Google neglected Wear OS for years, but it seems the company is finally ready to take things seriously. Alongside the reveal of the Pixel Watch earlier today, the company also confirmed that, finally, Wear OS is getting a Google Home app.

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We’ve been hearing about the Matter smart home standard and what it could do for ages now, and things are on track to finally arrive later this year. In an interview ahead of this week’s Google I/O, the company has teased what Matter will mean for the Google Home app going forward.

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There are tons of music streaming services out there, and Apple Music is one of the more popular ones for offering lossless playback at a reasonable price. So how do you listen to your music from Apple Music on Google Home devices? Well, it’s quite easy. This guide will take you through it step by step.

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Following the ability to set seconds-long delayed starts, Google has made another tweak to Assistant Routines that lets you rename these macros to be different from their starters.

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Google Home is at the forefront of smart home automation. That being the case, we expect heavy customization and the ability to change minute details depending on how we like our homes to run. One of those fine details is being able to delay certain actions in Google Home’s Assistant Routines.

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The Google Home app is getting a rather sizable redesign of the device grid that makes it faster to control smart gadgets right from the main tab. This is more or less similar to the Device controls page on Android 11+.

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At the end of last year, Google thoroughly redesigned and simplified the process of creating Assistant Routines. That update introduced sunrise/sunset triggers, and Google will soon let you program a delay between when the command is given and the Assistant Routine starts. 

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Google recently updated the default “Shopping List” experience used by Assistant and Home devices. For many users, it’s a huge visual and functional regression that has taken away useful capabilities.

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After updating the primary tab with interactive device toggles inspired by Android 11, the Google Home app wants to redesign the “Feed” to be more useful.

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Following Android, Google Home for iOS is now starting to roll out the ability to remote control your Chromecast with Google TV from your phone. Version 2.48 also makes tweaks to Google Wifi stats and graphs.

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People like using their Google Assistant Smart Displays and speakers to play white noise before sleeping. Google earlier this week changed the white noise ambient sound and there has been an onslaught of complaints from Home/Nest users.

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Google Assistant speakers and Chromecast-compatible products were hit with some big changes last week, as Google lost a lawsuit from Sonos that required the company to make some changes. Now, the “Device Utility” app Google built to work around those changes is being review-bombed as users express their discontent with the alterations.

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Following yesterday’s announcement of changes to Speaker Groups and Assistant device set-up, Google has started to update its devices and applications. The latest version of the Google Home app no longer lets you use a phone’s physical volume button on the Media screen/player. 

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Following the US ITC ruling in favor of Sonos, Google this afternoon announced a series of changes to how Speaker Groups and its Assistant devices work.

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Just like last year, we’ve put together an end-of-year recap of all the major features that Google Assistant and Google Home launched in 2021.

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Before Google Wifi was announced alongside the original Pixel phone, Google a year earlier released OnHub-branded routers from Asus and TP-Link. In late 2022, Google will end support for OnHub routers that will be seven years old at that time.

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The latest batch of Google Nest cameras bring a lot to the table when it comes to new features, but as we’ve said in our reviews so far, they’re held back by the Google Home app. Luckily, Google is working on it. Today, Google is rolling out an update that brings navigation controls to the event timeline in the Home app for Nest cameras.

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The latest Google Home version 2.47.10 is now rolling out D-Pad controls for even more precise management of your Android TV or Chromecast with Google TV devices.

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As promised last month, the Google Home app now features a built-in remote to control your Android/Google TV. Starting on Android, you no longer have to use the Google TV app or the included physical remote to control your television.

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After leaving its lineup stagnant for years, Google finally brought new Nest products to the market this year in the form of new cameras and an updated doorbell. However, Google is also in the process of moving Nest owners from one app to another, and in the meantime, owners with both generations of products are left in a place where everything is confusing and frustrating.

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Google’s 2021 Smart Home Developer Summit today sees a number of developments around Matter, including Android support via Play services. The announcements start with “Google Home” now serving as the name for the company’s entire smart home platform, developer program, and tools.

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In late August, Google rolled out a pair of new features for Assistant Routines. Google’s Home and Away Routines for smart home devices now has a new arrive/leave location trigger.

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The ability to “Test device speed” was one of the last remaining features of the old Google Wifi app that had yet to be migrated to Google Home with June’s Wi-Fi redesign. An update today introduces that check, and reveals work on ISP access to your Google/Nest Wifi router.

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Google’s latest home security cameras ditch the aging Nest app and focus solely on the Google Home app, but what about users with older cameras too? Google has confirmed that the Home app will start showing Nest notifications for all cameras… at some point.

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With the launch of the Nest Cam line and Doorbell, Google is requiring the Home app and bringing over a slew of legacy features from the old companion client. Google Home 2.42 adds support for the new security cameras, and reveals works on two other efforts.

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Like with the $129 Nest Thermostat that launched last year, the Google Home app is needed to control the new Nest Doorbell and Cam lineup. The companion client will be updated with several camera features in the process.

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Back in November, device settings for the Nest Hub and Hub Max in the Google Home app were updated with a cleaner design and improved organization. The Google Home settings revamp is now coming to various Nest speakers and Chromecast streamers.

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After an update last month focused on Wi-Fi management, the latest version of the Google Home app greatly improves the Nest Hello experience with more controls.

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In addition to a new Nest/Google Wifi update, the Google Home app is getting the last few remaining Wifi-related features from the old client that’s set to be deprecated.

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For some users, Assistant has a tendency to pick up “Hey Google” and answer on the wrong Smart Display/speaker. Google is now soliciting feedback when the wrong Home activates with a “Which device did you expect to respond?” notification.

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With Project Connected Home over IP (CHIP), Google, Apple, Amazon, and many other companies two years ago set out to create a new standard for smart home devices. With the first products set for year’s end, this initiative is now named “Matter” with a mark to certify products.

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If you’re an owner of a Nest Thermostat, you might be encountering a frustrating bug this week. It appears that some Nest Thermostat owners are losing access of their devices through the Google Home app due to an account migration issue.

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Version 2.37 of the Google Home app is rolling out today with a small tweak that makes users more likely to use the Nest Wifi’s notification capabilities, while faster Smart Display and speaker setup is also coming.

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Last year, Google introduced presence sensing to power Home & Away Routines. The Google Home app is now using location for an “only ring when home” feature so that Smart Displays and speakers don’t sound for incoming calls when you’re out of the house and cannot answer.

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With the last major overhaul in 2019, Google simplified the Home app to have two primary screens from four. Google Home now has settings to customize the “Feed” tab to “choose the types of events” that can appear.

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As it stands today, Google has two distinct apps for managing your Google Wifi and Nest Wifi networks, with Google Wifi and Google Home. Starting next month, the older Google Wifi app is shutting down in favor of the all-in-one Google Home.

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At the start of the year, the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max started playing a new sound following a successful Casting connection, and that updated chime is now appearing on Google Home and Nest speakers.

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Version 2.35 of the Google Home app is rolling out on Android and iOS with some user-facing tweaks. The Home companion client today also reveals the backside of a new Google Nest device, which could be a next-generation Hello doorbell.

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Besides music and relaxing sounds, Google’s Assistant devices are frequently used for podcasts. However, a bug has emerged in the past few days that sees Google Home and Nest speakers play the wrong podcast.

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The latest update to Google’s Home companion app is rolling out on Android and iOS this morning. Besides Home 2.34 adding support for the 2nd-gen Nest Hub, the Google/Nest Wifi experience gets a big update with network usage graphs.

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The Google Home app is a central tool for controlling any device that works with Assistant, but it’s only available on smartphones. A fake Chrome extension that promised to bring “Google Home app for PC” to life fooled thousands of users, and it begs the question of why Google hasn’t actually released this officially.

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One of the biggest bonuses with the Spotify mobile app has always been the ability to cast audio from a “free” account to your Google Assistant-powered speakers and Smart Displays. A recent, quietly made change means that this privilege is now only reserved for Premium account holders.

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