Article Contents Harmony’s history with Google Home and Assistant goes way back. When support for the service first rolled out, it was an Actions on Google integration (or Assistant app). That meant you had to “ask Harmony to do something” every time, which only worked with your own voice (no support for other home members unless […]
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Google Pixel Stand review: The best accessory Google has ever made
What is a Google Home, really? If you think about it, the Google Home is just a way for Google’s virtual assistant to express itself. Assistant can live in speakers and headphones, smart displays and smartwatches, but the core function of the Google Assistant is to always be there when you need it. That’s why […]
Read MoreSpooky Google Assistant easter eggs are going live in time for Halloween
The Google Assistant is a serious tool that helps us through each day in various ways, but it also has a whimsical side. In a similar vein to last year, with Halloween just around the corner, Google has unveiled some special Assistant easter eggs relating to the most terrifying of holidays. We’ve got a list […]
Read MoreLutron’s are the first smart shades natively supported by Google Assistant
After decking your house with everything from smart lights and speakers to robot vacuums and connected ovens, the remaining things you may be looking at and wondering if they can integrate your home 2.0 setup are your shades. Replacing existing shades with new connected ones isn’t easy or cheap, but if you’ve already taken that […]
Read More[Update: APK Download] Google Home app gets smart home controls, intelligent actions, and household sharing
The Google Home app has been a mess for a while now. Instead of being a control center for your smart home, as the name suggests, the main focus is video content suggestion – a holdover from when it was the Chromecast app. We first saw evidence that a redesign was in the works a […]
Read MoreOne app to rule them all: Redesigned Google Home app rolling out now
The Google Home app redesign is in a slow rollout starting now. The most notable new feature of the update is the ability to easily control all your smart home devices from within the app. The Google Home app update coincides with the launch of the Google Home Hub, which Google hopes will be the […]
Read MoreGoogle Home is getting playback speed voice controls for podcasts and news
Any podcast app worth its salt allows you to change the playback speed. People speak at different paces; some podcasters are agonizingly slow and articulate, others talk very fast and are impossible to understand if you don’t speak their language (and even dialect) natively. That’s why it’s important to be able to set the playback […]
Read MoreGoogle Home app gets smart home controls, intelligent actions, and household sharing
The Google Home app has been a mess for a while now. Instead of being a control center for your smart home, as the name suggests, the main focus is video content suggestion – a holdover from when it was the Chromecast app. We first saw evidence that a redesign was in the works a […]
Read More‘Home View’ and redesigned Google Home app will make smart devices easier to access
Smart home devices are an absolute pain to manage, especially if you use products from multiple different companies. To help make the complicated smart home ecosystem a little simpler, Google is introducing a new ‘Home View’ for Assistant smart displays, and a redesigned Home app. The Home View shows all your connected devices at a […]
Read MoreGoogle Home Hub is official, costs just $149
As with pretty much everything Google is announcing today, the Home Hub has been leaked more than once in recent weeks. Google’s own-branded Assistant Smart Display, as expected, resembles a tablet glued onto a fabric speaker base, and it’s sadly not removable so it can’t be used as a standalone tablet. The display is a 7″ […]
Read MoreGoogle Home and Home Mini coming to The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark on October 24
At its I/O conference in May, Google announced that it would expand Home and Home Mini availability to seven new countries by the end of 2018. The smart speakers have already launched in Mexico, Spain, and, most recently, South Korea. Users from The Netherlands, Sweden, Demnark, and Norway will soon join the party. In an […]
Read MoreSensibo Sky review: A pricey but near-perfect smart controller for your air conditioner (Update: Discount coupon)
Article Contents If you live in a house with no central climate control, or if you’re making an expansion to your house and it’s impossible to get a ducted system in place, a ductless setup may be your only hope. Nest, Ecobee, and the dozen other smart thermostats we often talk about aren’t compatible with […]
Read MoreGoogle Duo v41 prepares contact pinning and calling Home devices linked to your account [APK Teardown]
Article Contents The latest version of Google Duo has landed, but like so many other updates, it doesn’t appear to change anything immediately upon installation. However, as tradition dictates, there are a couple of interesting things to see from a teardown. It looks like Duo will be adding support for pinning contacts to the top […]
Read MoreSensibo Sky review: A pricey but near-perfect smart controller for your air conditioner
Article Contents If you live in a house with no central climate control, or if you’re making an expansion to your house and it’s impossible to get a ducted system in place, a ductless setup may be your only hope. Nest, Ecobee, and the dozen other smart thermostats we often talk about aren’t compatible with […]
Read MoreBest Buy’s deal with a Google Home Mini and a 4-pack of Tiles is too good to miss
If you buy a Google Home Mini or an Amazon Echo Dot at full retail price, you’re a sucker. The $49 Google Home Mini is a favorite to be given away with TVs or phones or a particularly large tank of gas, since Google is keen to get it into everyone’s homes and get them […]
Read MoreGoogle Home Mini gets a new color: Aqua
For the first time since it launched in 2017, Google is adding a new color option to the Google Home Mini lineup: Aqua. The shade of aqua Google is using is actually quite nice — it looks like it will have no problem blending into a living room or kitchen. I think the same can […]
Read MoreJBL Link View review: Great sound from JBL, but Smart Displays still have a long way to go
Article Contents Smart displays aren’t for everyone. They’re not exactly tablets, but they look like ones and are both less and more useful, depending on how you look at them. With far superior sound and always listening mics, they act as a smart speaker for your home; but without real apps or a fully functional browser, […]
Read MoreGoogle Assistant adds support for popular Korean streaming service Bugs Music
Google’s efforts generally have a US-centric slant, but not always. Users can now set popular Korean streaming service Bugs Music as the default music provider for Google Assistant. To change your default music provider, go to Settings in the Google app, tap Settings again under the Google Assistant heading, scroll down to Services, and tap […]
Read MoreSpend time with your kids with these 3 new Google Home Disney games
There are three new Google Home Disney games for you and your kids to play. The audio-only games center on characters from Disney movies like Toy Story, Moana, and more. These new Google Home Disney games join other games centering on Star Wars, Mickey Mouse, Cars, and others. Looking for something to do with your […]
Read MoreGoogle Home and Home Mini are coming to South Korea next week
Back in May, Google announced that it would be bringing its Home smart speakers to seven new countries, including South Korea. Now, the wait is almost over as the Google Store in Korea has began listing the Home and Home Mini as coming soon. The official launch should happen next week. Google Assistant has supported the […]
Read MoreGoogle likely bringing Digital Wellbeing to Assistant and Google Home
An APK teardown of the Google app suggests that Google is revamping the settings pages of Google Assistant. Within those changes, it looks like Digital Wellbeing features are also coming to Assistant and Google Home products. Digital Wellbeing tools already appear in Android 9 Pie (beta), YouTube, and Google Calendar. A recent APK teardown […]
Read MoreNon-Google smart speakers aren’t performing Assistant Routines correctly
Users are reporting that Google Assistant Routines aren’t working correctly on third-party smart speaker hardware. Routines work fine on Google Home products, but not on non-Google-branded speakers. Google so far isn’t acknowledging the issue, instead directing users to smart speaker OEMs. While Google Home products are by far the most popular smart speakers which integrate […]
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