Android Police
Prev
Posts in the last
24 Hours
sorted by
Hottest
Next

Google Home

81

Google Home's 'suggestions' are annoying and useless, and it's time for them to die
By the way, no, I don't want to check sports scores, Google

David Ruddock David Ruddock
Google Home's 'suggestions' are annoying and useless, and it's time for them to die

Imagine if every time you opened Gmail in the morning, you got a notification reminding you that you could attach files from Google Photos to your emails. Wouldn't that be incredibly annoying? On an unrelated note, ever ask your Google Home what the weather is, only for it to then "helpfully" suggest you set up the "Good morning" feature? Or check sports scores? Or tell you how to play the news? Or one of a handful of other not-very-useful tips and tricks you in no way asked for? You're not alone, and neither are you alone in the realization that there is no guaranteed way to stop these useless engagement experiments.

Read More
12

Google Home app rolls out a better and cleaner UI for routines
It has the new sunrise and sunset routines

Rita El Khoury Rita El Khoury
Google Home app rolls out a better and cleaner UI for routines

Google Home and Assistant routines have improved quite a bit since their launch in 2018. We started with six preset routines then got customization and scheduling, workday organization, home/away presence sensing, and just yesterday discovered sunrise and sunset routines. Turns out that functionality is part of a huge routines overhaul that brings the look of the feature more in line with Google's recent design language. Functionally, though, I'm sad to say not much has changed besides the new sunrise/sunset options.

Read More
5

Google is going all-in on turkey fun this Thanksgiving
New Duo filters and a turkey timer on the Assistant on top of a Translate easter egg

Manuel Vonau Manuel Vonau
Google is going all-in on turkey fun this Thanksgiving

Following its English to turkey translations in Search, Google has introduced some more fun Thanksgiving Easter eggs. On smart speakers and displays, the company has added a small audible and visual surprise when you tell the Assistant to set a turkey timer, and there is a new turkey filter in Duo that you can use for some laughs with your family while socially distancing.

Read More
33

Google's home theater integration between Chromecasts and Nest speakers is here (sort of)
The Google Home app's newest update enables watching on your Chromecast while listening through Nest speakers

Caleb Potts Caleb Potts
Google's home theater integration between Chromecasts and Nest speakers is here (sort of)

Google introduced dynamic audio grouping on the Nest Hub and other Assistant-enabled smart displays earlier this year. The feature allows devices to be added and removed from audio groups on the fly without needing to edit groups beforehand. This ability started rolling out in the Google Home app last week — and it enables a workaround that lets you cast videos to Chromecast devices while the audio plays on Nest speakers.

Read More

Popular

0
Here's everything with Google Assistant revealed at CES 2021
0
Pocket Casts will go up for sale again, three years after acquisition by public radio group
0
Here's what every camera on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra does
0
Swipe With Friends is like Tinder for finding movies and shows to watch
25

Google's smart speakers can now answer incoming phone calls in Australia (Updated)
Telstra officially announces inbound calling to Google Home and Nest speakers

Caleb Potts Caleb Potts
Google's smart speakers can now answer incoming phone calls in Australia (Updated)

This story was originally published and last updated . 

Google Assistant-enabled smart speakers have been able to make calls for a while now in countries like Australia, Canada, and the US. But the functionality was limited to outbound calls placed from the speaker itself. Now it looks like inbound call support is coming to Google's smart home products, but only on a single carrier in Australia.

Read More
89

Routines powered by 'presence sensing' are now widely available in the Google Home app
They started rolling out earlier this month

Caleb Potts Caleb Potts
Routines powered by 'presence sensing' are now widely available in the Google Home app

This story was originally published and last updated . 

The Google Home app is core to how you control and interact with dozens of different devices, so it's understandably one of Google's most feature-packed applications. It only got more interesting with version 2.28, as the new update hinted at the rebranding of Android TV, as well as adding some new features surrounding routines and home presence-sensing that were teased earlier this year. Now it seems like the new Home/Away routines powered by presence sensing are available to most users.

Read More
106

The best smart home devices you can buy right now (Fall 2020)
From voice assistant speakers to robot vacuums, and everything in between

Scott Scrivens Scott Scrivens
The best smart home devices you can buy right now (Fall 2020)

This story was originally published and last updated . 

Millions of homes now contain a smart assistant speaker of some variety and sales of IoT products continue to grow as the market matures and prices come down across the sector. With so many options available, it's hard to know what to buy, and that's where we come in — this is a selection of our favorite smart home gadgets. Whether you want to just dip your toes in the water with a cheap Google Nest Mini or dive into the deep end with smart lights, cameras, thermostats, doorbells, and so on — we’ve got you covered.

Read More
12

Google's $99 Nest Audio is official and available for pre-order right now
Google says it delivers 50 percent more bass than the original Home

Taylor Kerns Taylor Kerns
Google's $99 Nest Audio is official and available for pre-order right now

Like practically everything else at today's Launch Night In event, Google's new speaker, the Nest Audio, was leaked extremely thoroughly. We learned the name early and we had a good idea of the $99 price tag weeks ago. It's turned up in stores, and it even got an early unboxing. But now, finally, it's official.

Read More
19

Routines are replacing Nest Home/Away Assist, but it's a little confusing
Google Home routines will live alongside similar functionality in the Nest app for now

Caleb Potts Caleb Potts
Routines are replacing Nest Home/Away Assist, but it's a little confusing

Earlier this month, an update to the Google Home app revealed a new presence sensing feature in the works, along with a revamped setup process for Home/Away routines. Now new information on the changes has hit online support documentation, giving us more details on what to expect as Google pushes customers away from the Nest app and toward Google Home.

Read More
38

Google's upcoming Nest Audio speakers should cost less than $100
Plus new product photos have leaked

Caleb Potts Caleb Potts
Google's upcoming Nest Audio speakers should cost less than $100

Google is poised to launch its new lineup of smart home products on September 30, and one of the new additions will be a smart speaker branded under the Nest Audio name. Earlier this summer we heard rumors about a premium Google Home successor and got an early, unflattering look when the device passed through the FCC. Google gifted us a video last month, and just a few days ago, the branding for the speaker was uncovered. Now we've got official product photos and some exclusive details to share.

Read More

What's Hot

Tip Us

Mastodon