Google Home – A Speaker with Google Smarts

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If you’re looking to get a smart speaker, you now have choices for the one that works best for you. Google Home, as you might have guessed, is from Google and gives other speakers serious competition for putting the “smart” in smart speakers.

Verizon Wireless lent me a Google Home for review.

What You Can Do with Google Home

As with other smart speakers, Google Home can answer search questions, control smart home devices, play music, set reminders and give you information about your day. According to Google, over 1000 smart home devices from 150 manufacturers currently work with Google Home.

Google Home connects to your Google account so you can get information about your calendar, travel plans, local traffic and weather.

Waking Google Home

You wake Google Home with either the phrase, “Hey, Google” or “Okay, Google.” The four lights on top flash when Google Home is listening.

I tested waking Google Home with an Android phone set to wake to the phrases “Okay, Google” and “Hey, Google.” The good news is that the Android phone didn’t get confused when I was asking Google Home a question.

IFTTT

Connect Google Home with IFTTT to control your smart home devices and perform helpful tasks.

• Connect a smart coffee maker to Google Home using IFTTT so you can say, “Hey, Google, make coffee.”
• You can post to Facebook and/or Twitter using Google Home and IFTTT.
• Change the temperature on your Nest thermostat using Google Home and IFTTT.
• You can connect your iPhone calendar with Google Home using IFTTT.

The Google Home IFTTT page guides you through setting up Google Home to work with IFTTT. You can also search IFTTT for “Google Assistant” to connect your account and find applets to use with Google Home.

=> Learn more about using IFTTT at How to Use IFTTT Applets to Simplify Your Life.

Music

Google Home connects directly with music services Google Play Music, YouTube Music, TuneIn, Pandora, Spotify, and iHeartRadio.

You can ask Google Home to play music from these services after you sign in with your account using the Google Home app. Ask Google Home to play your favorite playlist, station or song.

You can also play music, audiobooks and podcasts from your phone using Bluetooth, after you pair your phone with Google Home.

If listening to music is important to you, also consider Google Home Max that has a more powerful speaker.

Casting

If you have an Android phone, you can cast/send audio and video over Wi-Fi using the Google Home app. You can send music or other audio to Google Home from your Android phone.

If you have Chromecast, Google’s video streaming device, you can ask Google Home to play a video on Chromecast. For example, you can say, “Hey, Google, play the next episode of the Crown on Netflix.”

If you use Google Photos, you can ask Google Home to show your Google Photos on your TV using Chromecast. Say, “Okay, Google, show my photo album titled, ‘Italian Adventure.'”

Voice Match

You can teach Google Home your voice by saying “Okay, Google” and “Hey, Google” during setup. That way Google Home knows it’s you asking the questions and can give personalized responses.

Google Home can connect to six different Google accounts. So if you’re going to connect your Google Home with other accounts, you should take a few seconds to teach Google Home your voice.

Use the Google Home app to train or re-train it to recognize your voice. This video shows how Voice Match works with Google Home:

My Day

With the My Day feature, you can get the weather, news, traffic information for your commute and a list of the day’s appointments with a single request. You can even get information about an upcoming flight you have that day with My Day.

Learn how to set up My Day on Google Home at the Google My Day Help page.

Google Home Has Google Smarts

If you’re looking for a speaker to answer your search questions, Google Home is worth considering. Its answers to search questions are more thorough, and perhaps helpful, than that of other smart speakers.

Google Home has Google Assistant, as Amazon Echo has Alexa and Apple HomePod has Siri. Google Assistant has the power of Google search and uses it deftly.

For example, asking Echo and HomePod, “What is the capital of Switzerland?” gives you the response, “Bern.” But asking Google Home the same question gives you a much more interesting response.

Google Home not only gives you the answer of “Bern” but also the explanation of how Bern became the capital of Switzerland, competing against Zurich and Lucerne.

If you just want a quick answer, you can tell Google Home to stop. But if you like to learn more about a subject, Google Home may be your best fit for a smart speaker.

Design of Google Home

Google Home is a round white device with its speaker in the base. The standard base is gray so the device can blend with any decor.

You can change the color of the base to match your home with other base colors or keep it a neutral gray color.

The top lights up when Google Home is listening to you so you know it can hear you. A button on the top turns off the microphone when you don’t want to be heard.

You can control the volume by swiping your finger across the top of Google Home. Tap it to pause the music.

Setting Up Google Home

Setting up Google Home is easy. Download the Google Home app first:

• Google Home App Android
• Google Home App iPhone/iPad

Then sign in using your Google account. The Google Home app guides you through the set up process.

Use the Discover and Browse sections in the app to find what you can do with Google Home. You can also watch videos in the app to learn more about how to use Google Home.

Availability

Google Home is available from Verizon Wireless for $129. Additional colored bases for Google Home are available at the Google Store for $20 each.

As of this writing, Google Home is available in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, and Japan.

Your Thoughts

What Google Home features do you like best? Do you like getting more information with your search results? Do you like the ability to cast video and audio to your TV using Google Home and Chromecast? Would you use Voice Match to have Google Home learn your voice?

Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!