cnet.com
Google Home welcomes 12 new partners in big smart home update
Andrew Gebhart
The Google Home is at last starting to fulfill its potential in the
smart home. With a dozen new companies announcing integrations with its
platform, the search giant has dramatically increased what its smart
speaker can do.
Starting today, for most of these new additions, you'll be able to give
a voice command to the Google Assistant built into the Google Home smart
speaker and control devices from these 12 companies:
• August
• Lifx
• Wink
• Rachio
• TP-Link
• First Alert
• Vivint
• Best Buy Insignia
• Frigidaire
• Anova
• Geeni
• Logitech Harmony
It's the first major update to Google's smart speaker since it launched
last November. Back then, the Home worked with four platforms: Nest,
Philips Hue, SmartThings and IFTTT. As a result, the Home was well
behind its chief competitor -- the Amazon Echo -- when it came to
controlling the smart home. Since then, Google's new partner
announcements have included a few at CES in January, as well as Belkin
WeMo lighting products and Honeywell connected thermostats a few weeks
after that.
Say the wake words "Hey, Google" or "OK, Google" and you can issue a
command to the Home without needing to hit any buttons.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET
This announcement doesn't quite even the playing field with Amazon,
since Amazon's assistant Alexa now has more than 10,000 "skills" --
essentially third-party apps for voice control. Still, it's a big push
in the right direction that includes many popular smart home products.
It also expands Google Home's abilities into new territory. Previously,
the Google Assistant only worked with lights, plugs, switches,
thermostats and recently robot vacuums. Today's announcement includes
locks, sprinklers, an air conditioner, a sous vide cooker and even a
professionally installed smart home system. It comes hot on the heels of
the news that the Home is coming to the UK and Europe in April.
Google promised a push of this sort back in December of last year, when
the company announced it'd be expanding Weave -- the language Google's
devices use to speak to each other. Now, that promise is coming to fruition.
What we know about these new integrations
Ask Google to lock your door.
Chris Monroe/CNET
August
This is the first lock to work with Google Home. You'll be able to ask
the Google assistant to lock your door or check on the status of the
lock. Unlike with Alexa, you won't be able to ask Google to unlock your
door. August has promised that feature for Google later this year. With
Alexa, unlocking the door requires you to say a PIN code. We'll see what
extra security measures August puts into place for the Google Home when
the time comes.
For now, you can control both the first- and second-generation August
locks with the Google Assistant as long as you also have the August
Connect Wi-Fi Bridge. August now works with Alexa, Apple's HomeKit and
Google Home.
Lifx
Just like with Philips Hue bulbs, you'll now be able to turn your Lifx
bulbs on or off, adjust their brightness and change their color with a
voice command to the Home. Unlike Philips Hue, Lifx bulbs don't require
a hub to connect to the internet. Install your bulbs, link your account
in the Google Home app and give your command. Lifx bulbs also work with
Alexa, and will soon work with HomeKit.
Control any lighting devices or thermostats you have connected to your
Wink Hub.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET
Wink
All Wink-compatible lighting products and thermostats will now work with
the Google Home. Wink's lighting products include bulbs, switches,
dimmers and outlets. Wink joins SmartThings as the second major smart
home platform to work with Google. Wink currently works with Alexa as
well, but not HomeKit.
Rachio
Another new trick for the Google Home, you'll now be able to turn on
your garden sprinklers with your voice. The Rachio Smart Sprinkler
Controller connects to your home's Wi-Fi and monitors the weather to
help you water more efficiently. Rachio can control up to 16 zones of
in-ground sprinklers, and now you'll be able to command Google to turn
those sprinklers on or off or set a weather delay. Rachio works with
Alexa as well.
Change the color of your TP-Link bulbs with the Google Home.
Chris Monroe/CNET
TP-Link
Expanding Google's repertoire of bulbs and switches, you'll be able to
control any of TP-Link's lighting products with your voice as well. With
TP-Link's bulbs, you can change the color, dim the bulbs and turn the
lights on and off with your voice. TP-Link even specified the colors you
can pick with a voice command: yellow, red, blue, purple, orange, green
and pink. Like the rest of these partners so far, TP-Link works with Alexa.
Vivint
Unlike the rest of the items on the list, you won't be able to take
advantage of Vivint's new integration with the Google Home today -- it's
due to launch in April. Vivint's also the only item on the list that is
a professionally installed, whole-home smart system as opposed to
individual do-it-yourself options.
Thanks to Vivint's customized setups, Google Home will be able to
control types of gadgets not yet available on the DIY front -- including
cameras, security systems and garage doors. Pick your package of choice
for professional installation, and you'll be able to do the basics with
Google's smart speaker as well -- such as controlling lights, locks and
thermostats. Vivint offers similar capabilities through packages that
include an Amazon Echo.
Best Buy Insignia
Plug your fan or lamp into the Best Buy Insignia Wi-Fi Smart Plug, and
you'll be able to turn it on or off with your voice. As with the rest of
Google Home's compatible smart plugs, Insignia also has an Alexa skill.
Frigidaire
Perhaps making use of Google's existing ability to control the temp via
a thermostat, the Frigidaire Cool Connect will let the Google Home keep
your place cool. Using your voice, you'll be able to control the
temperature settings on Frigidaire's smart air conditioner. You'll also
be able to set the fan speed and ask Google about the Cool Connect's
current settings. Frigidaire does have a skill enabling similar controls
with Amazon's assistant Alexa.
Use your voice to cook a steak.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET
Anova
With the Anova Precision Cooker Bluetooth + Wi-Fi, you can make your
sous vide cooking even more high tech with the Google Home. Just like
with Anova's Alexa skill, you can use your voice to set the temperature,
check the status of your cooker and even search for recipes. Anova
expects its Google Home integration to be ready by early next week.
Geeni
Bringing even more smart lighting products to the table, you'll be able
to control Geeni's smart switches and bulbs with Google Home, just like
you can with Geeni's Alexa skill.
First Alert
With the First Alert Wi-Fi Thermostat, Google now offers another option
for controlling your temperature with your voice. Similar to First
Alert's Alexa skill, you'll be able to set and check on the temperature
with the Google Assistant.
Logitech Harmony
You could already control your TV to an extent with Google Home and
Google's Chromecast. Logitech Harmony brings lots of extra talents to
Google's digital entertainment repertoire. By creating activities in the
Logitech app, you'll be able to tell Google to turn on Netflix, or
switch to a specific channel. You'll need to start each command with
"OK, Google, ask Harmony to..." though I'd expect Google and Logitech to
offer more flexible and intuitive commands soon.
Logitech's compatible hubs -- the Harmony Hub, Harmony Companion and
Harmony Elite -- also control a variety of third-party smart home
devices, so you'll be able to dim the lights, turn on your speakers and
launch the HBO app all with a customized command such as, "Hey, Google,
ask Harmony to turn on movie time." Logitech has a similar set of skills
you can enable with Amazon's Alexa.
Finally gaining ground
Since all of Google's new partnerships are already tied to Alexa,
Google's obviously still playing catch up. Today, though, Google took a
sizable chunk out of Alexa's lead.
The Google Assistant built into the Home also responds to more flexible
language than Amazon's Alexa. Because of that, and thanks to all of
these new integrations, Google is already nipping at Amazon's heels in
the smart home, despite the Echo's two-year head start.
--
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist Feel free to visit my
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