Category: Google Assistant

Google has quietly done a bit of updating to the Google Assistant Partner site as well as pushing an update of integration options to the Google Home app.  The app update is a cloud-side change so as long as you have the latest version, you’ll be able to see the expanded list when you go to add a new device.

The additional partners range from everything from electric car charging, to lights and switches, to sprinkler control systems.  Some of the new integrations on the list aren’t exactly new – some have been in play for a few months – but Google just now got around to updating the official listing to let everyone know about them.

Since its release last year, Google Home has always responded to two hot words:  “OK Google” or “Hey Google”.  On phones, however, it has been “OK Google” since Google Assistant began rolling out to a broader set of devices.  That now appears to be changing.

Google has made a cloud side change for Google Assistant that now allows your phone to respond to “Hey Google”.  This change has been touted for months now, really since the October Pixel event where it was demonstrated.  The goal of this change is to allow users to have one consistent hot word to use and to make Google Assistant more conversational.

Of all of my Google devices, Google Home is quickly becoming my favorite.  I use it for everything from catching up on the morning news, listening to music or podcasts, and getting information with a simply command.  With Google Assistant built-in and Google continually adding functionality, we are only now seeing the tip of the iceberg of what Google Home could be doing for us and our smart homes in the future.

Normally Google Home is $129 but through the month of December, at the Google Store, you can pick one up for $79.  That $50 savings would effectively let you buy a Google Home Mini (nearly two in fact) so you can have Google Assistant available to you in multiple rooms in your home.  The Home Mini is down to just $29 right now at the Google Store.

Google Assistant on Google Home has picked up a nice new feature that allows you to give it two commands at once.  To this point, when you wanted to ask Assistant for something, you had to ask it one command at a time, even if they were associated with each other.  For example, you could ask, “What is the temperature outside?” but you would have to wait until it gave you the temperature information before you could tack on, “Do I need a rain coat?”   Now you can issue those commands as one single command joined with the conjunction “and”.  Now I can ask, “What is the temperature outside and will I need a rain coat?”

Not all commands work this way yet and not everyone is seeing this new functionality.  It is a cloud-side change on Google’s part so it is a matter of it making its way to Google Assistant on your account.

It has taken a long time – longer than most wanted frankly – but multiple calendar support has finally arrived on Google Home.  A cloud-side update is currently rolling out to the app that will allow you to have multiple calendars associated with Google Home and thus, you will be able to create events or get calendar information from Google Assistant.

The new feature is found in More Settings>Calendar in the Home app and you will have the ability to add or remove your calendars that you have associated with Home.  Further, you have the ability to set which calendar is your default calendar.  This is important as when you create an event through Google Assistant on Home, it will go to your default (unless you specify the calendar in the command).

Good news today for those who live in Singapore and have Singapore English as their language on their Android phones.  Google Assistant now supports you!  The addition of Singapore English comes on the heals of Spanish and Italian being added a few weeks back and while the roll out of language support has been slow, at least some progress is being made.

For those of you who have Singapore English as your default language on your phone, there isn’t anything you need to do.  If you have Google Now on Tap, you will automatically be moved over to Assistant once it rolls out to your account.  You’ll know you have it when you long press the Home button on your phone and you get Assistant instead of Google Now on Tap.  This should work on any Android phone running Lollipop or later.