Category: Google Assistant

The new “What song is this?” feature of Google Assistant, which made its debut on the Pixel 2 lineup, is now starting to roll out to everyone.  Assuming you have the latest version of the Google app installed, you can now upon up Assistant and ask, “What song is this?” or you will see a button to have Assistant do it for you in the carousel.

When you start the function, you will see an audio-like bar graph at the bottom of the Google Assistant card as the song is listened to and then identified.  Once the song is identified, you will get song information including the album and artist displayed.  There are also links to YouTube and Google Play Music to listen to the track or add it to your library.

The number of services that have come to Google Assistant has grown exponentially in 2017 but really over the course of the last few months.  Dozens of new services have come to the digital assistant and one of the newest is HP.

When you link your Google Cloud Print enabled HP printer to Google Assistant, you will be able to have it print things for you without having to touch your phone or PC.  Admittedly, the service is somewhat limited now but you get a great idea of what can be done in the future.

First, you have to have an HP printer that works with Google Cloud Print natively.  The vast majority of their printers that have WiFi functionality do but double-check yours.  I have an OfficeJet Pro 8650 and it works with no problem.  Next, you will need to setup Google Assistant to link with your HP Printer.

Following in the footsteps of Google’s own Nest, Logitech has announced that the Logitech Circle  home security cameras now integrates with Google Assistant.

Today, Logitech announced Circle 2 home security cameras now work with the Google Assistant on smart speakers like Google Home, eligible Android phones and iPhones, so you can easily ask to watch live video of what’s happening in and around your home. Start by saying, “Ok Google, show me the backyard camera,” to show a live view of your backyard on your TV using the Google Assistant and Chromecast, or a TV with Chromecast built in.

The news is great for consumers as it now provides a choice of home security cameras that can leverage Google Assistant for real time monitoring of your home or apartment.

The integration works with both the original Circle cameras as well as the recently updated Circle 2 models and works on both wired & wireless integration into your home network.  Functionally, it works the same as the Nest cameras do with Google Assistant.  If you have a “front door” camera, you can say, “Hey Google, show me the front door” and it will stream the video feed from that camera to your Chromecast.  Additional cameras are support for other doors or areas in your home or apartment.

Google has begun the process or rolling out a combination app and server-side update that enables the “Hey Google” hot word on Android phones.  Once complete, you can activate Google Assistant by using the trigger just like you can on Google Home.

To this point, the only hot word that Assistant would respond to on your phone has been “OK Google”.  When Google Home was released last year, Assistant on the smart speaker would respond to this too as well as “Hey Google”.  It is unclear why it took so long to get to phones but it is slowing rolling out to users now.

In the year since its release, there is little room for debate on the growth that Google Home and Google Assistant have seen.  The smart speaker has sold well and with brains behind it, Assistant, has continued to grow in abilities on what it can help you with in your day-to-day.  I’ve had a Google Home in my home office for nearly a year now and it is so integrated into my day that I can hardly see not having it around.

If there has been one challenge with Google Home, it has been the size.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not huge at just under 6″ tall, but it is noticeable if you have it in a bedroom or family room.   That is where the $50 Google Home Mini comes into the picture.  Standing only 1.65″ tall and covered in an elegant fabric, the Home Mini is designed to go into various rooms of your home and just be there unobtrusively.  It is designed to blend in but remain always available and provide excellent sound quality.  The Google Home Mini truly is for the masses because of all of this and a price point that is hard to resist.

Google has quietly added a great new feature to the Google Home lineup:  Sleep Timers.  According to an updated support page from the company, you can now set timers to play music for a specific duration of time as you prepare for bed or have Home play that lullaby for the little ones.   As with most Google Assistant commands for Home, it is pretty easy to setup.

The most basic way to setup a sleep timer with music is to say, “Hey Google, play (artist/genre/playlist) for (duration)”.  If you are just wanting a sleep timer, just say, “Hey Google, set a sleep timer for (duration)”.  You can also set up a sleep timer to stop at a certain time (say, 9:30 p.m.).  It is actually quite flexible in how you set up the timers.  While these fall under the category of sleep timers, you can use them for other purposes.  For example, you could set a time for 30 minutes with mediation music as you meditate in the morning.  Once the music stops, you know your session has ended.