If you're lucky enough to own a recent Sony 4K HDR set with Android TV, you now have access to the Google Assistant. As well as using it to explore video content and get information, you'll also be able to control your smart home devices, just as you can with the Assistant on your phone or a Google Home product.
Any Sony Android TV model from 2017, along with some from 2016 (XBR-Z9D, XBR-X800D, XBR-X750/X700D), will be able to make use of the Assistant, which can be summoned by pressing the microphone button on the remote control. You can command it to do your bidding in all of the ways you've come to expect, such as asking for the weather, turning the lights off, or getting directions.
This is an unsurprising development, as Google has recently been expanding the Assistant to numerous third-party devices. In its quest for ubiquity, we've seen it come to the Nvidia Shield, new speakers from the likes of Sony and Mobvoi, a Nest security camera, and even a non-Google Home smart hub in the form of Lynky. If it's got a microphone and a speaker, chances are Google's coming for it.
PRESS RELEASE
The Google Assistant is now built-in to Sony's Android TVs
Sony Electronics Announces Sony 4K HDR televisions with Android TV now work with the Google Assistant
SAN DIEGO,
Nov. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Electronics announced today that users with 2017 and select 2016 Sony 4K HDR televisions with Android TV can now use the Google Assistant to discover and access content, as well as control other smart home devices through their Sony TV. The Google Assistant on Sony TV works just by pushing the microphone button on the remote and using your voice to ask a question or say a command. This allows users to seamlessly playback content, search for content, play music, stream photos, control their TV, control their smart home devices and find general information (e.g. weather, directions, fast facts, etc.) all through their Sony TV.
"Sony's goal is to provide our customers the Smart Home functionality they desire in the manner they choose. With the Google Assistant, Sony TV owners get all the answers and tasks they need done, just by using their voice," said
Mike Fasulo, President and COO of Sony Electronics. "This software update is available today for those that already own, or plan to buy, a supported Sony 4K HDR television with Android TV – bringing new innovative technologies to our customers."
Discover and Engage with Your Content
With the Google Assistant, users can play back content or request to stream their favorite TV show from selected services such as YouTube and Netflix. With so much great content available, the Google Assistant makes it easy to find the perfect show or movie by providing a natural voice interface. For example, you can ask the Google Assistant for Netflix titles directly: "Play
Stranger Things" and the Google Assistant will respond. On YouTube, users will be able to seamlessly look for new, popular, or highly rated content by simply asking the Google Assistant, and then using voice commands to play the selection. Users can stay engaged by asking the Google Assistant questions about the content being played.
Control Your Smart Home Devices
The Google Assistant works with more than 1,000 smart devices from 150+ popular brands, and these now work seamlessly on Sony's Android TVs. Now it's easy to find the latest blockbuster, check the score of the big game, dim the lights, set the thermostat to 72 degrees, and more with the Google Assistant on your Sony TV.
Sony TVs with the Google Assistant built-in include: XBR-Z9D, XBR-X800D, XBR-X750/X700D, and all 2017 Sony Android TVs. For more information on Google Assistant compatible Sony 4K HDR televisions with Android TV, see
http://www.sony.com/electronics/tv/t/televisions. Disclaimer regarding third-party services: Subscriptions may be required to access certain content. Sony bears no responsibility in the event that services offered by third parties are changed, disrupted, suspended or terminated. For more information and the latest news on all Sony products, please visit
www.sony.com/news.
SOURCE Sony Electronics
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