Google Assistant

Google Assistant now supports controlling freezers and air coolers

Kyle Bradshaw | May 18 2020 - 5:30 pm PT

Spring has sprung in the northern hemisphere, and things are warming up outside, which means many of us are looking for ways to keep cool indoors. To help, Google now allows developers to integrate the Google Assistant with freezers and air coolers.

The list of “things” in the Internet of Things is seemingly endless and continues to grow, with the Google Assistant most recently gaining public support for routers, smart TVs, and remotes. The latest two types of devices to be added to the official Google Assistant developer documentation are freezers and air coolers.

Considering the Google Assistant has long been able to manage smart refrigerators, it’s a bit surprising that it took this long for freezer support to arrive. Google recommends that any smart freezers give the Assistant the ability to change between modes, manage the temperature, and power on and off.

As for air coolers, admittedly, I had not heard of an air cooler before today, or known the difference between an air cooler and an air conditioning system. Thankfully, Google spells out the differences in the documentation.

Air coolers are devices that allow temperature cooling and humidity control. These devices are typically more lightweight and portable than air conditioners, and have a water tank attached. Air coolers may not support heating or setting exact temperatures. Interactions with air coolers may include changing the fan speed and humidity setting.

As always, don’t expect to pick up a smart freezer or air cooler with Google Assistant support any time too soon. This is simply an update to the developer documentation and dedicated device types, intended to help companies build Assistant support for their future devices.