Since its availability in August 2017 in France, Google Assistant has had two hotwords: The well-known “Okay Google”, and “Dis Google” (meaning “Say Google”). Google has now announced support of the “Hey Google” hotword support in France for the beginning of July.
Smart speakers have basically taken over our homes in 2019, and there is no sign of that slowing down with the arrival of new form factors and even smart displays. If you’ve yet to join in on the fun or are looking for some additional options for your home, here are the best Google Assistant speakers and smart displays.
With all the hype around the Pixel 4 this week, we thought it might be good to look at some of the other things Google might have in the Made by Google hardware pipeline. A new hardware prototype, codenamed “Visalia,” has popped up in the Fuchsia OS source code, which could be yet another Google Home device.
At I/O 2019 last month, Google announced price cuts for its entire Home lineup. Another round of deals have kicked off today on the Google Store and other retailers, with the most notable being a $269 Google Home Max and $99 bundle that includes the Nest Hub, Home Mini, and C by GE smart bulb.
Google demonstrated at I/O 2019 how AI could be leveraged to extend and create new accessibility features. On Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the company is publishing a series of how-to videos about setting up Google Assistant and Google Home.
The new “Google Nest” brand was unveiled last week at I/O 2019 and the company is already advertising it. While Nest Hub Max is the first product launching under that unification, the existing Home Hub was rebranded immediately. That new name is live in Google Home 2.11, while several references to future products and features were removed.
At I/O 2019, Google announced that moving forward its smart home products would be branded under “Nest.” The Home Hub became the Nest Hub, while the first product from this initiative is the Nest Hub Max. Meanwhile, Google confirmed that Home speakers will get Nest branding in the future, while Nest Accounts will be migrated to Google Accounts to address recent security issues.
Starting today, Google is making a welcome change to Google Assistant. You can now cancel alarms on Google Assistant and devices like the Google Home by just saying “Stop.”
Google I/O 2019 is upon us! If years past are any indication, the annual developer event in Mountain View, California is set to bring us the latest in Android, Google Assistant, Google Maps, AR initiatives, YouTube, and much, much more. This year is particularly notable, though, because we’re expecting some new developments from the hardware side of things too…
Mother’s Day in the U.S. is next Sunday, May 12th and Google has a clever ad that ties into its iconic “Hey Google” hotword. The one minute clip is accompanied by a Google Store sale on Home products, including a return of the $99 Home Hub.
After a nasty bug hit some Android TV users, Google pulled the related functionality for all users for the sake of privacy. Slowly, some users have seen the functionality restored, and Google has today confirmed to us in a statement that Android TV casting from Google Home has been re-enabled.
Following Home’s new “Gentle Sleep & Wake” feature yesterday, Google speakers and Smart Displays now support YouTube Music’s free tier. This allows you to listen to stations that feature ads, with availability starting today in 16 countries.
The latest version of the Google Home app for Android is rolling out this morning and it reveals two new codenames. Google Home 2.10 describes “Zion” — a “border router” with “built-in smart plug” — in-depth and “Speaker V,” as well as a “ultrasound proximity detection” feature.
At CES 2019, Philips Hue announced Google Assistant integration for its sleep and wake up feature. In time for spring, ‘Gentle Sleep & Wake’ for Google Home and Hue smart lighting is launching today.
Google Assistant is full of awesome tricks, and recently it’s just added another. Here’s how to activate Do Not Disturb on your smartphone using just a single voice command with a nearby Google Home device.
Arguably one of the biggest and most frustrating aspects of Google Home devices is the constant repeating of actions it has performed when you ask it to run an Assistant routine.
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I’m a big Google Home user. I have one in pretty much every room in the house, and in some rooms, I have two. This works out fine for the most part, but something that’s unique about having so many Homes is that there’s a more-than-average number of them constantly battling to figure out which one you’re talking to. Sometimes that goes well, and other times, it’s very broken.
Google’s platform for the big screen, Android TV, was recently subject to a potentially scary bug. To help ease concerns, Google temporarily disabled some of the related functionality, but nearly a month later, casting content from Google Assistant to Android TV is still totally broken, and the company has gone silent.
Google Home users last month got a brief preview of the John Legend voice announced at I/O 2018. Starting today, it is officially available as Assistant’s first-ever celebrity cameo across Google devices. However, it is only available for a limited time.
The latest version of the Google Home app is rolling out this evening with several new features in development. Google Home 2.9.65 reveals that Nest device setup might soon be available through the app, while there is an explicit reference to “FaceMatch.”
Google is giving all basketball fans the ability to tune into March Madness for free simply by asking your Smart Display, Home Hub, Google Home, or simply the Google Assistant to play the game.
As the smart speaker market continues to heat up, Qualcomm is jumping into the ring to provide a new chipset for OEMs to use. The new Qualcomm QSC400 makes some big promises for future products, here’s what you need to know.
Last year the Nvidia Shield, Android TV’s flagship offering, added full control via Google Assistant. Now, Android TV as a whole seems to be adding better Google Assistant controls for all devices using the platform.
The Continued Conversation feature that was rolled out not too long ago to US users has now made the short hop over the pond meaning that we UK users no longer have to keep asking to activate Google to get answers (via Android Police).
