a Live TV section.
Last week, Google announced that the highly-awaited ability to control “Hey Google” sensitivity was beginning to roll out. As of today, the new setting is more widely available for first and some third-party Assistant speakers and Smart Displays.
Google Assistant smart speakers are a handy way to stream music and for people who like to listen to music before they go to sleep, the voice-based commands can be excellent. Now, though, the handy sleep timer function of Google Assistant that turns off music after a set period of time is broken for some users.
Audio adjustments on Google’s smart speakers and Smart Displays are quite straightforward. The company is now testing the ability to set a separate Google Assistant volume level in the Home companion app.
Last September, Google briefly described an upcoming Assistant feature that would help reduce unintentional hotword activations. Introduced as a privacy measure, you can tune how sensitive Smart Displays and speakers will be to “Hey Google,” with the feature now rolling out.
Smart speakers powered by Google Assistant can be very powerful tools and IFTTT, a third-party service, can make them even more powerful. For several hours, though, integration between IFTTT and Google Home devices was down entirely for many users and is still suffering for some.
Last month, we exclusively revealed Google’s plans for a new Chromecast Ultra based on Android TV. The latest Google Home app is now showing signs of picking up a set-up process for televisions.
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Wherever you happen to be, you’re now potentially working from home. It’s a strange and interesting new experience for many of you out there who have never done so before, we’re sure.
Last year, the Google Home app was redesigned to only feature two main sections, including a centralized “Feed” that highlights important changes. Google is now rolling out Nest Cam events to the Home app and an improved Lights quick action.
The Google Home app has been getting revamped in a few ways to better support Nest devices and, now, the app is preparing to support emergency calling details on your smart speakers.
Google Assistant can be a really helpful tool for controlling your smart home, but it’s always frustrating when it doesn’t work properly. Right now, some Google Home owners are reporting that Assistant’s August Smart Lock integration is currently broken at least in part.
You’d be forgiven if you didn’t know that Google Home speakers and smart displays double as Bluetooth speakers, but they do. For those who’ve been using that functionality over the years, a strange bug has popped up over the past year or so where Google Home devices disconnect from Bluetooth and, now, Google is finally acknowledging the problem.
Google’s flagship Pixel 3 and Pixel 4 phones both have extra features exclusively used when docked on the official Google Pixel Stand wireless charger. Google is preparing to launch another such feature for the Pixel Stand in version 1.4.0 of the companion app, bringing convenient smart home controls via the Google Home app.
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Google’s collection of smart speakers, formerly Google Home, is usually pretty reliable. However, a faulty software update seems to be killing some Google Home units over the past few days for those enrolled in the Preview Program.
If you ever visit a friend or relative’s house and want to share some tunes, then the Guest Mode for Google Home speakers might be a handy feature. However, it appears that this mode has gone missing.
Hulu has now added full voice control support for the Chromecast and any Google Smart Displays you may have including the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max.
Smart speakers make a lot of tasks super easy, but Google made shopping lists difficult for a long time. Now, the company is rolling out integration with its Keep Notes app, which allows users to finally manage a shopping list from Google Home. Here’s how to set it up.
October’s visual revamp of the Google Home companion app did nothing to tame the complicated assortment of Assistant device preferences. However, one tweak rolled out this past week tries to clarify how personalization and notification settings — particularly for the Nest Hub — works.
Google today announced its Google Shopping 100, which collates the most trending gifts that have been searched for in the United States — with the Google Home taking the #1 spot in the tech trending list.
Every year at CES, companies unveil their latest smart home products and gadgets, taking common household items and connecting them to the Google Assistant. Ahead of CES 2020, the Google Assistant’s developer pages have been updated to include a wide variety of new smart home devices, furniture, and appliances for the bedroom, kitchen, and beyond.
This time last year Google Assistant smart speakers seemed to be extremely popular with huge sales numbers and explosive growth. However, a year later things aren’t looking so hot. According to a recent report, Google Assistant smart speakers shipments have dropped dramatically by over 40%.
At this month’s hardware event, a revamp of the Google Home app was unveiled alongside the Nest Mini, Wifi, and new Aware subscription. Featuring a consolidated look and more functionality, this redesign is coming to iOS “over the next few days” and already rolling out on Android.
